The January thaw came before the freeze: Friday’s high of 56 degrees at the Salt Lake City International Airport tied the record for Dec. 30 set in 1996.
And the low of 39 was only three below the record for the date of 42 degrees, set in 1933, according to meteorologist Eric Schoening, National Weather Service.
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The average high for this time of year in Salt Lake City is 36. The average low is 20, he said.
But more season temperatures are lurking. Northern Utahns can expect early-morning rain and snow showers Saturday with winds gusting to 25 mph for the rest of 2011.
The forecast for New Year’s Day calls for sunny skies with highs in the 40-degree range.
On the southern end of the state, temperatures will hover around the high-40s to near 60 degrees for the final day of the year, while the first day of 2012 promises sunny skies and high temperatures in the upper-50s.
However, the Utah Avalanche Center increased its call for vigilance, ranking the Logan area’s peaks at "orange" or considerable risk for dangerous snow slides. Ogden, Salt Lake City, the western Uintas and Provo districts earned a "yellow" or moderate rating, and Moab had a "green" or low risk grade.
Air quality was expected to improve as 2011 wound down. Salt Lake City, Davis, Box Elder, Uintah and Weber counties will be "green" or healthy air ratings into the weekend, according to the Utah Division of Air Quality. Cache, Utah and Tooele counties also will be "green" air quality for the same period.
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