I've been delinquent on posting about the recent monsoon rains, have now provided measurable precipitation to nearly all locations in the state. Gauge observations of precipitation over the 72-hour period ending at about 8 AM this morning show nearly everyone has gotten something, with a few stations reporting over 1.5 inches.
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| Source: NWS |
In some areas, this has led to flash flooding, especially in southern Utah where such flooding is common during the North American Monsoon. It is a strange combination of beneficial and hazardous weather since precipitation is sorely needed to help vegetation and lessen drought impacts, but can damage property or put lives at risk. Concerning the drought, the latest Drought Monitor shows portions of southern and eastern Utah have gone from exceptional to extreme drought. Statewide, 70% of the state was in exceptional drought last week. Currently that's down to 52%. Progress!
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| Source: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ |
For northern Utah, the pattern continues to look active through the weekend. Be alert and prepared for thunderstorms and flash flooding. Although there is a tendency for such storms to be most frequent in the afternoon and evening, the storms that rumbled through the Salt Lake Valley last night show that in this pattern they are possible anytime of day. These are situations where I take a close look at the weather before venturing out, error on the side of caution if I see things deteriorating, and avoid forays into areas where quick retreat isn't possible. This isn't a situation where you want to be committed in lightning exposed or flash-flood prone areas.
Awesome monsoon season so far. My house in southern Colorado has received 4.9 inches of rain in July (and it is still raining, might hit 5 inches before midnight). And all the smoke from the West Coast wildfires is going north, at least for now. Minneapolis is getting more smoke from western fires than is southern Colorado in recent days.
ReplyDeleteQuite the adventure/mini disaster in the Cove last night; gutters all clogged with hail in seconds and then water just started pouring into the basement as window wells filled up. had to keep the window wells bailed out until the storm ended! The hail also shredded the tops of all garden plants into a fine mulch, never seen anything like it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I opened the door to our basement bathroom last night and stepped in a puddle of water. Somehow our downspout from the gutter outside the window was damaged and water was pouring into the well. I've dug some ditches to help with the drainage until I can fix it properly.
DeleteHail damage in the aves was limited (I think). We only had some short periods of pea-sized hail.