Record-Setting Day in St. George, Utah

In St. George, we're used to heat.

In July and August, temperatures soar over 100 degrees and we don't even bat an eye.

The official high temperature in the history of Utah is 117 degrees in St. George. It happened twice -- once just four years ago and before that, back in the 1980s.

With that knowledge, what's the big deal about 74 degrees?

Well, a lot, actually.

Tuesday (Feb. 4) in St. George, the temp is supposed to reach 74 degrees.

That temperature has never been reached this early in February. Never.

Not in the warmth of 2021. Not in the heat of 1985. Temperature recordings have been going on in Utah for more than 100 years.

Tuesday's winter high will top them all.

Last year on Feb. 4, the high temp was 52. Two years ago, it was 57. In 2023, the high barely made it to 50 degrees.

So what's up? According the Cedric Haynes, meteorologist with our news partners at ABC4, "Thanks to the warm airmass and southerly winds, temperatures will remain well above normal for this time of year, about 20 degrees above normal…potentially breaking daily records for both highs and lows in many spots through Tuesday."

For the record, the average high temperature for Feb. 4 historically has been 56.9 degrees, so this "record high" isn't that far off, but Washington County residents are being cautioned to not jump into spring just yet.

"It feels like Spring, but it's not," said one local official. "It's too early to plant flowers or go swimming outside. Remember, it's only February."

On the mind of many locals is the lack of rain, not the high temperature. While stopping short of saying rain is on its way, Haynes did offer this little nugget of hope: "Southwest winds (are) picking up as a Pacific storm nears the California coast ... winds will stay elevated through Tuesday as the next storm inches closer into midweek."

Maybe, just maybe, after the record highs we'll see torrential rain.

Maybe.

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