Air quality in Uintah County, UT

Includes Vernal · EPA monitor readings, 2021 to 2025 · 36,000 people

Some bad daysMostly ozone
Bad-air days a year
15
days with an AQI over 100

About 1 day in 25. Uintah County has the 2nd most bad-air days of the 14 Utah counties with monitors.

5days unhealthy for everyoneAQI over 150, a year
49AQI on a typical dayGood: fine for everyone
Jan, Feb and Augworst monthsOzone on hot afternoons
216worst day since 2016Feb 12, 2016, ozone
How to read the AQIThe EPA's air score runs from 0 to 500. Higher is worse. Over 100 counts as a bad-air day.
Typical day 49 (Good)Worst day 216 (Very unhealthy)
Good0 to 50Moderate51 to 100Sensitive groups101 to 150Unhealthy151 to 200Very unhealthy201 to 300Hazardous301 to 500

When bad air happens in Uintah County

Average bad-air days in each month, from 10 years of daily readings since 2016. Most fall in January, February and August.

Jan1.8
Feb5.0
Mar0.9
Apr0.2
May0.4
Jun1.1
Jul1.4
Aug1.8
Sep0.8
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0
0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOZONE SEASON0246JFMAMJJASONDOZONE
Fine particles (smoke, soot)Ozone (smog)Bars stack in that order, from the bottom.
See the numbers by month
Average bad-air days a year in each month in Uintah County, from 10 years of daily readings
MonthOzoneFine particlesAll
January1.70.11.8
February5.005.0
March0.900.9
April0.200.2
May0.400.4
June1.101.1
July1.401.4
August1.50.31.8
September0.800.8
October000
November000
December000

The worst day since 2016 was February 12, 2016: AQI 216, from ozone.

What causes it

The pollutant that pushed the AQI over 100 on each of the 134 bad-air days since 2016.

97%ozone
97%Ozone: smog that forms in sunlight on hot days
3%Fine particles: smoke and soot

Most bad days here are ozone days: smog that builds on hot, sunny afternoons.

CDC estimates by month, 2001 to 2022

The CDC's model counts bad-air days at the county's worst spot, from monitors and satellites. Particles (brown) fill the inside of the ring and ozone (blue) the outside.

January: 0.2 smoky days a yearJanuary: 1.7 ozone days a yearJFebruary: 2.4 ozone days a yearFMarch: 0.6 ozone days a yearMApril: 0.0 ozone days a yearAMay: 0.0 ozone days a yearMJune: 0.3 ozone days a yearJJuly: 0.3 ozone days a yearJAugust: 0.2 smoky days a yearAugust: 0.4 ozone days a yearASeptember: 0.0 smoky days a yearSeptember: 0.0 ozone days a yearSONDecember: 0.3 ozone days a yearDbad daysby month
See the numbers by month
CDC estimated bad-air days a year in each month in Uintah County, 2001 to 2022
MonthFine particlesOzone
January0.21.7
February02.4
March00.6
April00
May00
June00.3
July00.3
August0.20.4
September00
October00
November00
December00.3

What helps in Uintah County

Most bad days here are ozone, which builds on hot afternoons. Timing helps most; filters don't remove ozone.

Move workouts to the morning

Ozone peaks on hot, sunny afternoons. Mornings are usually cleaner.

Ozone guide →

Check tomorrow's forecast

AirNow posts an air quality forecast by ZIP code, usually the day before.

AirNow →

Keep one room clean on smoky days

Shut the windows and run an air purifier sized for the room.

Choosing a purifier →

For today's reading and tomorrow's forecast, check AirNow by ZIP code. Its fire and smoke map adds smoke plumes.

Parents: what schools do at each AQI level, and how to plan for smoke and ozone days.

Purifiers catch smoke but don't remove ozone, and smoky days are rare here. If you want one for wildfire season anyway, see the 3 models we'd buy, each with a verified smoke rating.

Every year since 2009

Bad-air days each year. The striped part is days unhealthy for everyone, over AQI 150. The worst recent year was 2023, with 37 bad-air days.

020406080200920106420152020202540204060802009201064202020254
Unhealthy for sensitive groups (101 to 150)Unhealthy or worse (over 150)
See the numbers by year
Bad-air days each year in Uintah County
YearBad-air daysOver 150
200921
20104731
20113219
2012161
20136442
201482
201520
2016117
2017118
2018111
2019225
202050
2021262
202200
20233721
202470
202540

Uintah County and its neighbors

Bad-air days a year, 2021 to 2025. Utah counties with monitors averaged about 16 bad-air days a year, weighted by population.

Questions people ask about air in Uintah County

How often is the air bad in Uintah County?

From 2021 to 2025, monitors in Uintah County recorded about 15 bad-air days a year with an AQI above 100, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. The worst year in that stretch was 2023, with 37 bad-air days.

What causes bad air in Uintah County?

Most bad days here are ozone days: smog that builds on hot, sunny afternoons. Bad days cluster in January, February and August.

Where can I see today's air quality in Uintah County?

AirNow, run by the EPA and its partners, shows the current AQI and tomorrow's forecast for your ZIP code. Its fire and smoke map adds smoke plumes. On a typical day the AQI in Uintah County is about 49, which is good, fine for everyone. Check it most in January, February and August, when bad days here cluster.

About these numbers

Day counts come from the EPA's county air quality summaries, which take the worst reading across a county's monitors each day. Monitors here reported on about 365 days a year from 2021 to 2025. A county is large, and your street can be cleaner or worse. CDC's model, which estimates every county from monitors and satellites, gives the worst spot in Uintah County about 1 high-particle day and about 3 high-ozone days a year from 2018 to 2022. That's well below what the monitors here recorded. The monitors are a direct measurement, so they're the number to trust.

Sources: EPA AirData county AQI summaries (2000 to 2025) and daily county AQI (2016 to 2025); CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Network modeled PM2.5 and ozone (2001 to 2022). Updated November 8, 2026.