Utah to Flirt with Monsoon Moisture

Following up on the previous post, the latest GFS model forecast suggests that Utah will see it's first surge of monsoon moisture this summer on Sunday.  The precipitable water and 700-mb wind loop below shows the moisture penetrating into southeastern Utah late Saturday and then spreading through most of the central and eastern portions of the state on Sunday.

Gullywashers?  Nope.  This is a modest increase in moisture, so we will mainly see an increase in afternoon cumulus clouds and thunderstorm risk, especially over the mountains.  Dry lightning is a possibility, which is not great for wildfires.

The surge is short lived in Salt Lake, as the forecast presently calls for drier air to move back into the northern part of the state by Tuesday.