This is pretty rare! It is August 20 and Officials already had to close roads due to white out conditions and ice in Utah and Colorado. Pretty bad no?
Rare August’s snow in Utah
No, you aren’t dreaming! That’s actually snow in Utah’s mountains — in August.
Snowbird Resort, located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, tweeted photos Thursday morning of modest snowfall — especially rare for August standards — as a result of the cold front passing through Utah this week. Utah Department of Transportation traffic cameras also picked up light snow in the High Uintas and other mountainous areas Thursday morning.
National Weather Service meteorologists said snow and “fall-like” temperatures are expected in areas above 9,000 feet Thursday with the trough that entered the state. Alta, also in the Cottonwood Canyons, had a forecasted high in the low 40s Thursday, according to the weather service.
The storm, which has delivered plenty of rain and, yes, smoke, cooled temperatures significantly across the state during what has been an otherwise hot summer.
Some record-low temperatures were reported elsewhere in Utah Thursday, including 51 degrees in Bullfrog, by Lake Powell — snapping the record-low of 57 degrees set in 1972.
And also record rainfall across Utah
Many Utah communities are still cleaning up from flooding Tuesday and Wednesday.
The weather service had just two ongoing flood warnings and advisories as of noon Thursday. A warning was issued near Altona, in Duchesne County, while an advisory was issued for areas near Delta, where a record 4.39 inches of rain fell between Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, alone.
There’s also a flash flood watch that remains in effect through parts of southeast Utah, including Arches National Park, Moab and Monticello, through Thursday evening.
The National Weather Service reported all sorts of daily rain records broken Wednesday:
- Deseret, Millard County received 5.43 inches of rain Wednesday, which is 3.43 inches of precipitation more than the previous one-day record in its history. The old record was set in February 1915, according to the weather service.
- New Harmony in Washington County received 4.43 inches of rain Wednesday, breaking the old daily record of 1.38 inches, set in 1983. The town has already received another 2.25 inches Thursday, according to weather service data. That breaks another daily record.
- Bryce Canyon National Park broke its Aug. 18 record with 1.81 inches Wednesday; and, with 1.70 inches of rain as of 10 a.m. Thursday, broke its Aug. 19 record, as well.
Places across Utah got soaked, even without breaking records. For instance, Olympus Cove in Millcreek received 2.22 inches of rain between Tuesday and Wednesday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Sundance Resort in Provo Canyon received 2.13 inches, while some areas of the West Uintas received over 2.5 inches during the same span. [KSL]
Meanwhile, North Carolina is suffering deadly floods after heavy rains from Tropical Storm Fred.
