Storms, cooler temps in wake of record hot August for Salt Lake City

Thunder. Lightning. Wind. Rain. But at least the forecast for Utah heading toward the weekend is a bit cooler.

The National Weather Service says storm clouds will bring rain, occasionally heavy, to central and southern Utah, but in the northern half of the state, thunderstorms were expected to bring dry lightning — and that prompted forecasters to issue a "Red Flag" wildfire danger warning.

That advisory extends from northern Utah's Logan running west to Wendover, east to Vernal, and then south to central Utah's Delta and Manti areas. The warning was expected to expire at 8 p.m. Thursday, but wildfire risks were expected to remain a concern as the storm system continued to hover over the region through Friday.

All that atmospheric stirring was keeping the air fresh, though, and the Utah Division of Air Quality awarded its "Green," or healthy air rating to the entire state.

The Wasatch Front looked for temperatures to range in the mid- to upper-80s, while southern Utahns expected the mercury to climb into the mid- to upper-90s. That forecast came on the same day NWS confirmed that August was Salt Lake City's hottest on record, with an average temperature of 81.7 degrees; the previous mark was 80.8 degrees, set in 1994.

Salt Lake City's high Thursday was forecast to reach 89, cooling to 85 on Friday; Ogden looked for 87 and 83 degrees, respectively; Provo 90 and 87; Logan 89 and 85; Wendover 88 and 84; Duchesne 80 and 77; Cedar City 84 and 86; St. George 97 and 98; and Moab 91 and 88 degrees.

remims@sltrib.com