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Utah forecast: Records could tumble with heat wave ahead

A hot, dry start to the new work week could bring record-setting temperatures to both northern and southern Utah.

Salt Lake City hit 98 degrees Monday afternoon, tying the date’s 2012 record.

Thermometers along the Wasatch Front will soar into the upper-90s on Tuesday, same as forecast for Monday. Salt Lake City’s records for those days — 99 degrees, set in 2005, and 97, set in 1961, respectively — could be rewritten.

It seems likely the redrocks and high deserts of southern Utah also will challenge previous hot-weather marks. St. George looked for 104 degrees on Tuesday, with 107 forecast for Monday. Records for those days were set in 1998 (106) and 1954 (107), respectively.

By midweek, however, clouds were expected to arrive, driving temperatures away from record-setting levels. The clear, sunny skies will begin to cloud up Wednesday night, along the Wasatch Front and Thursday morning  for Utah’s Dixie.

Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber, Box Elder and Tooele valleys are in the “yellow,” or moderate range for ozone and particulate pollution through the midweek. The remainder of the state is “green,” or healthy, the Utah Division of Air Quality predicts.

The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website had chenopods at “very high” levels, with grass, ragweed and mold “high,” and other allergens either “low” or not registering, as of Monday.