- Utah experienced heavy rainfall this week, causing some flooding and a mudslide.
- Despite the rain, 80% of Utah remains in severe drought, with 18% in extreme drought.
- Drier weather is expected for Labor Day weekend, with temperatures reaching the 90s.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's monsoon season took a while to get going, but this week's storms have delivered some eye-popping rain totals that dwarf anything collected over the last few months in the drought-stricken state.
However, that's also led to new weather-related challenges, such as flooding in northern Utah and a mudslide in Provo.
Wednesday alone delivered as much as 4.46 inches of rain in Harrisville, while North Ogden also received more than 4 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Eden received nearly 3½ inches, while Pleasant View and Farr West each ended up with over 2 inches of rain. Riverdale and Tremonton also ended up with over 1½ inches among northern Utah communities.
A storm Wednesday night also dumped over an inch of rain in the area of the Buckley Draw Fire in the Provo area, which may have factored in the mudslide there, KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Salt Lake City's 0.74 inches of rain between Tuesday and Wednesday is double the amount of rain Utah's capital city had received between the start of meteorological summer on June 1 and Monday. The city is now within an inch of its summer average, but Johnson points out that the other communities with the highest totals received well over their summer averages in just one day.
"These are still massive totals," he said, referencing the areas that didn't get 3 to 4 inches of rain on Wednesday.
Impact on drought
Despite the shift in moisture this week, drought is still a major factor in the state. Over 80% of Utah remains in at least severe drought, while the percentage of the state in extreme drought rose slightly from 14% last week to 18% this week, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported on Tuesday.
That's based on conditions as of Tuesday, so it's unclear yet how this week's moisture will affect next week's report.
It does appear to have helped mountain soil moisture levels across the state, though. The statewide average jumped from record-low levels for late August to near-normal levels over the last few days, per Natural Resources Conservation Service data. The average is based on 144 mountain sites scattered across the state, but soil moisture records also aren't as extensive as snowpack data.
Some areas may have better conditions than others, as well, because of how localized monsoonal storms can be. For instance, while there was enough rain to cause a mudslide in Provo on Wednesday, the BYU campus in the city only recorded 0.06 inches of precipitation.
Labor Day weekend forecast
Some additional storms are possible across the state to close out the workweek, especially in southeast Utah late Thursday and early Friday, Johnson said. However, a high-pressure system southeast of the Four Corners and a series of Pacific low-pressure systems across west of Utah will bring more dry air into Utah for most of the holiday weekend.
"Your weekend plans are dry," he said, adding it's good news for people planning a barbecue or picnic, or other outdoor activities.
Warmer temperatures will also return for the weekend. High temperatures are forecast to top out in the upper 80s and low 90s across the Wasatch Front and northern Utah, while temperatures could top out around 100 degrees in the St. George area.
Current models project that storms may return to the state later into next week.
Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.
