Scattered storms linger into Thursday with below average temperatures

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Happy Thursday, Utah! The midweek brought record rainfall to parts of Utah and an abundance of flooding in and around the Ogden Valley. Heavy downpours allowed for massive measurable precipitation, and it turned out to be Salt Lake City’s second wettest day of the year. Both Ogden and Salt Lake City picked up more moisture in one day than they average for the entire month of August! We’ve had deep monsoon moisture in place all week, and storms will linger today even with drier air trying to push into Northern Utah. You can expect scattered storms in Northern and Central Utah today, with an elevated threat of excessive rainfall once again. While storms won’t be as widespread today, they will bring heavy rainfall yet again where they do develop.

We will also see temperatures running below average with cloud cover and this wet weather. You can expect low to mid 80s along the Wasatch Front, mid 70s to low 80s throughout central Utah and only low 90s in Washington County. While drier air starts to settle in, we will also see a gradual warming trend as we head toward the holiday weekend. Temperatures will be increasing slightly each day getting closer to seasonal norms, but expect cooler temps through the close of the work week.

With drier air moving into Southern Utah, we will see the flash flood threat decline a bit today but with lower level moisture still in place, we could see the expectation of heavy rain, our flash flood potential is “possible” for our National Parks and surrounding areas where flash flooding is monitored. This includes Red Cliffs in Washington County, Grand Staircase, Natural Bridges, Grand Gulch and all our National Parks. 

Eventually, drier air will set up in Utah with the driest conditions expected over Labor Day weekend with climbing temperatures. Peak heating will be on the holiday with triple digits returning to Washington County and the chance for 90s along the Wasatch Front. By Tuesday, we could see the Four Corners high pull east and open the door again for increasing moisture and storms. We will see, so stay tuned!