- Utah faces early summer-like temperatures, breaking records across the state this week.
- Salt Lake City may see its earliest 80-degree day in over 150 years.
- High temperatures affect ski resorts, causing early closures and event cancellations.
SALT LAKE CITY — Spring begins on Friday, but signs of early summer are in the forecast for this week, which could break some temperature records across the state.
A strong high-pressure system settled over California is forecast to produce temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s across the Wasatch Front between Wednesday and Saturday as it moves southeast, which would break temperature records across the way.
Salt Lake City's earliest 80-degree day on record is March 31, which was set in 2012, since the National Weather Service began tracking its weather data in 1874. High temperatures are forecast to reach the low- to mid-90s closer to St. George throughout the remainder of the week, which would set a record for the earliest 90-degree day there, too.
They account for two of more than 90 sites across the state that could record their all-time warmest March temperature this week, said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson. That's on top of countless daily records expected to be broken in communities all across the state as astronomical winter ends the way it was most of the season — warm.
"This is just unprecedented warmth that's headed our way," he said.
While the warmth will deliver pleasant weather to start spring, and is a teaser for the summer ahead, there are downsides. It's already causing some resorts to close earlier than usual. Nordic Valley Ski Resort is set to close on Sunday, following Cherry Peak and Eagle Point resorts that already closed for the season, according to Ski Utah.
Beaver Mountain Resort also canceled its popular Directive Derby event due to the high temperatures and low snowfall, which have affected its ability to build a banked slalom course.
"We really wanted to host the derby this season ... but the weather had other plans," resort officials wrote on social media.
Its arrival follows a poor snow year, which will likely lead to more resorts closing down terrain or altogether as early as this week, Johnson said.
The warmth has even sparked some weather alerts just outside of Utah. The National Weather Service has issued a slew of extreme heat warnings and heat advisories across parts of western Arizona and the southern ends of California and Nevada, as well as red flag warnings in parts of Wyoming and Colorado because strong wildfire danger tied to heat, wind and dry conditions may cause "erratic" fire behavior.
Temperatures will begin to slowly cool down, starting in Utah's northern half this weekend. The system will weaken as it continues to move east, but high temperatures will likely remain in the upper 60s and low 70s across the region, which could still break daily records, Johnson said.
It's a trend that could carry over through the latter half of the month. Odds lean toward above-normal temperatures and below-average precipitation across Utah through March 31, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center.
Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online at the KSL Weather Center.
