This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Northern Utah will get a welcome, if brief break from near record-setting hot weather on Saturday, but the heat will be back Sunday with a sizzling vengeance.
After a breezy Friday forecast of around 90 degrees, Saturday along the Wasatch Front will see high temperatures in the low-80s. Sunday, however, will see the mercury leap back into the mid- to upper-90s under clear, sunny skies.
Even that forecast is downright balmy by comparison to elsewhere in our desert state. A Red Flag Warning was in place Friday afternoon and well into the evening for the eastern Utah region encompassing Green River and Moab. Along with winds of 10-25 mph, gusting to near 40 mph, highs topping 100 degrees combined with extremely dry conditions to elevate wildfire danger.
Then, there's that stretch of redrock oven known as Utah's Dixie. Friday's forecast saw highs of 104 degrees, while Saturday was expected to perhaps be 1 degree cooler before southwestern Utah's thermometers bubble to 107. All that under sunny and clear skies — well, except in the Pine Valley, where a raging wildfire billowed smoke.
The Utah Division of Air Quality had some good news, however. After forecasting nearly universal "yellow," or comprised air quality statewide on Saturday, it predicted "green," or healthy conditions come Sunday.
The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website reported that grass and mold remained "high" on its pollen index, while cattail allergens were "moderate" as of Friday.
For more extensive forecast information, visit The Salt Lake Tribune's weather page at: http//www.sltrib.com/weather/.
Twitter: @remims