Utah Climate Center

The monsoon has fizzled so far this year in Utah. Even so, it’s “been a tale of two summers” where northern Utah has been drier than the southern end of the state.

“It's happening now. We're experiencing it,” said a Utah researcher. Heat higher than historical averages is another sign of how climate change is impacting the state one step at a time.

The hot, dry outlook for this summer’s rainy season shows Utah’s recent string of wetter-than-average years may be coming to an end.

Forecasters expect a quick transition from El Niño to La Niña in the coming months, which could impact southern Utah’s monsoon season and next winter’s snowpack.

It’s uniquely hard to predict Utah’s weather patterns because of where it’s located, but the hive is in the midst of a wet cycle.

The heat maps show temperatures in Salt Lake City can fluctuate by 15 degrees from one part of town to another. The data could help the city better understand how to protect residents as climate change heats up Utah summers.

El Niño is expected to bring a shift to weather patterns across the western United States this year. For some parts of Utah, that might mean a drier summer. But Utahns shouldn’t expect to see much drastic change right away.

“A lot can change between now and the heart of summer,” said Jon Meyer, the assistant state climatologist at the Utah Climate Center.

Utah experiences inversions during the winter every year. This year’s inversion season will most likely be similar to last year.

The Utah State University Climate Center’s inversion forecast is showing the season’s first big spike in probable valley inversions starting next week.…