Sunday, July 19, 2026

A Tragic Friday and Saturday

Sadly there were six weather-related fatalities in Utah on Friday and Saturday.  A man was killed after being stuck by lighnting on the American Fork Twin Peaks at around 12:20 PM.  

We hiked up Snowbird that morning, reaching the summit around 11 AM.  There were a few sprinkles around at that time.  When we reached our vehicle at around 11:30 we heard the first rumble of thunder.  The strongest radar reflectivity in the Snowbird/American Fork Twins area was observed at 12:02 PM.  It was a fairly small scale cell.  

Source: https://weather.ral.ucar.edu/

Three lightning strikes were observed on the Alpine ridge yesterday (orange dots below).  One was just south of the American Fork Twin.  

Source: lightningmaps.org

Given uncertainties in strike geolocation, that may have been the one.  

On the prior day in southern Utah, a family of five were killed in a flash flood at a campground near Bicknell.  

These are sad reminders of the hazards of monsoon convection.  Let's hope we see beneficial rains in the coming days, but it's likely that flash-flood and lightning hazards will remain a concern.  


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