This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Poet James Russell Lowell was asked, "What is so rare as a day in June?" His answer: "Then, if ever, come perfect days."
There, Utahns, is your forecast as the first month of summer unfolds to warm, clear, sunny skies not unlike the state's flower, the Sego Lily.
Tuesday dawned with only wisps of clouds and progressed toward a bright afternoon and highs in the upper-70s along the Wasatch Front. Wednesday's forecast again called for sunny, clear conditions and high temperatures in the low-80s, and on Thursday, the mercury will climb to near 90 degrees in the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys.
"Whether we look, or whether we listen," Lowell wrote, "we hear life murmur, or see it glisten." So, let's look to southern Utah, where those perfect June days will best be experienced with cutoffs, sandals, hats, and lots of sunscreen lotion.
Highs on Wednesday will flirt with triple digits in Utah's Dixie, up a few degrees from Tuesday's temperatures. On Thursday, the region's thermometers will climb to 102 degrees — all under clear, sunny skies.
Perfection falls short, however, when it comes to particulate pollution levels. The Utah Division of Air Quality, with the exception of "green," or healthy grades for Box Elder, Cache and Tooele counties, rated the rest of the state in the "yellow," or compromised zone through the midweek.
Grass and mold pollen were "high" on the Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website as of Tuesday, with oak at "moderate" allergen levels.
For more extensive forecast information, visit The Salt Lake Tribune's weather page at: http//www.sltrib.com/weather/.
(To read Lowell's poem, "What is So Rare As a Day in June," in its entirety, visit http://www.vanyamelda.com/poetry/what_%20is_so_rare_as_a_day_in_june.html)
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