Given the growing inversion that has choked and cloaked the valley in the past week, it remains, well, unclear whether spectators at the Olympic opening ceremony will get to enjoy one of Utah's most recognized panoramic views, the Wasatch Mountains.
Inversions occur when air cooled by ice and snow on the ground becomes trapped below warmer air. The longer the inversion, the dirtier the cold air becomes. The situation is further aggravated by cloud cover that prevents the sun from warming the ground and stirring up the stagnant air.
While February usually offers Wasatch Front residents a reprieve, this year conditions are extending Utah's most unpleasant wintertime event.
And temperatures will remain cold ? in the mid-20s to low 30s "at best" ? making an extension of the inversion certain unless atmospheric conditions change.
On average, the Wasatch Front gets only two days of thick fog in February, said Mark Eubank, head meteorologist for KSL-TV and the official chief meteorologist for the Games.
"It's awful now, but as soon as we get the next rain or storm, it'll sweep away, so I think once the cameras start rolling, it'll look a whole lot better."
Whether that happens remains up in the air.
"We need some very cold air aloft to come in and remove the (warm-air) lid that's trapping the cold air, or we need a strong wind to come in and blow it out of here," said Larry Dunn, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City. "But it doesn't look good for even Thursday, maybe even longer."
Maybe even during the . . . ?
"Don't say it!" he said.
All he would say about the start of the Olympics on Friday is "cross your fingers."
Additionalinformation:
FROM KSL:
Mark Eubank's weather forecast for Olympic Stadium
See the inversion-education video
FROM THE DESERET NEWS ARCHIVES:
Inversion could dull luster of the Games
Toxic Utah: The air in Utah is cleaner than it has been in decades
Annual red-light/green-light program
A storm coming out of the West is headed this way, but its main track is slightly north of northern Utah, Dunn said. "We're on the southern edge of it. Our best chance is, it looks like, on Friday. And while clouds are very likely, whether anything falls out of them is only 30 percent."
That's why December and January are peak months for inversions ? shorter days, less sun, more snow.
The resulting levels of pollution recorded on Monday in tiers blanketing valleys floors throughout the Wasatch Front led the state Division of Air Quality to impose "red" no-burn days for Salt Lake and Davis counties, and a "yellow" no-burn day for Weber and Cache counties. Red prohibits wood burning in stoves and fireplaces; yellow asks residents to voluntarily cut back. Health advisories cautioning residents with respiratory problems not to stay outside too long also were issued for all four counties.
"This is the seventh day of the inversion, and the (pollution) values have increased gradually," said Bob Dalley, manager of the air-monitoring center for the state's air-quality division. But he said it is not unusual for inversions to set in during February, or to impose red burn conditions for Wasatch Front communities during the month.
And then he said what no one wants to hear when the world is about to get its first collective look at Salt Lake City and its surroundings.
"It's not unusual for us to go two weeks, even three weeks in an inversion, even in February," Dalley said. "We've had them set up harder before, we've also had them set up more quickly.
"So this is a pretty typical inversion ? though the timing, I'll admit, is poor."
E-MAIL: nwagner@desnews.com