This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The air out there, sucks. Really, because if you have a breathing disorder, are elderly or very young, the mere act of breathing along the Wasatch Front on Wednesday could be a sickening experience.
That's because of the dreaded, seasonal air inversion trapping cold, polluted brown haze over the valleys of Salt Lake and Davis counties. Smog and particulate levels are on the rise, earning those regions a "Yellow," or compromised air quality rating from state monitors.
Wednesday's air quality in Weber County was expected to be even worse: "Red," or downright unhealthy.
The Utah Division of Air Quality advises the elderly, those with lung ailments and the very young to avoid excessive outdoors exertion. If you must venture out, officials ask that you use mass transit if possible, or at least limit your driving, and delay use of wood-burning stoves.
The National Weather Service does not offer respite for the inversion conditions anytime soon, either. Thursday's air quality report also predicted unhealthy breathing conditions along the Wasatch Front, and a hoped-for atmosphere-scouring, southwesterly air flow is expected to arrive until Friday.
Northern Utah's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, highs in the mid-50s and lows in the upper-30s on Wednesday.
Southern Utahns enjoy "Green," or healthy air quality ratings for Wednesday under partly sunny skies with highs in the mid-60s and lows in the upper-30s.
The Utah Avalanche Center, meantime, rated the risks for dangerous snowslides in the mountains as low statewide, with the exception of the Uinta Mountains, which earned a "moderate" grade.
Salt Lake City expected a high temperature of 55 on Wednesday, up from Tuesday's 48-degree forecast; Ogden 53 and 48, respectively; Provo 59 and 49; Logan 52 and 45; Wendover 48 and 43; Duchesne 48 and 49; Cedar City 57 and 58; St. George 64 and 65; and Moab 58 and 57 degrees.