Mild, hazy, and quiet ahead of subtle changes into 2024

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Happy final weekend of 2023, Utah! As we begin the weekend, our weather won’t see too many drastic changes from what we had for the end of the workweek.

Temperatures across the state will run about 10-15 degrees above average with temperatures topping out mainly in the 30s and 40s up north while south of I-70, it will be mainly 40s and 50s outside of the high terrain. Along the Wasatch Front and throughout the Wasatch Back, highs will run in the mid to upper 40s with Salt Lake closing in on 50 at 48. In St. George, we’ll see a high close to 60 at 59! Across the state, skies will be partly to mostly cloudy as moisture tries to filter in from the southwest as high pressure begins to slowly move away.

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Unfortunately, in our northern valleys, haze will be a talking point once again. Most valleys are expected to hover in the ‘Moderate’ category. Salt Lake County may be an exception, as the Utah Department of Quality predicts ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.’ There’s a glimmer of hope for a slight improvement in air quality as our weather becomes a little more active as we move into New Year’s.

With high pressure out of the way, a couple of systems will clip the Beehive State as we go from Sunday into New Year’s Day on Monday. While the chance of any appreciable moisture is low, we could see a few spotty showers in southern Utah on New Year’s Eve and potentially into New Year’s Day. If we do see wet weather, it’s likely to be in the high terrain with only a slight chance lower elevations pick up moisture. As we go from New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day, there is a chance some of the moisture could make its way into northern Utah. This is by no means a guarantee, but we’ll go with a slight chance up north on Monday. Like in southern Utah, any wet weather is likely to favor the mountains.

Whether we pick up moisture or not, a shift in the winds will result in temperatures easing down closer to seasonal norms. By New Year’s Day, we should be closer to five degrees above average compared to the 10-15 degrees above average like we have gotten used to. We’ll also see a decent number of clouds across the state and there is a chance that we will see some mixing in our valleys, allowing inversion haze to ease slightly. Unless we cash in on the moisture, which is low to begin with, it’s unlikely we’d see inversions be broken completely.

Any moisture potential dwindles by Tuesday with temperatures easing down close to averages, but there is growing confidence our weather pattern will become even more active from the second half of next week into the middle of the month. As of right now, the 6 to 14-day window looks promising, but we’ll keep close tabs on the long-range outlook and keep you posted! Stay tuned!

The bottom line? It’s more above average warmth, inversion haze, and mostly quiet skies Saturday, but our weather will become a little more active as we turn into 2024!

With Utah’s 4Warn Forecast both on-air and online you can stay on top of all the weather changes the Beehive State has to offer! We are Good4Utah!

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