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Sam Penrod ReportingThe thought of more rain has residents in Washington County worried tonight.
The flood watch remains on in Southern Utah. So far the storm has not added any significant amount of water to the already swelling rivers. But it is beginning to rain tonight here in St. George.
As you look at the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion National Park you can see the water is moving fast; in fact the river flow is at nearly 1700 cubic feet per second, which is far above what is typical, even during the runoff season. It's usually in the range of just 300 cubic feet per second. It is the heavy snowpack sending so much runoff down the rivers in Southern Utah. In the higher elevations, the snow hasn't even started to melt yet.
Ron Terry, Zion National Park: “The streams in this area like the Virgin River are running so high, they're really not accessible to people. If the thought is to get into the river and do some hiking, like in The Narrows for instance, it is not really feasible because of the height of the river and the flow”
Further north in Iron County crews are continuing to get prepared for the possibility of too much runoff. For weeks they have been working to clear debris out of flood channels and some culverts and bridges are being expanded to make room, in areas where too much water could cause flooding.
Meanwhile, people here are watching the skies, waiting to see if the storm causes any trouble, but so far, so good.
