Hazy sunshine with lingering fire concerns

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4) – Happy Friday, Utah! Temperatures will be similar to where they were yesterday, if not a couple degrees cooler, putting us right around seasonal norms across the state.

Daytime highs will run in the mid 90s for most valleys, mid to upper 80s for higher terrain, and upper 90s to low 100s for the typical hot spots. Clear to mostly clear skies are expected with dry skies.

The dry air and breezy conditions will keep an elevated fire threat, especially for the Central Mountains and Color Country Mountains where a Red Flag Warning is in effect through 10 pm Saturday. Unfortunately, that’s where the Monroe Canyon Fire is burning over 48,000 acres with no signs of slowing down.

The Monroe Canyon, White Sage, and Dragon Bravo Fires on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, will continue pumping smoke into the Beehive State. Southwest winds will keep the thicker plumes of smoke east of I-15, but we could see some periods of haze sneak into western Utah as well. The thickest smoke will be seen along I-70, Castle Country, the Uinta Basin, and the Four Corners region.

Through the weekend we don’t see much change in the weather world, apart from a slight uptick in moisture on Saturday. Unfortunately it won’t be enough to aid our bone-dry conditions, only bringing an increase in cloud coverage and the chance of a shower in the West Desert, but nothing helpful. We could be kicking off the workweek with critical fire conditions yet again as winds pick back up.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest developments in our 4Warn Weather forecast both on-air and online, we are Good4Utah!

• Seasonal temps
• Red Flag Warnings in effect
• Hazy in the north and Thick smoke in eastern UT
• Air quality impacts with smoke
• Hot, dry and windy