Utah forecast: Hot and drier as thunderstorms diminish

Utah's forecast is for more hot weather, but at least it will be a drier heat.

Mind you, Friday's forecast — mirroring that for Thursday — will not yet be the typical parched climate of the nation's second-most-arid state. It will, however, be a marked improvement from humidity more akin to the Deep South that Utah has experienced in the past few days, due to a series of thunderstorms stirring moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northward into the Great Basin.

Northern Utah's temperatures will hit 100 degrees Friday, 1-2 degrees higher than Thursday's expectations, under mostly clear and sunny skies. Overnight lows will struggle to dip past 70 degrees.

Southern Utahns will see some lingering thunderstorm activity, however, with highs approaching 105 degrees not uncommon Friday, echoing Thursday's forecast for the region.

The National Weather Service left in place a Hazardous Weather Outlook for the western two-thirds of the state, warning that the risk for isolated mountain rainstorms could still trigger flash flooding in slot canyons or mud slides on burn-scarred mountain slopes.

The Utah Division of Air Quality offered a mixed assessment for Friday. Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah counties all got "Yellow," or compromised air quality grades while the remainder of the state was "Green," or at healthy levels.

The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma web site rated only mold as "very high" on its pollen index, while other allergens were low in the counts.

Salt Lake City looked for a high temperature Friday of 100, up from Thursday's forecast of 99 degrees; Ogden expected 97 and 96 degrees, respectively; Provo 98 and 97; Logan 98 and 97; Wendover 97s; Duchesne 90 and 86; Cedar City 91 and 90; St. George 102 and 104; and Moab 96 and 95 degrees.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims