SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Thursday, happy meteorological summer and happy June, Utah!  After a few isolated storms Wednesday, we have the chance for scattered thunderstorm activity thanks to a system from the Desert Southwest that continues to increase moisture in the state.

The bottom line? A progressive weather pattern takes hold today with increasing wet weather potential. 

Isolated showers and thunderstorms, mainly from this afternoon into the early evening hours, are expected once again and will be more widespread than yesterday. Today and tomorrow, we get two systems bringing more of an impact to Utah. We have the low-moving system to our south with another disturbance dropping in from the northwest, so statewide storm potential shows up and opens the door for a stretch of active skies.  These storms and showers will be hit or miss, but if you have any plans outside, be sure to stay weather aware.

Overall, wet weather will favor the northern half of the state to close the week, but showers and storms will be possible down south as well. With increasing rain potential, flash flooding potential increases. The Mighty Five National Parks will face the possibility of flash flooding today with the exception of Canyonlands and Grand Gulch. It’s not the time to be in slot canyons or other low-lying areas as storms develop. 

Daytime highs in northern Utah will also trend near average or a few degrees below it today and through the first part of the weekend. For those that get through the day dry, we’ll mainly see partly cloudy skies with breezy conditions across the state. Daytime highs will range in the 70s and 80s for most with low to mid-80s along the Wasatch Front. St. George will actually trend a little cooler with upper 80s as a straight southerly flow will lead to upslope cooling.

Heading into the weekend the chance for showers and storms will likely drop a bit, but it won’t be going away. We could very well hold onto the chance for daily showers and thunderstorms as daytime highs continue to range in the 70s and 80s for most of next week. Stay tuned!

FLOOD ALERTS

Spring runoff continues in Utah and flood concerns remain with multiple flood watches and warnings. We currently have two flood warnings in effect.

The warning for the Bear River in Rich County has been extended through Friday. The flood warning for the Sevier River near Hatch is in effect until further notice.

To go along with the flood warnings, we have three flood advisories in effect. These advisories include the Logan River near Logan, the Bear River near Corinne, and the Duchesne River near Randlett.

Over the last couple of days, we have seen a few cancelations of flood alerts. Those include the south fork of the Ogden River near Huntsville, the Green River near Jensen, and the Colorado River in Grand County.

For context, a flood warning means that flooding is either occurring now or is expected, an advisory means that either minor flooding is occurring or that the waterway is above action stage with the potential for flooding, and a watch means that flooding is possible. Even for waterways not in alerts, they will continue to run high, fast, cold, and extremely dangerous as our snowpack melts and as water is released from reservoirs. Be sure to keep a safe distance from raging waters.

Stay on top of all of Utah’s changing weather and flood concerns with Utah’s Most Accurate Forecast both on-air and online. We are Good4Utah!