840
FXUS65 KSLC 302212
AFDSLC
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
312 PM MST FRI JAN 30 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- A STRONG AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING DRY AND STABLE
CONDITIONS THROUGH THE NEXT 7 DAYS AND BEYOND.
- VALLEY INVERSIONS WILL BECOME BETTER ESTABLISHED ACROSS NORTHERN
UTAH THROUGH THIS WEEKEND, AND LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH NEXT WEEK,
RESULTING IN AREAS OF FOG AND STRATUS, AN INCREASE IN HAZE, AND
COOL TEMPERATURES.
- LOCATIONS OUTSIDE OF INVERTED VALLEYS WILL SEE MAX TEMPERATURES
MORE REMINISCENT OF EARLY-MID MARCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH MUCH
OF NEXT WEEK.
DISCUSSION
THE LARGE-SCALE PATTERN IS UNCHANGED OVER THE
WESTERN US, WITH A RIDGE CURRENTLY CENTERED TO OUR WEST. THIS
RIDGE WILL SLOWLY MOVE OVERHEAD THIS WEEKEND, RESULTING IN
CONTINUED DRY, STABLE CONDITIONS AND RISING TEMPERATURES ACROSS
ALL BUT INVERTED VALLEYS.
DENSE FREEZING FOG THAT DEVELOPED AGAIN OVERNIGHT UNDER THESE
STABLE CONDITIONS HAS LARGELY DISSIPATED, THOUGH A CLEAR COLD POOL
STILL RESIDES OVER THE GREAT SALT LAKE; AIR TEMPERATURES OVER THE
LAKE ARE STILL NEAR FREEZING, COMPARED TO THE SALT LAKE VALLEY IN
PARTICULAR WHERE TEMPERATURES HAVE CLIMBED INTO THE MID-40S
ACROSS ALL BUT DIRECTLY ALONG THE LAKE. THIS FOG THAT DEVELOPED
APPEARED TO BE SHALLOWER THAN YESTERDAY, ALLOWING CONDITIONS TO
IMPROVE MORE QUICKLY AND TEMPERATURES TO INCREASE MORE DURING THE
DAY. AFTER SUNSET, THAT COLD POOL WILL START TO EXPAND ONCE AGAIN,
BUT WARMER DAYTIME TEMPERATURES AND APPROACHING MID-LEVEL CLOUDS
WILL LIKELY DELAY THE ONSET OF FOG BY AT LEAST AN HOUR OR TWO, IF
NOT MORE. THE SPATIAL COVERAGE OF FOG WILL THUS LIKELY BE A LITTLE
SMALLER THAN THIS MORNING, BUT UNCERTAINTY REMAINS WITH ITS EXACT
EXTENT. THE CACHE VALLEY WILL ALSO SEE SIMILAR CONDITIONS TO LAST
NIGHT, WITH VERY HIGH CHANCES OF DENSE FOG (80-90% CHANCE).
AS HIGH PRESSURE SLOWLY MOVES OVERHEAD, 700-MB TEMPERATURES WILL
WARM BY 2-4C, THOUGH VALLEYS WILL STRUGGLE TO WARM UNDER THE
INVERSION. CHANCES FOR NOCTURNAL FOG MAY CONTINUE THROUGH THE
WEEKEND, AS LONG AS MOISTURE ISN'T ABLE TO MIX OUT AT ANY POINT.
A GRAZING SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL BRING A WEAK, DRY COLD FRONT
THROUGH THE AREA ON MONDAY, THOUGH PRECIPITATION CHANCES ARE
NEARLY ZERO. THIS COULD INCREASE MIXING, THOUGH IT'S UNCLEAR IF
VALLEYS WILL FULLY MIX OUT. IF NOT, VALLEY HAZE WILL CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP. AFTER MONDAY, STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN TO THE
WESTERN US. ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THE NEXT CHANCES FOR ANY
MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION AREN'T UNTIL FEB 9TH AT THE
EARLIEST...PERHAPS LATER.
AVIATION...KSLC
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE EVENING
HOURS, WITH AN INCREASING PROBABILITY OF IMPACTS TO VISIBILITY AFTER
0300Z TONIGHT. WHILE MODELS SUGGEST THE PROBABILITY OF FOG
DEVELOPMENT IS LOW WITH INCREASING CLOUDS OVERHEAD AND SOME DRYING
AT THE LOWER LEVELS, THE COLD POOL LINGERING OVER THE LAKE THIS
EVENING IS LIKELY TO SHIFT BACK IN OVER THE AIRFIELD TONIGHT,
PROVIDING BETTER CONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DENSE FOG AFTER
0500Z AND LINGERING AS LATE AS 1500Z. OTHERWISE, WINDS WILL BE LIGHT
AND FOLLOW TYPICAL DIURNAL PATTERNS THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD.
REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING
VFR CONDITIONS PERSIST AREA-
WIDE INTO THE EARLY EVENING, THOUGH CAN EXPECT ISOLATED DENSE AND
FREEZING FOG IN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS INCLUDING THE CACHE (KLGU) TO
REDEVELOP A FEW HOURS AFTER SUNSET. FOR SATURDAY, CAN EXPECT THAT
CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE TO VFR AREA-WIDE DURING THE DAY WITH LIGHT
DIURNALLY DRIVEN WINDS.
SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
UT...NONE.
WY...NONE.
CUNNINGHAM/WESSLER
FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page