This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Tolstoy once declared that, "He in his madness prays for storms, and dreams that storms will bring him peace."
Well, Leo, if you gagged and wheezed in a Wasatch Front winter inversion, you might be a bit mad; and if not peace, a week-ending storm will clear away smog trapped for the past week in northern Utah's urban valleys.
Nineteenth century Russian counts not withstanding, the Utah Division of Air Quality's projections — in combination with rain and snow showers forecast into the weekend — were encouraging.
After being ranked the worst in the nation for air pollution on Tuesday, and among the worst again on Wednesday, Salt Lake County — still graded as "unhealthy for sensitive groups" on Thursday — will begin to see improvement with the arrival scattered rain showers Thursday afternoon and evening. That storm grows in strength on Friday, with more rain and mountain snowfall expected.
Temperatures along the Wasatch Front over the next couple days will range from highs in the upper-30s to low-40s, with overnight lows in the upper-20s to low-30s.
Southern Utahns, along with continuing good air quality, looked for highs in the upper-50s to low-60s and lows in the mid- to upper-30s. Despite partially cloudy skies, Utah's Dixie was not forecast to get any rain.
The Utah Avalanche Center began Thursday with all regions of the state — except central Utah's Skyline district, which was at "low" — earning "moderate" risk grades for potentially deadly backcountry mountain snowslides.
For more extensive forecast information visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/news/weather/.
Twitter: @remims