This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utahns should get a little taste of spring this weekend as sunny skies push afternoon temperatures in northern Utah into the high 40s.
A high-pressure system building in the mountain West will bring a warming trend through the beginning of next week, according to meteorologist Linda Cheng at the National Weather Service.
On Friday, highs along the Wasatch Front will be about 40, Cheng said. Saturday the mercury will climb to the mid-40s. And by Sunday the high temperature should reach into the high 40s under partly cloudy skies.
The average high temperature in Salt Lake Valley this time of year is 42 degrees.
Low temperatures of about 20 in northern Utah valleys Friday will moderate to lows of about 30 by Sunday.
The warmth will extend to Cottonwood Canyon ski resorts, where highs will be about 40 on Saturday and Sunday with winds of 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Lows at Alta and Brighton on the weekend will be about 20, according to the forecast.
The hot spot will be southwest Utah's Washington County, where weekend highs will creep into the mid-60s. Lows in the St. George area will be in the mid-30s, according to the weather service.
The La Niña pattern that has dominated Utah weather this winter produced a colder than usual January, particularly the first half of the month, according to hydrologist Brian McInerney.
That pattern also left snowpack above normal in most areas of the state. Northern Utah drainages are 129 to 144 percent of normal. The Virgin River drainage in southwest Utah is 158 percent of normal.