Weekend weather roller coaster will bring record temps

Get ready to barbecue Saturday — and maybe ski on Sunday?

"It's the spring roller coaster," said meteorologist Glen Merrill.

Following a cloudy Friday with temperatures in the mid-60s, the National Weather Service is predicting near-record-breaking temperatures throughout Utah on Saturday, with the mercury possibly approaching 80 degrees in the Salt Lake Valley and 85 in the St. George area.

With the warm temperatures, though, will also come some high winds. Gusts could reach 45 mph or higher in the western valleys throughout the state, especially in the afternoon and into the evening.

And those winds are bringing in a storm. The temperature on Sunday could drop up to 40 degrees, to a predicted high of 44, and there's a 70 percent chance of snow, according to the weather service.

Utah's north and central mountains could see 3 to 8 inches of snow, though Merrill said he's not expecting any accumulation in the valleys.

Temperatures should slowly warm back up next week, reaching the mid-60s to low-70s by Wednesday.

lwhitehurst@sltrib.com

Twitter: @lwhitehurst