Fall-like temperatures forecast for Utah before official season starts

SALT LAKE CITY — Fall may begin Saturday, but it’ll feel more like mid-season in parts of Utah over the next few days as a cold front passes through the state, bringing in more rain and dropping high temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below what they’ve been the past few weeks.

The cold front began entering Utah from the Pacific Northwest Thursday morning ahead of a low-pressure system behind it, said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson. It’s expected to bring showers across northern Utah late Thursday morning before showers extend across the Wasatch Front and into central and northern parts of southern Utah in the afternoon and evening.

The National Weather Service adds that “gusty” conditions are forecast for southern Utah ahead of the cold front, though the area has a lower chance for precipitation.

The precipitation is expected to linger across northern Utah and the Wasatch Front Friday morning. The agency notes rain is expected to turn into snow at elevations at or above about 9,000 feet about this time, resulting in “light accumulations” in the mountains.

Johnson adds scattered showers are possible in Utah’s northern parts later Friday. The storm is projected to provide anywhere from one-fourth to two-thirds of an inch of precipitation across the Wasatch Front and northern Utah between Thursday morning and Friday night, according to KSL Weather models.

Fall weather is on the way! A cold front over NW Utah will slowly make its way east through Friday, bringing temperatures more typical of mid-October to northern Utah Thursday and Friday along with snow down to 9,000 feet by Friday morning. Here's what you can expect. #utwx pic.twitter.com/Kqq9QaKFMz

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) September 21, 2023

Temperatures are also set to drop as a result of the storm system.

Salt Lake City, for example, is forecast to have a high in the upper 60s on Thursday and mid-60s on Friday, with overnight lows potentially dropping into the 40s, after the city reached a high of 84 degrees on Wednesday. The forecast temperatures are typically experienced in mid-October, per National Weather Service climate data.

Temperatures in northern Utah should top out in the mid-60s through Saturday, possibly reaching the upper 50s on Friday in Logan. Overnight lows may fall into the 30s during this time. High temperatures in southern Utah, in areas like Moab and St. George, will drop to the mid- to low-80s over the next few days.

Warmer and drier conditions are forecast across the state by the end of the weekend and into next week, as temperatures return to normal for mid-to-late September.

Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.