Residents of Salt Lake City should pack their umbrellas for the coming week, as the National Weather Service predicts a series of rain and snow showers leading into the Christmas holiday. Temperatures today hover near 35°F with a 30 percent chance of rain after 2 pm, amidst widespread haze that blankets the city, resulting in a high of nearly 49 degrees. Light winds from the northwest are expected to pick up this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Tonight, rain chances increase to 40 percent, mainly before the witching hour of 2 am while the sky remains predominantly cloudy, and the temperature dips to around 38°F, the wind however will maintain its composure being light and variable, in a calm embrace of the city's bustling evening life. As Monday welcomes a 70 percent likelihood of rain, the day promises a gradual shift to more optimistic skies with the sun peeking through the clouds and a high again near 49 degrees, while southeast winds take a gentle turn around 5 mph before calming down.
The NWS forecasts a partly cloudy Monday night, with a low around 33°F, and a southeast wind taking a slight stroll at 5 mph after midnight; come Tuesday, residents can expect mostly cloudy skies once more as temperatures reach about 53°F complemented by a southeast breeze. Tuesday night turns wetter with rain before the early morning hour of 5 am, transforming into a mix of rain and snow later on, and with it, a higher chance of precipitation at 90 percent that invites less than a half inch of snow to blanket the ground.
Christmas Day itself may gift us with a mix of rain and snow before 11 am which will foster a mostly cloudy sky and highs scraping 40°F, though the likelihood of precipitation sees a significant drop to 40 percent. Subsequent nights grow colder, particularly Wednesday night when temperatures may fall to 26°F. The latter part of the week toys with the advent of snow on Thursday, with precipitation probabilities ramping up before a high of 40 degrees envelops the city, and then again during Thursday night when rain laced with possible snowflakes wrestles with the air until about 11 pm.
As the week concludes, the NWS signals yet more chances of rain and snow, this melody of winter elements laces Friday with its wintry touch, and the possibility persists into Friday night with lows hovering around 31°F, then warmly climbing to a 45°F high on Saturday despite the continual threat of rain and snow.
