FXUS65 KSLC 190402

AFDSLC



Area Forecast Discussion

National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT

1002 PM MDT Wed Mar 18 2026



.KEY MESSAGES...



- High pressure will bring historically warm weather for March

  through Saturday. Daytime max temperatures will challenge

  monthly maximum temperature records as they approach 30 degrees

  above seasonal normals.



- A dry cold front will bring a brief cooling trend Sunday, 

  though daytime highs will remain 10 to 15 degrees above normal.



- A return to near record temperatures is expected early next week

  as high pressure returns to the region. 



&&



.DISCUSSION...An anomalously strong mid level ridge centered over

the Desert Southwest will amplify somewhat Thursday into Friday,

allowing for a slight warming trend from what are already record

temperatures across the region. Cedar City tied their max

temperature record for March at 81F this afternoon, while KSLC

fell 1 degree short...reaching 79F. These are temperatures

typically seen in early June, not mid-March. 



NBM 5.0 25th-75th percentile max temperature forecast for KSLC 

trends 2-3F higher Thursday, and another 2-3F higher Friday as the

ridge amplifies. With this additional warming, expect KSLC to at 

a minimum tie the monthly record of 80F on Thursday and break it 

Friday, while Cedar City will exceed the monthly record of 81F 

with an additional 3-4F warming expected on Thursday. For St 

George, we will have to wait for the coop observation to come in, 

but with an additional 2-4F of warming on Thursday, they will 

certainly break the previous monthly record of 91F for March. 



A dry cold front will cool temperatures ~15F on Sunday across

northern Utah, and 3-8F across southern Utah. Despite this,

temperatures will remain well above normal for the latter portion

of March. This "cool-down" will be short lived however, as mid 

level ridging quickly rebounds Monday, pushing temperatures back 

near record territory by Tuesday. Confidence is low beyond

Wednesday next week in the overall pattern, as spread increases

within the guidance owing to the potential for a shortwave trough

to pass through the northern Rockies. 



&&



.AVIATION...KSLC...Strong high pressure will result in continued 

clear to mostly clear skies with VFR conditions, and light winds 

with typical diurnal directional shifts.



.REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...Ongoing pattern dominated by 

high pressure will continue. Skies will be clear to mostly clear 

with VFR conditions prevailing. At most terminals winds will tend to 

be fairly light with diurnally typical direction shifts. Some higher 

elevation and exposed terminals (EVW) will see modest daytime wind 

gusts to around 25 kts or so.



&&



.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

UT...None.

WY...Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT Saturday for WYZ277.



&&



$$



PUBLIC...Seaman

AVIATION...Warthen



For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit...

http://weather.gov/saltlakecity