Purgatory Ain't So Bad

With us sitting ski purgatory with an 11" of snow at Alta Collins enough to screw up high country mountain biking and hiking but not enough to enable early season skiing, we're fortunate that the weather over the past few days as simply been spectacular for hiking and mountain biking in the foothills.  Some scenes from the BST yesterday are below.

There is something rotten, however, in the state of Denmark (er, Utah), and that is increasing smog as we slowly approach what is known colloquially as inversion season.  Here's a view looking west yesterday.  The smog is most apparent when the sun is in front of (rather than behind) you.  This is a consequence of what is known as forward scattering of the visible radiation.  In addition, I suspect the particular matter concentrations are greater in the afternoon over the Great Salt Lake, western Salt Lake Valley, and Tooele Valley because the airmass over the Great Salt Lake this time is often cooler, resulting in less vigorous mixing through a shallower layer.  

Looking west from the BST above North Salt Lake

There is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms later today, with scattered showers and thunderstorms possible tonight, Monday, and Monday night as the last gasp of the 2018 monsoon moves through.  After that, the ridge returns.  There's always hope that something slips through the net, and one can find an ensemble member or two that forecasts this to happen, but the odds favor a continued waiting game for the next big mountain snowstorm through the next week.  Remember that the Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop is next week (info here).