Get out the sunscreen and turn on the fans. It is going to be a hot one this weekend in Utah and elsewhere in the West as a “heat dome,” settles over the region.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City on Thursday issued an excessive heat warning for southern Utah, saying that the temperature could reach a scorching 107 degrees.
⚠️ An Excessive Heat Warning is now in effect for lower Washington County, including St. George, from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. Anomalously warm temperatures for mid June are expected, peaking around 107F both days. #utwx pic.twitter.com/v4deyUIasK
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) June 9, 2022
CNN reported the heat dome will affect more than 30 million residents and people should take precautions to avoid heat stroke and to stay hydrated.
Hayden Mahan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, said St. George will feel like August on Friday and Saturday.
“Obviously 107 is no stranger to St. George,” he said, “but it is a little abnormal this time of year. Given the fact that it is still early June and people aren’t acclimated, that definitely played into our warning.”
High lows: What will make the heat more insufferable in that region, he added, is that the night time lows will be high.
“We’re not going to be cooling down as much, so there’s not going to be as much relief. So we’re going to be probably maintaining like the mid-to-upper-70s overnight.”
A skateboarder walks through a park at sunset, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in San Antonio, as temperatures in South Texas continue to top the 100 degree mark.
Eric Gay, Associated Press
Mahan said northern Utah will bake as well this weekend, with temperatures creeping into the high 90s — 10 to 15 degrees above what is normal.
“This will be abnormally warm for northern Utah, however, we will be cooling down a bit more overnight,” he said. “I think we’re calling for 98 right now ... whether or not we get to that 100 degree mark, that would be the first 100 degree day for the year. But right now, it looks like we will stay just shy of that 100 degree mark.”
While a bit unusual, the furnace-like temperatures have clobbered Utah before. The meteorologist said last year in June, northern Utah was flirting with triple digit temperatures and St. George set a record for heat.
A brief scorcher: Mahan said the good news in all of this is that the blast of heat brought on by high pressure will be short-lived, chased away by Monday with a cold front that will move in.
That front will drop temperatures into the 70s — a welcome respite — and could deliver some badly needed precipitation.
He said higher elevations may get the luckiest in northern Utah, while southern Utah will get skipped by any precipitation.
Kit Smith, 2, plays in the water at the Amphitheater Park splash pad in Sandy on Thursday, June 9, 2022. Northern Utah is expecting temperatures in the high 90s this weekend as a “heat dome” settles over the region.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News