This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
English poet Valerie Dohren might see Utah's forecast for the new work week this way: "After the rain the air is sweet, with glist`ning pools beneath my feet."
Indeed, after Monday's smoggy start, northern Utah's urban valleys looked for a wet break — those "silken webs with crystals strung," as Dohren puts it — from inversion-trapped pollution. Storm activity on Tuesday, extending into Wednesday, will bring atmosphere-scrubbing rain to the valleys and fresh, albeit light snow in the mountains.
While air quality should improve as the week progresses, Monday still brought a mandatory air action alert for the Wasatch Front. The elderly, very young and those with compromised lung function were urged to restrict outdoor activity, while outdoor burning and use of solid fuel stoves and furnaces was banned and commuters were asked to choose mass transit over private vehicles.
The Utah Division of Air Quality rated Salt Lake, Davis, Cache, Weber, Box Elder and Utah counties in the "yellow," or moderate category. Only Washington, Carbon, Duchesne and Uintah counties earned "green," or healthy air grades.
High temperatures Tuesday for the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys were to range into the mid- to upper-40s — the same as Monday's forecast — with overnight lows in the low-30s. The yearned-for rain is expected to arrive early Tuesday afternoon and continue on Wednesday.
Southern Utahns also expected precipitation beginning Monday night and resuming throughout Tuesday. High temperatures were forecast in the 60s and overnight lows in the 40s.
The Utah Avalanche Center's risk assessment was "low" for all state mountain areas on Thursday, with the exception of the Moab district, which was "moderate."
For more extensive forecast information, visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/weather.
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