United States

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

July 14, 2012; 4:44 AM

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Major cities of the West including, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Boise and Spokane will soon get a break from the sweltering heat.

While temperatures this week have been soaring over the deserts, Great Basin and interior valleys of the West, more typical temperatures are on the way for the weekend.

Triple-digit heat has engulfed the Western states from Spokane, Wash., south to Fresno, Calif., and as far east as Salt Lake City, Utah.

Fresno has climbed to above 100 degrees now for six days straight, leaving many people desperately looking for some relief.

Northwest

A storm system and cold front moving in from the northern Pacific are forecast to bring the quickest cool-down across the Northwest.

This front will also produce a liberal amount of showers and thunderstorms around the area.

The increased cloud cover and cooler air behind the front will bring an end to the 100-degree days in the Northwest just in time for the start of the weekend.

Interior areas will run about 10 degrees lower once the system moves in, while temperatures ease back a few degrees in Seattle and Portland.

Much of this region was cool for summer standards during much of June. Eastern Washington had temperatures averaged more than 2 degrees below normal for last month. Now, the region has averaged more than 10 degrees above average in just the last five days.

Southwest

The Southwest has been sweltering as of late with temperatures averaging almost 10 degrees above normal this week.

Las Vegas set new record high temperatures Monday and Tuesday of 113 and 114 degrees respectively. While Sin City did not break a record on Wednesday, temperatures soared to 114 degrees.

It has been a similar story for Phoenix, Ariz., Riverside, Calif., and Salt Lake City with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees.

Monsoonal moisture that has been invading from Mexico, as Meteorologist Dan DePodwin describes, will add humidity to the Southwest.

This moisture, in combination with the passing front in the Northwest, will bring more seasonable temperatures to the southwest by Sunday's end.

Meanwhile, coastal areas have been spared from the scorching heat. Cities like Los Angeles, Calif., and San Diego, Calif., have experienced a sea breeze, which has kept temperatures close to the seasonable average. These cities will soon be joined by the balance of the West in the coming days.

Despite the upcoming change to less extreme temperatures, a return to the June conditions is not likely.