SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Torrential rain brought flash flooding to portions of southern and central Utah, prompting neighbors to volunteer in their communities.
Wednesday afternoon and into the evening storms made their way eastward across the Beehive State, with the most torrential rain seen in the south. Isolated storms plagued cities in southern Utah with flash floods, turning roads into streams and streams into raging rivers. Short Creek rose a whopping 3.5′, making the currents dangerously fast. Hildale saw 1.1″, a scary scene as Hildale’s geography can bring dangerous floods. One of the hardest hit towns, Kanab, had 1.5″ inches dumped on them, bringing flash flooding in the city.
The City of Kanab posted to its Facebook page Wednesday night. During this storm, many volunteers came together to sandbag. On a Facebook post, the city expressed its gratitude to the citizens of Kanab, “Thank you to all those out doing service for your neighbors today. The community members who are filling sandbags, shoveling driveways, and pumping water out of their neighbor’s home are evidence of how awesome it is to live in Kanab.”
The National Weather Service issued several flash flood warnings and flood advisories throughout Wednesday evening. Hildale, in southeast Washington County, was one of the areas impacted with reports of one to two inches of rain in a short amount of time. Wayne County also had a flash flood warning issued, encompassing Hildale and Capitol Reef NP. Emery County saw one issued Wednesday evening because of heavy precipitation and runoff from surrounding areas, impacting Ding, Dang, Ramp, and Cistern slot canyons. Heavy rain also prompted a flood advisory for the western end of Uintah County near Ouray.
