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OGDEN -- Heavy Friday morning fog in areas of Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties caused poor visibility for motorists and delays to some passengers arriving at Salt Lake International Airport.
Three passenger jets bound for Salt Lake City had to divert to Ogden-Hinckley Airport, where the fog was not quite as severe.
SkyWest Airlines operated the three planes -- two flights for Delta Air Lines and the other for United Airlines.
The first plane, Delta Connection flight 4543 from Albuquerque, landed in Ogden around 10 a.m. Shortly afterward, another Delta Connection plane, flight 4643 from Chicago, arrived.
United Express flight 6466 from Los Angeles was the last to land at Hinckley airport.
The heavy fog was also reported in western Weber County and along wetlands near Legacy Highway in Davis County, resulting in low visibility for motorists.
No serious crashes were reported because of the fog, but many drivers were forced to drive slower than normal.
The fog was heaviest in areas near Great Salt Lake and was caused by a temperature inversion between the lake level and around 5,500 feet, said Glen Merrill, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.
"It was around 10 to 15 degrees warmer on the benches than on the valley floors," said Merrill, who reported late Friday morning that the temperature in Salt Lake City remained in the 20s while some places in the higher elevations had reached the 40s.
Merrill said the fog is intensified after moisture that is confined to a small area mixes with the cold air.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality rated Friday a "yellow" air-quality day for Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties. The rating is one notch better than a "red" day, which indicates extremely poor air quality and places limitations on use of wood stoves.
Heavy fog caused by a temperature inversion is common in the winter along with Wasatch Front.
Merrill said a weak weather system with stronger winds will move in today and should push out the bad air.
SkyWest passengers remained aboard the planes during the nearly hourlong wait in Ogden before the pilots were cleared to take off and continue to Salt Lake City. The flights arrived there between 11:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., about one hour behind schedule, said SkyWest Airlines officials.
Ogden-Hinckley Airport sees occasional landings by both commercial and military planes when the situation requires it.
In April, an F-16 from Hill Air Force Base had to land at the Ogden airport after the runway at Hill was blocked by another jet with a blown tire.
The F-16 at Ogden-Hinckley ended up having to stay several days after it slid off the end of the runway.
In 2008, Ogden-Hinckley served as a backup landing field for F-16s and other Hill traffic for three months because of runway construction at the base.
In December 1999, a Delta Airlines passenger plane landed safely after losing a tire during takeoff from Salt Lake International Airport. The plane's 127 passengers and its crew were uninjured during the emergency landing.
Lois Olsen, who was having lunch Friday before playing bridge with seven friends inside the Auger Inn restaurant in the terminal, said the sight of the planes brought back memories of when she was able to catch passenger planes out of Ogden.
"I caught planes here in 1957 and in 1962 going to Germany," she said.
"We were military, and they asked if we want to go to Salt Lake or pick us up in Ogden, and I said, 'Hey, Ogden is great.' "
Ogden hasn't had commercial passenger service in more than 30 years.
Gerald Lautenschlager, a mechanic who works at the airport, said the last he could remember was Key Airlines, which was operating commuter routes to Idaho and Brigham City and as far south as St. George.
Six other SkyWest flights were briefly slated to divert to Ogden on Friday, airport officials said, but around 11 a.m., some of the fog had lifted and those planes were allowed to continue to Salt Lake City.
Standard-Examiner reporter Charles F. Trentelman contributed to this article.
