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SALT LAKE CITY — Parts of Utah could experience triple-digit heat over the next few days as the state's first real heat wave of the year emerges following a colder-than-normal start to the year.
The National Weather Service forecast calls for St. George to reach 100 degrees for the first time as early as Friday afternoon, before highs reach up to 110 degrees on Monday. The agency's forecast also calls for Salt Lake City to reach triple digits on Monday before dropping back down into the mid-and-low 90s later in the week, as hotter temperatures reach the Wasatch Front.
Forecasts are always subject to change, but weather service meteorologists say it will be the hottest it has been all year either way.
"The heat is coming," the agency tweeted Friday morning.
The warming is the result of a high-pressure system moving in from the Pacific Coast that will set up over Utah this weekend, according to KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson. The changing patterns will bring in warmer temperatures and clearer skies for most of the state this weekend and into the July 4 holiday.
Some parts of northern and eastern Utah may experience showers over the weekend, he said, but nothing major is in the forecast.
The heat wave comes as Utah's temperatures have been milder than in recent years, largely because of all the storms that helped the state end up with a record 30-inch snowpack this year.
Utah's average temperature of the first five months of the year ended up at 37.4 degrees, 1.2 degrees below the 20th-century average and the 27th-coldest start through May since 1895, according to National Centers for Environmental Information data. It's also 2.6 degrees below last year's average through May and 3.3 degrees cooler than the average of the past 30 years, which have been much warmer than the 20th-century average.
This has also spilled into some of the triple-digit normals, too. The National Weather Service noted Friday that St. George's average first 100-degree day is June 4. The southern Utah city nearly reached it on June 6; but, the high topped out at 99 degrees that day. The city's latest first 100-degree on record is July 3, set in 1965.
Salt Lake City has reached 100 degrees by June 12 in each of the last three years, so federal meteorologists say they understand why it may feel like it's abnormal that the city hasn't had one yet this year; however, its average first 100-degree day is July 7.
With warmer temperatures here in time for the July 4 holiday weekend, Johnson says it's important people remember the basics, especially when recreating outdoors.
"Please remember to hydrate and wear that sunscreen for all your activities," he said.
Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online at the KSL Weather Center.
