This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's forecast in a baked nutshell for the first half of the week? Ask Kool & the Gang: "It's too hot, too hot, lady."
By any measure, lyrical or meteorological, it is way too hot. Near-triple digits along the Wasatch Front are nearly 20 degrees higher than the norm (82) for June. Southern Utah, too, will soar well into the hundreds s as the week begins, or 10-12 degrees higher than the June average temperature for Utah's Dixie of 98 degrees.
As the ironically-named jazz-R&B band advises, "Gotta run for shelter, gotta run for shade." And while you're at it, drink plenty of water, generously apply that sunblock lotion, snug down a wide-brimmed sun hat and keep the outdoor activities to early morning or evening hours.
In Salt Lake City, highs of 99 degrees forecast for Monday and 100 Tuesday both will approach records (102 for each day). Wednesday's 95, while still well above normal, will be far short of any records.
While the week opens with sunny, mostly clear skies and no precipitation in northern Utah, Wednesday's increasing cloud cover heralds a chance of rain and thunderstorms by afternoon and evening.
The precipitation could arrive earlier in southern Utah, and that — combined with the hot weather — had the potential for elevating the misery index for the region. Humidity and triple-digit heat may be the norm for New Orleans, but the redrocks and high deserts of Utah, not so much.
Monday was forecast hot and dry, but clouds early Tuesday bring a chance of rain and thunderclaps — slight, at first, but building through the evening hours and into Wednesday.
The Utah Division of Air Quality lists only Box Elder and Cache counties as "green," or healthy for breathing stretching into the midweek; the remainder of the state was "yellow," or moderate for particulate pollution levels.
The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website reported that grass and mold were "high" and cattails "moderate" on its pollen index as of Monday.
For more extensive forecast information, visit The Salt Lake Tribune's weather page at: http//www.sltrib.com/weather/.
Twitter: @remims