


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Salt Lake City, UT
Issued by NWS Salt Lake City, UT
878 FXUS65 KSLC 150918 AFDSLC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT 318 AM MDT Sun Jun 15 2025 .SYNOPSIS...Hot, dry, and increasingly breezy conditions will continue through Monday across Utah and southwest Wyoming. A dry cold front will cross the area late Monday into Tuesday, bringing a temporary decrease in winds and temperatures. However, high pressure will return by Thursday, with conditions becoming increasingly breezy by the weekend. && .SHORT TERM (Through 12Z/6AM Tuesday)...High pressure is centered over southern New Mexico this morning with a trough positioned near the Pacific coast. In between these two features, Utah and southwest Wyoming remains under a very dry southwest flow, with an increasingly hot airmass advecting in. Temperatures are on track to increase by a few degrees compared to yesterday`s highs. This will result in maxes averaging 15-20F above seasonal normals over northern portions of the area, and 5-10F above climo over southern portions of the area. Due to the trough, winds will be a bit breezy, primarily over western Utah, this afternoon. Combined with the very dry airmass, there could be some isolated critical fire weather conditions. By Monday afternoon, the Pacific trough will be positioned over California, resulting in a noticeable increase in the flow aloft across Utah and southwest Wyoming, and thus the surface winds. As a result, critical fire weather conditions will become more widespread. The going Fire Weather Watch has been upgraded to a Red Flag Warning with this package. The trough is expected to cross the area Monday night into Tuesday, bringing decreasing winds and temperatures with a slight increase in relative humidity. Little to no precipitation is anticipated in association with the system. .LONG TERM (After 12Z/6AM Tuesday)...A dry cold front and associated longwave trough will have tracked across much of Utah by Tuesday morning. The front will track south and east across southern Utah into the afternoon. Although there is no measurable precipitation forecast, there will be a slight cool down. Valley temperatures will cool around 5-10F from Monday, with the most cooling for southwest Wyoming and northern Utah. The several consecutive days of low relative humidity, gusty southwest winds, and high fire danger will be somewhat mitigated. Very dry conditions will continue with northwest winds behind the front. Winds will be occasionally gusty, but lighter throughout compared to Monday. A ridge to the southeast will retrograde to off the coast of southern California and Baja California as the trough tracks through. The ridge will track slightly eastward Wednesday with slightly warmer temperatures. Flow will be zonal to southwest with relatively light wind speeds. The pattern will become similar to early in the week for Thursday, with the ridge in a similar position over Arizona and New Mexico. As another longwave trough digs into the PacNW, southwest flow will enhance. This will be with continued relative humidity values each day into the single digits and teens. Along with increased fire danger will be temperatures in record territory for that day. The National Blend of Models brings triple digits to most valleys, including the urban corridor of northern Utah. The forecast high of 101F at Salt Lake City International Airport would tie the record for that day. The warmest conditions will be in lower Washington County, around Lake Powell, and into eastern Utah. There is good model agreement that the longwave trough will track inland later Friday or Saturday. As it approaches, a pressure gradient will strengthen, allowing for stronger southwest winds. There will be slight cooling Friday as that system approaches, but winds will likely increase from Thursday, continuing high fire danger. There is relatively good agreement on the track of that system into Saturday, but precise timing of the front is lower confidence. Saturday will be cooler than Friday, likely with a cold front tracking into at least southwest Wyoming and northern Utah at some point. South of that boundary, strong southwest winds and low relative humidity will come with high fire danger. && .AVIATION...KSLC...Southeast winds will prevail through around 21Z. Light speeds will last through around 15Z, with gusts around 20 knots from 15Z to when winds transition to northwest. The transition to northwest flow will be between 19-21Z. Scattered clouds will prevail with clearing into the evening. .REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...Light winds ranging from southeast to southwest will prevail through around 15Z. Winds will increase late morning into the afternoon, with gusts around 25 knots for southwest Wyoming and southwest Utah. Gusts will be around 20 knots for most other portions of Utah. Scattered clouds will prevail through the day. && .FIRE WEATHER...Hot and dry southwest flow persists over Utah between a ridge over the Desert Southwest and a trough off the Pacific coast. Winds will pick up on Monday as the trough moves eastward, resulting in critical fire weather conditions where fuels are sufficiently dry over southern Utah. The trough will cross the area Monday night into Tuesday, bringing a slight increase in relative humidity and a decrease in temperatures. Behind the trough, high pressure will quickly build again by Thursday, bringing a return to the hot and very dry weather with increasingly breezy conditions. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...Red Flag Warning from noon Monday to midnight MDT Monday night for UTZ489-494>498. WY...None. && $$ SHORT TERM/FIRE WEATHER...Traphagan LONG TERM/AVIATION...Wilson For more information from NOAA`s National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity