This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Matsuo Basho likely would see Utah's glorious, warm spring midweek as a poetic paradox of fleeting rebirth, and the caress of the infinite.
"How I long to see, among dawn flowers, the face of God," the 17th century Japanese poet wrote.
Not a bad way to see the daytime highs approaching 80 degrees on Thursday, and the 10-20 mph breezes nudging clouds the Wasatch Front's horizons. That forecast came on the heels of a near-paradisaical Wednesday, when temperatures hovered in the mid-70s under clear, sunny skies in the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys.
However, a more contemporary haikuist, like Rachel Dickinson, might better capture what's ahead for southern Utahns: "It's going to be, hot hot hot hot hot hot hot, next couple of days."
After Wednesday brought highs in the mid-80s to Utah's Dixie, Thursday's forecast called for the mercury to pulse toward 90 degrees under clear, sunny skies.
The Utah Division of Air Quality issued "yellow," or moderate particulate pollution grades for Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Washington counties, but the remainder of the state earned "green," of healthy air quality assessments through the remainder of the work week.
The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website reported that mulberry pollen was "very high" as of Wednesday, with oak "high" and sycamore "moderate."
For more extensive forecast information, visit The Salt Lake Tribune's weather page at: http//www.sltrib.com/weather/.
Twitter: @remims