This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The late comic George Carlin, who opined that there was a fine line separating heaven from hell, might appreciate Utah's contrary, topsy-turvy, faux winter weather of late.
The National Weather Service predicts the Wasatch Front will see high temperatures upper-40s to low-50s as the work week ends, along with overnight lows in the 30s — a far cry from January's average high in Salt Lake City of 29.5 degrees, and average low of 21.6 degrees.
On Tuesday, the state's capital even broke a 1998 record for warmest Jan. 27, climbing to 58 — 3 degrees better than the old mark.
Salt Lake City, which is forecast to hit 48 on Friday under cloudy skies, up a degree from Thursday — won't be setting any new records in the days ahead, but it still will be about 20 degrees warmer than the norm for this time of year.
Southern Utahns can even swap their coats for sweaters heading toward the weekend. St. George expected highs in the 50s and 60s, though Utah's Dixie will be getting rain Thursday night through Friday.
But you never know. Weather forecasting, while far advanced from the old "red sky at morning, sailors take warning" days, still proves an inexact science at times. Indeed, only Carlin's own meteorological musings might hold the record for 100 percent accuracy: "Forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning."
The Utah Division of Air Quality keeps its predictions more specific to how easy, or not, it will be to breath in Zion heading into this weekend. Statewide, DAQ is hoisting its "green," or healthy air quality banners.
As of Thursday, the Utah Avalanche Center's risk assessment was "moderate" for the mountains above Logan, Ogden and Moab, while the rest of the state's backcountry slopes earned "low" risk grades.
For more extensive forecast information, visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/weather.
Twitter: @remims