In June, fire potential will be above normal, especially in southern Utah, according to the National Weather Service. “It’s something we have to watch out for,” he said. That could mean even more flash flooding, particularly in southern Utah. “We have similar conditions setting up this year,” Merrill said. One flash flood derailed a train in Iron County, and another killed a man at a mine in Emery County. In 2021, flash flooding struck across the state - including in Cedar City, Hanksville, Enoch, Zion National Park, Salt Lake City and more. While there is a good chance of rain and thunderstorms this summer, flash flooding risk is more “hit-and-miss, and very localized,” Merrill said. (Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Mario Capecchi Drive on the campus of the University of Utah is closed due to flooding in Salt Lake City, Sunday, Aug. “And the earlier that happens, the longer that hot, dry season,” he said. The snowpack is expected to be gone two to three weeks earlier than normal. “And we’re losing that snow at a faster rate.” “We hit peak snowpack about two weeks earlier than normal,” Merrill said - around March 25, instead of April 7-10. It isn’t helping that this year’s snowpack is melting earlier and more quickly than usual. … It’s going to take a couple of years of above-normal precipitation during the winter months to completely pull us out of this.” “And then January and February was one of the driest periods on record, especially in our mountains. “We started off the season with a bang from October through December,” he said. “While it snowed more this past winter than the year before, it was still below average.”Īccording to the Division of Water Resources, the 2021-22 snowpack peaked at 12 inches of snow-water equivalent (the amount of water that would result if the snow melted) - just 75% of the normal total, 16 inches. Between 90-95% of the state’s water supply comes from winter snow and spring runoff. “In this state, it’s the winter months when we see the bulk of the precipitation,” Merrill said.
ZION WETTER FULL
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pineview Reservoir, a popular recreation spot in Ogden Valley, was just a quarter full as seen on Thursday, Aug. Salt Lake City typically averages 0.95 of an inch of precipitation in June, 0.49 of an inch in July, and 0.58 of an inch in August. Utah is on track to be even hotter this summer - and drier than normal, even though “normal” is very dry. George, those averages are 96 degrees in June, 101 in July and 99 in August. “That is something we can expect once again, like we’ve seen the last several years,” Merrill said, citing climate change.Īccording to the National Weather Service, Salt Lake City’s “normal” high temperatures average 84 degrees in June, 94 in July and 91 in August. The Beehive State is in the “bull’s eye” for the highest probabilities of above-normal temperatures in June, July and August, said Glen Merrill, senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City. Weather across the country this summer will be menacing, riddled with above-normal temperatures, below-normal rainfall and deteriorating drought conditions - which pretty much sums up what meteorologists expect in Utah.
0 kommentar(er)
