Gusty winds create critical wildfire dangers Wednesday, but rain follows later in week

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — It was another warm and mostly sunny day around the Beehive state for our Tuesday, but changes will begin to develop ahead of our significant storm system Wednesday afternoon as our southwesterly winds will pick up a good bit.

A Red Flag Warning is in effect for western Utah Wednesday afternoon and evening as dry air and gusty winds up to 35 mph — combined with dry vegetation — will make for some risky fire conditions across western Utah.

Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the first surge of much cooler weather is expected with temperatures dropping 5° in southern Utah and up to 20° in northern Utah. The first wave of cooler air could bring some rain showers to northern Utah, and this wave will mainly be rain with snow levels likely remaining above 8,000 feet.

Even bigger changes develop Thursday night into Friday morning as the main storm system arrives, pushing widespread rain and snow across Utah. Cold air will drop snow levels down to around 5,000-6,000 feet, bringing the chance for accumulating snow to the mountain valleys and high benches.

The depth of the cold air is still a bit in question, meaning snow levels could go as low as valley floors or stay higher up depending on the intensity of the storm system. The storm is expected to stall to the south of the state and could possibly move north into Utah again over the weekend. Of course, location and weekend weather conditions are subject to change depending on the storm track.

A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for the western Uintas and Wasatch Mountains, south of I-80. These areas could see anywhere from 12″-24″ inches of heavy, wet snow through Friday evening. A few inches of snow may accumulate as low as 5,000-6,000 feet. The entire area could see between 0.50″-1.50″ of liquid with this event which is going to be great for helping the dryness that has been around the Beehive state.

Either way, we have some big changes on the way to the Beehive state later this week, and it’s best to stayed 4Warned with the latest updates on air and online.

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