Weekend forecast for Utah a mixed bag of sun, rain, wind

Don't like the weather you see this Memorial Day weekend at a particular moment? Wait a while — it will change.

At differing times Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Utah's forecast varied from sunny, warm and dry to cloudy, windy and wet. Thunderstorms and rain were on stage from north to south, sharing the climatological spotlight with bright, occasionally sunny skies.

Along the Wasatch Front, Sunday's forecast — after a blustery, periodically wet Saturday — called for highs in the low 60s with morning rain showers, afternoon thunder and lightning giving way to clearing weather at night. Memorial Day's expectations for northern Utah included mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s.

In southern Utah, Saturday's windy, thunderstorm-laden, low 70s forecast extended into Sunday morning but was to give way to clearing skies and highs in the upper 70s. Memorial Day in Utah's Dixie was expected to provide highs in the mid-80s under almost cloudless horizons.

The winds prompted forecasters to issue "Red Flag" warnings for several spots throughout the state, including the Price and Green River areas of central and eastern Utah, southern Utah's Escalante area and the environs of Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in the southwest.

In the eastern Utah city of Moab, a popular holiday destination for outdoors recreationists, afternoon winds kicked up a dust storm that blanketed the area and cut visibility.

Air quality statewide over the holiday weekend was rated "green," or satisfactory, according to the Utah Division of Environmental Quality.

Salt Lake City's high temperature Sunday was predicted to hit 63, down a bit from Saturday's forecast for 65, with 73 degrees forecast for Memorial Day in Salt Lake City; Ogden looked for 61, 64 and 71, respectively; Provo 63, 66 and 74; Logan 58, 65 and 69; Wendover 63, 61 and 72; Duchesne 63, 69 and 71; Cedar City 65, 59 and 73; St. George 78, 74 and 85; and Moab 74, 81 and 81 degrees.

remims@sltrib.com