Salt Lake City reaches all-time heat record again; wildfire smoke heads toward Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city once again matched its all-time hottest temperature ever recorded.

The temperature at the Salt Lake City International Airport reached a sweltering 107 degrees Wednesday shortly before 3:30 p.m., matching four previous times in city history dating back to 1874, including July 17 this year, the National Weather Service reports.

Many more daily temperature records were also broken across the state yesterday, as has been the case for the past few days.

Wednesday marked the first time the official Salt Lake City temperature has reached 107 degrees multiple times in the same year. It first reached 107 degrees at the airport on July 26, 1960, before that record was matched on July 13, 2002, and June 15, 2021, prior to this year. It's also the fifth time that the city has broken its all-time September temperature record this month; prior to this year, Salt Lake City reached a maximum of 100 degrees only three times in September.

Salt Lake City's triple-digit temperature streak also reached nine straight days, matching a stretch in July 1960 and August 2016 as the second-longest streak in city history. The record of 10 could be tied Thursday with the forecast calling for temperatures to near 100 degrees again.

Smoke on the horizon

The good news is there is a 10- to 15-degree cooldown forecast for Friday as a low-pressure system passes through the state, according to the weather service.

KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson says this will begin Thursday, as the high-pressure system that has set up over Utah for days begins to move southeast, opening the door for the cold front to arrive in the state from the northwest in the afternoon.

"Showers in the mountains are possible in central Utah, but the biggest deal with this is not the rain it's going to bring — it's the cooler air," he said.

The bad news is that the system is pushing Western wildfire smoke into Utah along with it, which will primarily impact northern Utah beginning on Thursday and "even more so" on Friday, the weather service tweeted. Most of the West's current fires are in and around the Pacific Northwest.

Utah has mostly avoided wildfire smoke this summer, a welcomed improvement from the past few years. A weather service model projects heavier smoke will remain north of Utah on Thursday, in places like Idaho and Montana. Heavier smoke is expected in northern Utah Friday, while smoke ends up in other parts of the state.

The Utah Division of Air Quality forecast calls for air quality levels that are unhealthy for certain groups in Davis and Salt Lake counties on Thursday and Friday. Many other Utah counties are expected to have "moderate" levels before air quality improves heading into the weekend.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also warned Wednesday that the September heat wave has worsened fire conditions in the state.

"Even though we were blessed by monsoonal rains in July and August — we are seeing some peak fire conditions again throughout the state," he tweeted. "Please exercise extreme caution over the next few days until cooler temps and rain make their way back to Utah."

Moisture still in the forecast

Meanwhile, remnants of Hurricane Kay are still forecast to arrive in Utah this weekend, producing more showers in southern Utah — along with Arizona, Nevada and California, Johnson said.

More moisture is in the forecast for next week across the state. The weather service's Climate Prediction Center published an outlook Wednesday that lists northern Utah as having at least a 60% probability of above-normal precipitation next week. The entire Beehive State also is listed as having greater odds for above-normal rain next week.

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

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