Wildfire in Utah, June 26 to 30, 2026

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
221 PM MDT Fri Jun 26 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Extreme fire weather conditions will result in a Particularly
  Dangerous Situation through late this evening across the
  central and southern mountains and southwest Utah.

- Widespread and significant critical fire weather conditions will
  continue through Saturday across nearly the entire state.

- A strong cold front will cross northern and central Utah
  Saturday afternoon through Saturday night. Much cooler
  temperatures will follow the front, with daytime highs Sunday
  running 20 to 25 degrees below normal over northern Utah and 10
  to 15 degrees below normal over central and southwest Utah.

- Critical fire weather conditions will continue through Sunday
  across southeastern Utah ahead of the cold front.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

Enhanced southwesterly flow resides across the forecast area this
afternoon, resulting in widespread wind gusts in the 35-45 mph
range across the western half of Utah. A mid level dry slot within
this flow has overspread much of the forecast area, dropping RH
values into the single digits, while afternoon temperatures have
climbed into the 90s across most western valleys. This combination
of hot, dry and very windy conditions is resulting in an extreme
fire weather environment south of I-80. See Fire Weather section
for additional details. Meanwhile, convection over northern
Arizona will bring a slight chance for strong outflow winds across
the Lake Powell area later this afternoon.

This enhanced southwesterly flow is resulting from an upper
trough across the Pacific Northwest, which will impact the
forecast area through the upcoming weekend. An initial shortwave
lifting through the northern Great Basin will push a cold front
through northern Utah this evening, bringing a wind shift and
slightly cooler temperatures. South of this boundary, gusty
southwest winds will likely keep the airmass mixed well into the
evening and potentially overnight hours.

This frontal boundary will temporarily retreat Saturday morning,
allowing gusty southwest winds to spread back into northern Utah.
Meanwhile to the south, strong southwest flow will result in
another windy day Saturday across central and southern Utah, and
have issued another Wind Advisory for most central/southern
valleys.

The aforementioned frontal boundary will surge south through
northern Utah Saturday afternoon, and central Utah late Saturday
evening into Saturday night, as the upstream trough begins to dig
into the northern Great Basin. Instability across far northern
Utah will support a convective threat in the vicinity of this
boundary during the afternoon hours, with deep layer shear
supportive of strong updrafts. As this trough settles into the
region, a much cooler airmass will spread into northern and
central Utah Sunday. Temperatures across northern Utah will run
20-25 degrees below normal and remain in the 60s across the
northern valleys, while further south temperatures across central
and southwest Utah will remain 10-15 degrees below normal. As the
upper trough axis swings through the area Sunday morning, a chance
for rain (and maybe even snow above 10k feet) will spread across
the northern mountains and perhaps northern portions of the
Wasatch Front as well.

Rising heights in the wake of this trough will result in a warming
trend throughout next week, with hot and very dry conditions
returning midweek.

&&

.AVIATION...

KSLC...Gusty south to southwest winds persist into the evening ahead
of a front. Expect frontal passage roughly 00-02Z Saturday, bringing
a quick gusty northwest shift. Winds will gradually become less
breezy in the following hours with thickening mid level clouds.
Models suggest potential for a period of light southerly to variable
winds between 05-10Z as clouds continue to thicken and lower some.
Additionally, there is a 20-40% chance of showers between 11-15Z.
Northwest winds and gusts pick back up for Saturday afternoon.

REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...Gusty south to southwest winds
continue as a strong cold front approaches. At northern terminals,
this front will pass between around 23Z Fri to 03Z Sat. Mid level
clouds thicken, and winds shift gusty to the northwest as the front
passes, with gusts relaxing some in the following hours. Northwest
to north winds generally expected to persist thereafter, but some
variability possible, especially during any periods of
precipitation. Shower chances will also increase Saturday morning
prior to sunrise, with chances higher at terminals further north.
Southern terminals stay in a prefrontal environment, and a southerly
direction will remain favored.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...A widespread and significant period of critical
fire weather conditions is ongoing across Utah, and will persist
overnight and through Saturday across most of central and southern
Utah. Southwesterly wind gusts approaching 50 mph and RH values in
the 5 to 10 percent range will continue through this evening, with
the greatest threat across zones 493, 495 and 496 where a Particularly
Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning is in effect. Any RH
recovery overnight will remain below 30 percent as southerly winds
remain gusty through much of the overnight hours. Gusts will again
approach 50 mph Saturday across central and southern Utah ahead of
an approaching cold front, and although RH values will trend higher
the strength of the southwest winds will continue to result in
significant critical fire weather conditions through Saturday evening.

Further north, the first of two cold fronts will reach far northern
Utah this afternoon, bringing a marked and strong wind shift to
northwestern portions of zone 478. This front will reach I-80 this
evening bringing a wind shift, with strong gusty winds from the
northwest likely along the Nevada border. More stable air will
bring improved overnight RH recovery to areas north of I-80 tonight,
while recovery remains poor to the south. This front will retreat
northward Saturday morning allowing gusty southwest winds and very
low RH to spread back into northern Utah.

A strong cold front will cross northern Utah Saturday afternoon,
then progress into central Utah Saturday evening. Behind this
front winds will switch to northwesterly as a much cooler and more
stable airmass spreads into the region for Sunday. Ahead of this
front, critical fire weather conditions and very low RH will
redevelop Sunday across south central and southeastern Utah.

A warming trend will follow for much of next week. Initially
gusty winds and low RH will bring local critical fire weather
conditions to central and southern Utah. A return to hot, dry
and potentially windy conditions will follow for the latter half
of next week, with single digit RH and poor recovery becoming
common across the entire area by Thursday.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...Red Flag Warning until midnight MDT Saturday night for UTZ478-
     479-482-484-488-492-495-497.

     Wind Advisory from 6 PM this evening to midnight MDT tonight for
     UTZ101.

     Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for UTZ102.

     Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT Sunday for UTZ489-494-498.

     Wind Advisory until midnight MDT tonight for UTZ115-116-118-119-
     122-123-126>128.

     Wind Advisory from 10 AM Saturday to midnight MDT Saturday night
     for UTZ115-116-118-121>124-126-128>131.

     Red Flag Warning until 3 AM MDT Sunday for UTZ493-496.

WY...None.
&&

PUBLIC...Seaman
AVIATION...Warthen
FIRE WEATHER...Seaman

For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/saltlakecity