SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Freezing temperatures normally seen only during the heart of winter are sweeping across Utah as long-standing records fall in several spots across the state.

National Weather Service meteorologist Monica Traphagen said Tuesday that more records are expected to be broken overnight as temperatures dip even lower before warming up slightly for Halloween.

The National Weather Service says some Utah residents will be driving to work in the snow Tuesday as the state faces the likelihood of record-low temperatures into Thursday.

“We’re basically skipping ahead to January this week,” the weather service in Salt Lake City tweeted Monday.

A cold front moved into Utah early this week. Temperatures across the state are about 20-30 degrees below average, with some locales expected to be well below freezing in the next couple of days.

Traphagen says it was 13 degrees Tuesday morning at Pine View Dam northeast of Ogden, breaking the record set in 1970. Records were tied or broken at three national parks in Southern Utah’s red rock country: Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion national parks.

Snow is expected to accumulate in mountainous areas Tuesday and to a lesser degree in the valleys. Some of the wintry weather also will be accompanied by wind up to 60 mph near St. George and 45 mph around Salt Lake City and southeast of Provo.

Forecasters say residents should be prepared to bundle up, disconnect outdoor hoses from faucets, winterize and drain swamp coolers, and cover any sensitive plants.

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