Fires flamed, billboards and power lines fell and dust flew Thursday in Utah.

A cold front from Nevada blew 60 mph winds into northern Utah and 45 mph winds into southwest Utah and the Sevier Valley.

The strong winds were to end by late Thursday. The National Weather Service said the winds today were to be only 10 to 20 mph for most of Utah. Temperatures were to drop into the 70s, with a high likelihood of thunderstorms and rain from Provo into northern Utah. Central Utah is to be cloudy but no rain is predicted and southern Utah is to be clear.

The Utah Division of Environmental Quality predicted a good air day today in Salt Lake and Davis counties.

Thursday's winds lifted dust and created a low, gray cloud across Salt Lake County. The wind blew a billboard onto the roadway near 600 South and 250 West, shutting down three of the five lanes of eastbound traffic coming off Interstate 15.

Power outages also were a theme Thursday. In West Valley City, 6,100 homes and businesses lost power at various times and 1,700 homes and businesses had the same trouble in Tooele. There was another handful of outages in Ogden Canyon and near the state Capitol.

-- Erin Alberty and Sheena McFarland contributed to this report.