This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Near triple-digit heat in the north, and well above the 100-degree mark in the south, combined with bone-dry, windy conditions to put almost all of Utah under a Red Flag Warning for wildfire danger as the new work week began.
From Logan running south through Ogden, Salt Lake City, Provo to the southern Wasatch Front and Zion National Park, and stretching to the Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona borders, the state was at extreme risk for new, fast-moving blazes. Relative humidity was in the single digits in Utah's parched rangelands, high deserts and forests, and winds of 15-20 mph, gusting to more than 40 mph, were expected — along with dry lightning.
The wildfire danger advisory initially was to expire late Monday evening, though continued hot, dry and windy weather will keep the risks for new blazes high throughout the coming week.
Monday dawned in the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys with temperatures already in the mid-70s and on the way to highs near 100 degrees. Isolated evening thunderstorms, along with winds of 10-20 mph, were to usher in Tuesday highs once more in the upper-90s, with Wednesday's forecast an encore.
Southern Utahns will swelter as thermometers soar above 100 degrees. Thunderstorms also will tease the region, bringing humidity to the misery index for Utah's Dixie over the next few days. After Monday's expected high of 103 in St. George, 105-degree readings were predicted both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hot, dry weather is no friend of urban Utahns' lungs, and the Utah Division of Air Quality forecast "yellow," or compromised particulate pollution levels for the metropolitan valleys of Salt Lake, Davis, Utah and Weber counties into the midweek. The remainder of the more rural, less-populated areas of the state earned "green," or healthy grades.
At least allergy sufferers were getting a break. The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website reported that only mold was "high" on its pollen index as of Monday.
For more extensive forecast information, visit The Salt Lake Tribune's weather page at: http//www.sltrib.com/weather/.
Twitter: @remims