This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Hang on to your hat, your children, and your whining Shih Tzu, because much of Utah is in for a really, really windy end to the work week.

The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning encompassing the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, the Great Salt Lake Desert and mountains, as well as west-central and southwest Utah. That warning, which predicts steady winds of 30-40 mph and gusts topping 60 mph, lasts through 10 p.m. Friday.

A Wind Advisory is in place for the northern and southern Wasatch Front and Utah's Dixie and Zion National Park. Also effective through 10 p.m. Friday, the advisory forecasts winds of 25-35 mph, with gusts approaching 50 mph.

The Salt Lake and Tooele valleys saw breezes of 10-20 mph usher in Thursday morning. The forecast was for those gusts to build to near 30 mph, escorting thunderstorms and isolated rain showers into the region by the afternoon and evening. Nonetheless, high temperatures Thursday were pegged at near 80 degrees along the Wasatch Front.

Friday's forecast for northern Utah called for a windy encore, with highs again near 80 under partly cloudy skies.

Look for the same unsettled pattern in southern Utah as the weekend approaches. After Thursday's highs near 90 degrees and winds of 10-25 mph, Utah's Dixie expected stronger winds (25-35 mph) on Friday, with high temperatures dipping a few degrees from the previous day.

While all that wind might allow the aforementioned puppy to finally catch its tail, it did little to alleviate compromised air quality. Only Washington and Carbon counties (graded "green," or healthy) escaped the otherwise statewide "yellow," or moderate particulate pollution rating in place going into the weekend.

The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website reported that oak and mold were at "moderate" levels on its pollen index, but other allergens were not a factor as of Thursday morning.

For more extensive forecast information, visit The Salt Lake Tribune's weather page at: http//www.sltrib.com/weather/.

Twitter: @remims