Those gunky gusts that sliced through Utah on Monday made the air look awfully yucky, but the hazy skies appeared worse than they really were.
“Fortunately,” National Weather Service meteorologist Alex DeSmet said, “it hasn’t been any worse than moderate conditions.”
A cold front extending from just south of Logan to east of Wendover — coupled with low pressure to the west —- pushed strong, warm winds through the region, DeSmet said. Those gusts carried dust, largely from Utah’s West Desert, into the Salt Lake Valley.
DeSmet said the best bet for those sensitive to reduced air quality was to limit time outdoors.
The strongest valley gust of the day actually swept through Beaver County, where Milford, nearly 200 miles south of Salt Lake City, had winds of 59 mph.
In Salt Lake County, the weather service recorded gusts of 49 mph on the West Jordan bench, 48 mph on the University of Utah campus, and 46 mph at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Winds were forecast to die down by early evening and give way to rain.
The weather service was expecting showers to develop from Idaho down to Dugway, with rain hitting the Salt Lake Valley between 6 and 8 p.m. and sticking around for the remainder of the evening.
“The combination of the decelerating winds this evening and the showers,” DeSmet said Monday afternoon, “will help bring our air quality back … to good levels by later tonight.”