I love the mountains, but one drawback in the Salt Lake Valley is the occasional temperature inversion when cold air settles in the valley, covered by a layer of warm air. The air temperature is inverted from the normal pattern where air cools with increasing altitude. The result is a lack of convection (rising air) that traps particulates, emissions, and vapor producing a murky smog. The mountains act like a basin keeping the cold air from escaping. The inversion can last for days or weeks until a storm clears out the cold air.
View of Salt Lake Valley and Oquirrh Mountains, taken by my son this afternoon --->
