SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Tuesday, Utah! Air quality has improved and today, storm coverage will increase.

The bottom line? Above-average warmth with more widespread storm activity in Northern and Central Utah.

An upper-level trough meanders through the Intermountain West and a southwesterly flow brings gusty winds for parts of the state and helps move smoke, while also triggering more widespread storm activity for Northern Utah. Expect more moisture, more energy, and more warmth throughout the work week. 

We get scattered storms throughout northern Utah while we will likely see isolated activity down south. The Storm Prediction Center listed a marginal risk of excessive rainfall that could lead to flooding in the northern half of Utah and in northeast Nevada. 

Isolated storms in Southern Utah also bring the chance of some possible flash flooding at the Mighty Five and recreation areas in southern Utah including the swell, the staircase, and Lake Powell. For any backcountry hiking plans that involve slot canyons and dry washes, it’s important to have multiple ways to receive warnings and have a plan. 

Outside of any wet weather, today will bring mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies as daytime highs climb to roughly 5-10 degrees above seasonal norms with most reaching the 70s and 80s outside of mountain areas. St. George will once again come in the warm spot with a high in the low 90s. As we go into tonight the wet weather potential will begin to drop for most, but it won’t go away completely. We could even see passing showers with maybe a few rumbles overnight with the best chance being in northern Utah.

The wet weather potential tomorrow won’t be quite as high, but the overall pattern won’t look too different with scattered to isolated storms, with the chance of storms hanging around for the entire work week. This is one of those patterns where some may see multiple rounds of wet weather from today through Friday while some get very little or nothing. Regardless, stay weather aware of the potential for storms. 

FLOOD ALERTS

Warming temperatures this week mean that flood concerns continue with multiple flood watches and warnings. We currently have three flood warnings in effect.

The warning for the Bear River in Rich County has been extended through next Friday. The flood warning for the Sevier River near Hatch and the flood warning for the South Fork of the Ogden River near Huntsville remain in effect until further notice. 

A Flood Advisory is in effect for the Bear River as farmland and roads see minor flooding near Corinne. We also have a flood advisory in Eastern Utah for the Dolores River and the Colorado Rivers near Cisco that’s causing some minor flooding in Grand County.

The Flood Watch for the Green River near Jensen has been upgraded to an advisory one that will continue through the weekend. A Flood Watch continues for Little Bear River below the Hyrum Dam and the low Weber River near Plain City.

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 alert, 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!