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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital tied an 88-year-old temperature record on Friday as the high temperature at Salt Lake City International Airport surpassed 80 degrees for the first time this year.
Salt Lake City's official temperature reached 81 degrees shortly after 3:30 p.m., matching a daily record set in 1936, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency notes it's the city's first 80-degree day since Oct. 10. Salt Lake City's average first 80-degree day of the year is May 3, but the record is March 31, which was set in 2012.
The record-tying warmth is connected to a storm system off the Pacific Coast, which is helping push warm air from the south into Utah, said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson.
The system also brought in some clouds Friday afternoon; he said clouds will come and go over the weekend. High temperatures are expected to remain in the mid-to-upper 70s on Saturday and upper 60s on Sunday.
The storm is expected to bring in valley rain and mountain snow across several parts of the state Sunday night and Monday morning, but it will also drop high temperatures back into the 50s and low 60s across the Wasatch Front, Johnson said. Additional showers are also possible next week.
"It's that time of the year. We can't have the top of the roller coaster the whole time. We do have some dips," Johnson said.
The cooldown is expected to help slow down Utah's snowpack runoff that is now underway, so that it doesn't all melt at once.
Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.
