Much cooler air flows into Utah Thursday afternoon

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) – Happy Thursday, Utah! It’s been a major weather change for most of the Beehive state. Temperatures are about 20 degrees cooler than Wednesday, especially for areas along and west of I-15.

A strong cold front continues to track through the state today, leaving cooler and drier air behind it. A Red Flag Warning remains in effect for eastern Utah until 8 p.m. This includes the Uinta Basin to the Four Corners.

Strong winds, low humidity values, and warm temperatures could allow any fires that spark to grow quickly and possibly act erratically.

The thick wildfire smoke from Wednesday moved towards the east and southeast, clearing out a good bit across the state. Models had been tracking another thick plume potentially arriving from the NW Thursday afternoon, but looks like early morning rains across Oregon and Idaho have really helped to dampen that smoke and haze. Still, the air quality forecast across the Wasatch Front is in the Orange category.

Clear skies and light winds are a perfect recipe for temperatures to drop in the Wasatch Back. Overnight lows will likely dip into the upper 20s to lower 30s for many, leading to some areas of frost and possibly a light freeze. A Freeze Watch is in effect for the Wasatch Back for Thursday night. Take steps now to protect your tender vegetation.

As we move into Friday, the upper trough begins to shift north away from the area, leading to mild, moderating temperatures and plenty of sunshine for the weekend. Northern Utah will stay cooler through Friday, but temperatures will climb closer to average with mild highs back by the weekend as a dry westerly flow takes over.

There’s a chance we see another solid cold front early next week, but we are monitoring it closely and will keep you forewarned. We’ll give you the latest updates in our 4Warn Weather forecast both on-air and online, we are Good4Utah!

• Temperatures 15-20 degrees colder
• Front pushes dense smoke east
• Fire danger in Eastern Utah with Red Flag Warning in effect
• Warming trend Friday into the weekend
• Mostly sunny for weekend plans
• Storm potential early next week
• Even cooler weather for middle of next week

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