It's usually the time of year where I'm itching to travel somewhere south to get some sun, but it looks like this heat is coming to me this time. I guess we're getting summer early this year, as the desert southwest experiences record-smashing temperatures for March.
It's looking like we reached our peak snowpack last week about a month early, and there is very little relief coming to pump the brakes on snow melt. Part of the reason we are experiencing such impressive temperatures for this time of year is because of tropical moisture to our north that is condensing into liquid as it rises and cools, which releases heat into the surrounding environment.
Looking at the short and mid term forecasts, we remain locked into this high pressure pattern until a weak cold front Saturday night into Sunday morning. This will bring some relief, but we'll still be sitting 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, instead of 20 or 25 degrees above normal. So count your blessings, I guess.
Unfortunately, we're right back to high pressure ridging right after that, though likely not hitting the 80s again for the northern Wasatch. It's still not feeling right to say that for March forecast.
Our next shot at the high pressure breaking down is later next week on Thursday, though, models have been backing off of a more significant event and cool down.
I'm still betting a cold snap will happen in the coming weeks, which will definitely throw off vegetation.
Temperatures will rise to the 80s heading into the weekend for the northern valleys, with southern Utah closer to the bullseye of heat impacts in the mid 90s.
Wow, what a crazy forecast for March.