A Trough!

It's always exciting in the dog days of summer to see a trough embedded in the midlatitude westerlies pay a visit to Utah.

The GFS forecast below shows the trough moving through Utah at 1800 UTC (1200 MDT) August 8 (today).  At 700 mb there is even...wait for it...a temperature gradient with cold air advection (i.e., the transport of cold air into the area).  

It's difficult to find evidence of a well-developed front at the surface, but there is evidence of some enhanced northerly or northwesterly flow over the west desert and along portions of the northern Wasatch Front at around 8 AM this morning.  Winds in the Salt Lake Valley, which are often southerly or southeasterly in the morning if there's no large scale forcing, show a bit more disorganized character.   

That could reflect some of the showers that moved through, but also the fact that the surface trough is nearby or just downstream.  

The NWS forecast for today calls for scattered showers this morning and then sunny skies this afternoon with a high of...wait for it...81°F!  

ENJOY!