The heat’s digging in throughout Utah for the weekend. The National Weather Service is forecasting highs of 100 degrees and above through Sunday -- and close to that through next week.
Going into the weekend the Salt Lake Valley logged four 100-degree days in a row.
“The record for consecutive days over 100 is ten straight,” says Eric Schoening, a meteorologist for the weather service in Salt Lake City. “But just this string gets us quite close to the top ten of all time.”
Forecasters tweeted that Friday’s high temperature might break the daily record of 103, a record that was set in 2002.
Overnight temperatures haven’t been much better. The low temperature Friday was 71, 8 degrees hotter than normal.
“So there’s really no relief even in the morning hours,” Schoening says. “It’s been quite warm for people.”
Excessive heat warnings are in place for the Salt Lake Valley and Utah’s Dixie.
There’s also “red flag warning” for about two-thirds of the state. That means a chance of afternoon thunderstorms that could spark wildfires even if winds are light.
