Flash flood warnings hit record levels in Utah this year
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KUTV) — The number of flash flood warnings issued in Utah this year has reached record levels, according to the National Weather Service, dating back to the 1980s when this data began to be tracked.
Statewide, 153 flash flood warnings have been issued in Utah so far in 2021, beating the previous record of 146 in 2013, according to data provided to 2News.
Darren Van Cleave, meteorologist at NWS Salt Lake City, said the primary reason is this year’s monsoon season.
“[A]fter several years of weak monsoons, we finally had a robust monsoon season which included regular moisture surges into Utah, and not just southern Utah but several that included the entire state,” Van Cleave wrote in an email.
Those storms brought frequent flash flooding to places across the state, some of which saw serious property damage. A man died in a flash flood in Emery County August 1, and a woman died July 31 after getting caught in a flash flood at Lake Powell near the Utah-Arizona border.
The years 2021 and 2013 far outpace all other previous years in terms of flash flood warnings. The next highest number occurred in 2010 with 77 warnings issued, according to NWS data.
Utah saw its fewest flash flood warnings in 1987 and 1988 with three each, according to the data.
Van Cleave noted that typically, flash flood warnings are issued for “sensitive areas such as dry washes and slot canyons.” That happened this year, he said, but there were also a substantial number of warnings issued for burn scars.
“Not every year has as many active burn scars as we have currently,” Van Cleave wrote in the email, “so that certainly increases the number of Flash Flood Warnings issued.”
The meteorologist also said there is greater awareness today of flash flooding than in the past, leading to more warnings issued today than in past decades.
“That said,” Van Cleave noted, “there are still technological and communication limitations that prevent us from knowing everything that goes on in distant parts of our forecast area.”
