Six states will plunge into cooler temperatures this week as a ‘strong cold front’ moves across the western United States.
Parts of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana can expect to see below-average temperatures over the next six to 10 days, with some areas seeing a drop of more than 10 degrees.
Salt Lake City will see the most drastic temperature change, with Tuesday’s high of 67 being 20 degrees cooler than Monday’s high.
And four other states – California, Oregon, Colorado and New Mexico – have a smaller but still significant chance of below-average temperatures too.
The National Weather Service is predicting below-average temps, high winds and storms for six western states this week
‘A change in the weather is coming,’ the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Salt Lake City posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.
‘A cooldown will arrive across Utah and SW Wyoming beginning with a strong cold front on Tuesday, with odds favoring below average temperatures continuing for the following several days.’
The sudden dip in temperatures should come as a relief to people in southwestern states, and particularly in California, as a recent heatwave shot temperatures into the triple digits.
The cold front and the associated winds are related to a low-pressure system moving eastward through California.
This weather system will plunge California into cooler temperatures and likely bring the first substantial snowfall to Yosemite National Park, where several inches are expected to accumulate through Monday.
The cold front comes on the heels of a heatwave that has scorched southern California and neighboring parts of Nevada and Arizona since the first week of September, which sent high temperatures into the triple digits.
This week, temperatures in the Los Angeles region will fall to the mid-70s and 80s when it typically sits in the mid-80s.
In Nevada, chilly, blustery weather has already arrived in the Las Vegas region as of Monday.
In a statement posted on X, the city’s local NWS office stated that a wind advisory was in effect due to ‘gusty south-southwest winds between 35 and 45 mph.’
If you live in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, you can expect more fall-like temperatures this week
NWS Las Vegas also stated that temperatures dropped more than 10 degrees below average and will remain below-average through the week. Average September temperatures in this region typically range from 71 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Highs this week will be in the upper 80s, climbing into the 90s by this weekend. But lows will plummet to the mid-60s for the first half of the week before steadily climbing into the low 70s.
This cold front also delivered high winds to the Salt Lake City region Monday, with windspeeds up to 66 mph blasting some areas, according to NWS Salt Lake City.
‘An approaching fall storm will bring some changes to the weather,’ the office posted on X on Monday. ‘Behind it, highs Tuesday will be up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than today.’
Tuesday is expected to be Salt Lake City’s coldest day this week with a high of 67 degrees. Average September highs in this region are around 81 degrees, NWS senior meteorologist Monica Traphagan told Newsweek.
In Arizona, wind and blowing dust advisories are currently in effect for the western half of Imperial County, with 40 mph gusts to cause ‘areas of blowing dust’ that could locally reduce visibilities to less than one mile,’ according to NWS Phoenix.
On Monday, the high in Phoenix was 102 degrees, adding another day to the streak of consecutive triple-digit high temperatures that this region has seen since May 27.
But the local NWS office predicts that Tuesday could break this streak when highs fall to the mid-90s.
Next week, below-average temps will become less widespread, focusing around Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah and Wyoming
Cooler temperatures and thunderstorms rolled into Boise on Monday, with Tuesday’s daytime highs forecasted to be about 15 degrees below normal for this time of year, according to NWS Boise.
Thunderstorms hit the Boise metro area around 8:45 pm Monday, bringing roughly 30 minutes of heavy rain, wind gusts up to 50 mph, and pea-sized hail.
Cheyanne is under a severe weather warning Tuesday as this cold front increases the chance of a Derecho – a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.
This region hasn’t seen a Derecho since June 2020, according to NWS Cheyanne.
‘Damaging winds over 70 mph are the primary severe threat today,’ the office said in a statement posted on X.
Cooler temperatures will settle in behind this storm, with afternoon highs dropping to the 50s and 60s and a brisk wind likely to linger into Wednesday.
Average temperatures in Cheyanne for September range from 49 degrees to 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Billings region is also under a severe thunderstorm warning Tuesday due to this cold front. Wind is the biggest risk, but there’s a possibility that the region will see hail too, according to NWS Billings.
In Billings, lows will dip into the high 40s this week, slightly below the region’s September average of 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Below-average temps will become less widespread throughout the western US next week, affecting parts of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, according to the most recent NWS six to 10 day temperature outlook, which is valid for September 22 through 26.
As for the rest of the US, the vast majority of states can expect above average temperatures next week, with the exception of East Coast states from northern Florida to southern Massachusetts, where temperatures will be near normal.
