Holy War Fireworks?

I had to spend a few hours in Utah County last night.  My skin began to crawl as I passed south across the county line and my stomach churned when I saw the white letter of the school down south on the hill.  There are places where one should not linger, and Utah County is one of them.  It is best to go down there, kick butt, shut people up, and get out, as the Utes will do tonight.

The Holy War kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 PM MDT.  There is a chance of thunderstorms later this afternoon and evening.  These storms are expected to be scattered, so the pre-game festivities, game itself, post-event celebration by Ute fans, and whining by Cougar fans could go off without a hitch.  On the other hand, the potential for a thunderstorm and related impacts is there should they be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Chances are you have noticed the increase in humidity since yesterday.  At the Salt Lake City Airport, dewpoints yesterday were in the high 30s in the morning and near or below 30 in the afternoon.  The have, however, climbed overnight and have been hanging in the mid 40s today.  Similarly, at the Provo Airport, they are running in the upper 40s. 

It's not a juicy airmass, but it may be enough for some action to get going this afternoon.  The High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) forecast model, for example, shows some convective storms firing up in western Utah and moving into the Wasatch Front around 0000-0100 UTC (6-7 PM), with scattered storms for a few hours thereafter. 

The storms are not widespread, but they will be around.  They could kick off some microburst winds and potentially produce a little lightning.  Precipitation will probably be limited.  Hopefully all will go off without incident, but there is a low but non-zero threat of thunderstorm impacts.  Should a thunderstorm approach, don't linger in the open or other lightning exposed areas, even if precipitation is scant.  Stadiums are not safe during thunderstorms.  Heed the advice of stadium officials, even if those officials are from that school down south.