I'm sure most of you have noticed we are in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave extending across the entire southwest United States. This heat is bringing temperatures between 20 to 30 degrees above seasonal normals, giving us a very early taste of late spring and even summer. This sudden shift in season is thanks to a large and strong ridge of high pressure that has brought very stable, very warm air from the tropics.
Yesterday was expected to be the warmest day of the week, with today, unfortunately, not too far behind. This will lead Logan to reach the upper 70s to low 80s; the Wasatch Front the low to mid 80s; and St. George in the mid to upper 90s.
By tomorrow, the silver lining is a small, dry cold front likely to pass through. Though it carries little moisture, temperatures should cool slightly, but remain 10 to 20 degrees above normal.
Temperatures through the first half of next week will begin to climb, though, as we expect high pressure to move in and dominate once more.
With all that said, our highest present concern is our statewide snowpack, which typically peaks in early April. Unsurprisingly, these warm events are very likely to cause an early melt, leaving our spring runoff poised to run dry quickly.
With little to talk about in the future rain or snow department, it seems our season may be closing on a somewhat dismal end.
Fortunately, this forecast won't; here's a quick dad joke for the day: why did the sun go to school? So it could be brighter!