It's that strange time of year in northern Utah's mountain areas.

As Snowbird, Park City and Brian Head prepare to open for skiing this weekend, golfers are still playing at Wasatch Mountain State Park, thanks to an inversion that has meant warmer air at higher elevations.

Other resorts such as Alta are hoping for more snow to get slopes open for the important Thanksgiving weekend.

They may get a little help Saturday and Sunday when a weak storm is expected to move into northern Utah.

Chris Young, a weather forecaster for the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, said no advisories or warnings have been issued yet. He expects a slight chance of snow Friday, and again after midnight Saturday, with winds blowing some of the bad air out of the Salt Lake Valley.

"We could get 2 to 4 inches at the most at some of the ski resorts," he said. "The majority of it will go north of us...That could change if the storm comes further south and hits us, but the models suggest it's not going to do that. Another storm could move through Sunday night and that could drop a little more snow."

Football fans attending prep championship games Friday at Rice Eccles Stadium, the Boise State-Utah State matchup in Logan on Friday night, or San Diego State at Utah and Air Force at BYU on Saturday should bundle up for the cold but likely won't encounter anything extreme.

Young said temperatures in Logan will be in the low 40s when the Utah State

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game begins, and drop into the upper 30s after the sun goes down. Ute and Cougar fans can expect temperatures in the 40s, with a slight chance of snow or rain.

Warming temperatures ahead of the storm means Utahns can ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon.

"I've worked Thanksgiving Day the last three years," said Wasatch Mountain State Park golf pro Stu Nelson, who was at work Thursday. "It has been 55 degrees. But, looking at the extended forecast, if we get any snow coverage, golf will be done. The way things are going, we will probably wrap things up Friday. We've had frost delays until 11 a.m., and if we get 2 or 3 inches on the ground, it probably won't melt."

Ski resorts are gearing up for the start of the season, with most relying on man-made snow supplemented by a few early storms.

Snowbird is scheduled to open Friday, with the Gadzoom chair accessing intermediate and advanced terrain, and Chickadee for beginners.

Alta also planned to open Friday but that date has been pushed back. The Little Cottonwood Canyon resort hopes to be open next Wednesday in time for Thanksgiving.

Brian Head opens three runs off Chair 3, and its Jibberace Terrain Park on Saturday. Wolf Creek in Eden has one of four lifts operating on a 16-inch base of mostly man-made snow. Brighton has 10 runs and three lifts open, while Solitude has three lifts and three runs open.