This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Preceded by thunderstorms, torrents of valley rain and mountain snow flurries, northern and central Utah braced for a wet weather cycle that will extend through the region's midweek.
The National Weather Service noted that winds of 15-25 mph will blow the precipitation throughout the Wasatch Front over the next couple days. That could bring some localized flooding, especially ponding on low-lying valley roadways.
Such weather is a study in perspective. The poet T.S. Elliot wrote that, "April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain."
Or, you could welcome it, Led Zeppelin rockers Jimmy Page- and Robert Plant-style, as the "springtime of my loving . . . the sunlight in my growing."
Either way, Mother Nature doesn't care.
Rain began late Tuesday morning, building toward late-afternoon and evening thunder and lightning. That storminess continues through the night and Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures in the upper-50s to low-60s.
Southern Utahns' late Tuesday showers will relent by Wednesday, but unsettled weather will persist, with winds of 20-35 mph gusting to 45 mph at times. Thursday will dawn clear and sunny in Utah's Dixie; highs through the period will be in the upper-70s to low-80s.
The Utah Division of Air Quality awarded "green," or healthy grades statewide Tuesday-Wednesday for all counties, though Washington was forecast for "yellow," or compromised particulate pollution levels as of Thursday.
The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website ranked mulberry as "very high" on its pollen index as of Tuesday, with sycamore, birch and oak at "high" and cottonwood "moderate."
For more extensive forecast information visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/news/weather/.
Twitter: @remims