Utah forecast: Spring is here, far and near

Warm, clean air • Upper 60s north, 70s in the south.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Author John Galsworthy might look at Utah's mid-week weather forecast as heralding spring days of "painful sweetness" that could the awe-struck observer "fling out his arms to embrace he knows not what."

Shaking off its recent spell of cold, even snowy weather, northern Utah looked for high temperatures Thursday in the upper-60s, a couple degrees warmer than Wednesday's balmy forecast.

In southern Utah, spring's arrival was even more evident. The National Weather Service called for highs in the upper-70s on Thursday, same as it forecast for Wednesday.

Break out the walking shoes, oil the chains on the bicycles and get outside to enjoy the warmer weather. And, according to the Utah Division of Air Quality, you can do that breathing deep: air quality statewide was graded at "Green," or healthy extending into Friday.

The only note of caution would be for backcountry skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers. The Utah Avalanche Center, with the exception of the Moab-area mountains where the risk was "low," rated the state's mountains at "moderate" risk for potentially dangerous snowslides.

Salt Lake City's high temperature Thursday was pegged at 68, up from the 65 degrees forecast Wednesday; Ogden looked for 65 and 62 degrees, respectively; Provo 70 and 68; Logan 58 and 55; Wendover 62 and 59; Duchesne 62 and 61; Cedar City 68 and 66; St. George 79 and 78; and Moab 73 and 72 degrees.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims