Cold Snap Forecast for Utah: The Next Arctic Blast
In Salt Lake City the coldest week is usually Dec 31 to Jan 6, with a normal low of 24°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was −6°F on Jan 7, 2017.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Salt Lake City.
Normals and records at Salt Lake City International Airport
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Utah reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
Salt Lake CitySalt Lake City International Airport, USW00024127
Dec 31 to Jan 6
24°F
−6°FJan 7, 2017
Oct 28
−22°FJan 25, 1949records since 1948
LoganLogan Cache Airport, USW00094128
Dec 30 to Jan 5
15°F
−30°FJan 30, 2023
Oct 3
−31°FJan 30, 2002records since 1998
Cedar CityCedar City Municipal Airport, USW00093129
Dec 16 to 22
16°F
−15°FJan 6, 2017
Oct 4
−26°FJan 31, 1951records since 1948
Bryce CanyonBryce Canyon Airport, USW00023159
Dec 21 to 27
5°F
−28°FFeb 23, 2019
Aug 24
−32°FJan 13, 1963records since 1948
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Salt Lake City against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 4 Utah reference stations.
At Salt Lake City it is usually Dec 31 to Jan 6, with a normal low of 24°F. At the other reference stations: Logan Dec 30 to Jan 5 (15°F), Cedar City Dec 16 to 22 (16°F) and Bryce Canyon Dec 21 to 27 (5°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Salt Lake City reaches 32°F around Nov 18. The first actual freeze came around Oct 28 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Salt Lake City was −6°F on Jan 7, 2017, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was 11°F. Elsewhere: Logan −30°F on Jan 30, 2023, Cedar City −15°F on Jan 6, 2017 and Bryce Canyon −28°F on Feb 23, 2019. The record at the Salt Lake City station is −22°F, on Jan 25, 1949, in daily records since 1948.
At Salt Lake City a typical recent winter brings 107 nights at 32°F or colder and 14 at 20°F or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Salt Lake City International Airport (USW00024127), Logan Cache Airport (USW00094128), Cedar City Municipal Airport (USW00093129) and Bryce Canyon Airport (USW00023159). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
