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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
The death on AF Twins is a sad opportunity for Jim to remind folks about lightning danger.
ReplyDeleteGrinding a mtb that day from Albion Basin up to Sugarloaf pass, the rain and thunder began around 11:30. I had Jim’s previous posts in mind when I turned around. Multiple folks on e-bikes— even a family— kept heading up to the pass, which is probably less than a mile from where the man was killed.