This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Maybe the National Weather Service, ever that sentinel of atmospheric crises with its storm, flood and tornado warnings, should also issue advisories for meteorological bliss.
For instance, the forecast ending this week and going into the next would warrant an "Unbearable Lightness of Being Watch." Certainly, it wouldn't be a "warning," unless you're up for a Nietzchean dispute over the value of The Moment.
So, here are the facts, Friedrich: Friday's forecast for the Wasatch Front calls for sunshine, an afternoon sprinkle or two, and high temperatures in the mid-60s — a few degrees warmer than a partly cloudy Thursday. Saturday and Sunday will be more of the same; indeed, the trend will extend through all of next week.
So, if Nietzche was right about such moments being just "eternal recurrence" — and not, in the landscape of the infinite, unique — perhaps all of us truly are just Sisyphuses rolling that boulder up an unconquerable hill.
Still, as Albert Camus, another philosopher handy with a pen, put it: "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
Be all that as it may, mere mortals usually settle for temporal happiness. That will likely be true for northern Utahns, and especially for denizens of the state's southern reaches.
Utah's Dixie looked for the mercury to surge all the way to 80 degrees on Friday, repeating Thursday's sunny and clear forecast. The weekend will bring upper-70s to low-80s, a trend that will continue through the coming week as well.
The Utah Division of Air Quality throws in "green," or healthy breathing conditions statewide extending into the weekend.
The Utah Avalanche Center put the Logan district at "considerable" risk for backcountry snowslides as of Thursday, but the remainder of the state's mountains were rated "moderate" for avalanche danger.
For more extensive forecast information visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/news/weather/.
Twitter: @remims