This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Walt Whitman kind of forecast for the end of Utah's week would welcome "the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling."
Leaves of Grass, indeed. The Wasatch Front, its trees full with foliage and bursting with wildflowers in blossom, looked for clear, sunny skies and high temperatures in the upper-60s on Friday. That came in the wake of Thursday's forecast for early, scattered thunderstorms and temperatures near 70 degrees.
Southern Utah, meanwhile, previewed summer weather with Friday's highs expected to flirt with 90 degrees under mostly clear skies, a mirror image of Thursday's forecast.
The National Weather Service did have one exception to this otherwise perfect spring forecast as Utah neared the weekend: a Hazardous Weather Outlook advisory. Rivers and streams throughout the western two-thirds of the state remain swollen, swift and cold as snow melt continues — and forecasters urged extra care with children and pets during outings near waterways.
Air quality statewide was graded as "Green," or healthy, by the Utah Division of Air Quality. Allergy sufferers were getting a break, too, with the Intermountain Allergy & Asthma pollen index rating only grass at "high" levels, and mold at "moderate."
Salt Lake City's high Friday was to hit 68, down from Thursday's forecast for 69 degrees; Ogden looked for 66s, respectively; Provo 67 and 70; Logan 63 and 63; Wendover 72 and 70; Duchesne 68 and 69; Cedar City 75 and 78; St. George 91s; and Moab 79s.
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