The storms moved over the Oquirrh Mountains around dinner time.
And they brought measurable rain to many sites in the Salt Lake Valley, including a few that reached 0.15 inches. Imagine that!
However, we barely traced at my house and a scant trace was also all that was observed at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Thus, two ugly streaks continue at the airport. The first is the number of consecutive days with a minimum temperature at or above 70ºF. We are now at 15, which is an all-time record. Last night's minimum was 74, so it is likely we'll stretch the record at least another day.
The second ugly streak is consecutive days without measurable precipitation, which now sits at 34. That's not a record, but it's still a long time without a decent shower.
The models have been suggesting that we might have a modest monsoon surge into northern Utah tomorrow. However, they've been fickle on strength and northern extent. This morning's NAM, for example, puts the higher moisture and shower activity right on the Salt Lake County doorstep by tomorrow afternoon.
Bottom line: Do frequent rain dances over the next 36 hours and hope for the best.
Now we are at day 16 w the overnight low above 70. Purgatory.
ReplyDeleteLast night was ridiculous, according to the KSLC automated sensor temp actually increased from 81 at 2:40am to 86 at 3:20. There might be some measurement error, but it sure felt warm in Sugarhouse. There was some rain, not enough to cool things down. And the dewpoint stayed above 50.
Logically, and Jim I'd be interested in your perspective, climate change is not the issue this year relative to last year. Casual observation is we are under a predominantly south/southwest flow which is bringing monsoon moisture but not precipitation. Last year it seemed like we had intervening northwest cold fronts, albeit typically dry, drop out of the Gulf of Alaska, which brought the overnight lows below 70 a day or two here and there during July.
So yes climate change and urban heat island for long term, but this year, I'm hypothesizing, we are under a predominantly southwest flow which may be a tad moister than typical ... but not moist enough to produce enough rain to cool the night time air.
At one point this morning, at KSLC the temp was 90 and the dewpoint was 57.
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts on chances for severe storms over N. Utah the next couple of days?