Few storms possible Sunday, big warmup next week

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Happy Sunday, Utah! We continue the holiday weekend with a few showers and isolated storms popping up, mainly over the mountains.

Thanks to a weak trough sliding into the region, we’ll see better coverage than on Saturday, especially over the mountain areas in northeast Utah. Southern and eastern Utah will stay drier at the surface, but gusty outflow winds remain likely. Some of those gusts could top 50 mph in the east, so keep an eye on loose patio furniture.

Looking ahead to the new week, we’re settling into a familiar late-spring rhythm: warm days, a few isolated afternoon storms…especially over the higher terrain in northern Utah with mostly dry lower elevations. Any rain that does fall will be light and spotty. Gusty, erratic winds are possible with the isolated storms, but many places will stay dry overall.

The big change coming this week will be the rising temperatures. Most valleys will climb into the upper 80s by mid to late week, with parts of lower Washington County flirting with 100° by Friday. Storms could bring some afternoon clouds, keeping things just shy of scorching up north…but we’ll still be running about 10 degrees warmer than normal.

By next weekend, we’ll be watching a possible low spinning up to our southwest. Global models are still trying to hammer out more the details this far off. At least for now, a strong ridge will be building, so Salt Lake City could hit 90° for the first time this year by the end of the week. Stay tuned.