This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Forget calling it a "warming trend." Utah is about to be shoved into Ma Nature's oven.
The National Weather Service underscored that forecast for rising temperatures by putting almost all of the state under a "Red Flag" warning beginning Monday. Relative humidity was expected to dip as low as 10 percent throughout Utah — in other words, bone dry conditions prevailed.
Add to that the heat and winds of 15-25 mph, with gusts above 35 mph, and forecasters warned that the Beehive State had the perfect recipe for potentially explosive wildfires.
In northern Utah, temperatures Tuesday were expected to hover around 90 degrees, mirroring Monday's forecast. Southern Utahns looked for highs nearing triple digits. Nowhere in the state was there a hint of rain clouds on the horizon.
Hear this: By mid-week, those temperatures will seem cool by comparison, with the mercury expected to top 100 degrees in northern Utah and hover near 110 degrees in the southwestern corner of the state.
At least air quality, compromised over the weekend in several locales, was expected to improve. The Utah Division of Air Quality hoisted its "Green," or healthy breathing banners statewide as the work week got under way.
Allergy sufferers, too, were to get a break: the Intermountain Allergy & Asthma web site rated only grass pollen at "moderate" levels, with other allergens not a concern.
Salt Lake City's Tuesday high temperature was pegged at 88, down slightly from Monday's 91 degrees; Ogdenites expected highs of 82 and 86, respectively; Provo 88 and 87; Logan 81 and 83; Wendover 84 and 79; Duchesne 85 and 84; Cedar City 85 and 82; St. George 97 and 94; and Moab 93 and 94 degrees.
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