This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
If the end of the Mayan calendar on Friday portends Doomsday, then it could indeed be a cold day in . . . heck. If we all wake up, though, it will still be a cold day in Utah.
You place your climatological bets and takes your chances. Either way — bundle up, Friday's also the first official day of winter. And maybe, Thank God it's Friday, after all.
Those skeptics at the National Weather Service brazenly predict that after overnight lows in the 10-15 degree range, northern Utahns will live to see high temperatures Friday in the upper-30s and low-40s under sunny, if chilly skies.
Southern Utahns looked for highs in the low- to mid-40s after overnight lows in the teens to mid-20s.
The Utah Avalanche Center rated the mountains of Salt Lake County and Provo at "considerable" risk for dangerous snow slides on Friday, while Ogden-area slopes earned a "moderate" risk grade.
Statewide, the Utah Air Quality Division raised its "Green," or healthy breathing banners.
Salt Lake City, after a low of 17, expected a Friday daytime high of 42, up from Thursday's forecast for 38 degrees; Ogden expected readings of 17, 40 and 36 degrees, respectively; Provo 16, 42 and 33; Logan 7, 39 and 29; Wendover 13, 36 and 31; Duchesne -6, 29 and 20; Cedar City 5, 37 and 31; St. George 24, 50 and 44; and Moab 8, 35 and 30 degrees.