Current inversion in Salt Lake City will get worse before it gets better

SALT LAKE CITY — The winter inversion in Utah’s capital city will get worse before it gets better.

Forecast data from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality shows the air will remain moderately unhealthy at least through Friday. 

National Weather Service Meteorologist Julie Cunningham said this inversion is typical.

“It’s just a common winter-time inversion,” she said. “We see them most often in December and January when that sun angle is still really low.”

Although the smog is thick, it is not currently coming from the west.

“It doesn’t appear to be any wildfire smoke from California,” Cunningham explained. “We’ve been mainly seeing northerly and north-easterly flow, which doesn’t really bode well for any transport from the southwest.”

A cold front moving in late Friday night bringing some potential snow on Saturday will help clear the air for next week.

Read more:

• Inversions and pollution, what’s the difference?
• Study links inversion to damaging inflammation
• Protecting your health during Utah’s inversion season