Red Flag Warning 17, NWS Salt Lake City, UT

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
411 PM MDT THU AUG 5 2010

.SYNOPSIS...A MOIST AIR MASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE AREA
TODAY...PARTICULARLY ACROSS EASTERN AND SOUTHERN UTAH. A SLIGHT
DRYING TREND IS EXPECTED OVER WESTERN UTAH FRIDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY...BUT MOISTURE WILL REMAIN OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN
PORTIONS OF THE STATE. A PACIFIC TROUGH WILL IMPACT THE STATE SUNDAY
INTO MONDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...SEVERAL WEAK IMPULSES ACROSS THE CENTRAL/EASTERN
GREAT BASIN ARE VISIBLE IN THIS AFTERNOONS WATER VAPOR
IMAGERY...IMPULSES EJECTING NORTHEAST FROM THE BROAD PACIFIC
TROUGH DIGGING ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COASTLINE. ANTICIPATE
CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE DRIVEN BY SAID VORT MAXES FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING AS THEY TRACK
NORTHEAST THROUGH WESTERN/NORTHERN UTAH.

FOCUSING IN...VORT MAX OVER FAR SOUTHWESTERN UTAH WILL CONTINUE TO
LIFT NORTH INTO CENTRAL UTAH THROUGH THIS EVENING. A SECONDARY
FEATURE JUST NORTH OF KELY WILL LIFT NORTHEAST THROUGH NORTHERN
UTAH LATER THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. SATELLITE
TRENDS/RUC13/NAM12 SUPPORT THIS THINKING. DEVELOPMENT WAS SLOW TO
FORM THROUGH MIDDAY...BUT BOUNDARY LAYER HEATING HAS RAPIDLY
OVERCOME SIGNIFICANT CIN AND DEVELOPMENT HAS ENSUED. ALREADY
SEEING ISOLATED STRONG CELLS DEVELOPING FROM THE AZ BORDER NORTH
TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE...MOSTLY OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF THE
STATE...WITH COVERAGE INCREASING RAPIDLY OVER WEST/CENTRAL UTAH.
THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO TRACK NORTHEAST AHEAD OF AND
WITH PASSING VORT MAXES...WITH STORMS IMPACTING THE WASATCH MAINLY
DURING THE EVENING HOURS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

FLASH FLOODING...EJECTING SHORT WAVE THAT RESIDED OVER
SOUTHEASTERN UTAH THIS MORNING HAS LIFTED RAPIDLY INTO EAST
CENTRAL UTAH THIS AFTERNOON. NVA COUPLED WITH FAIRLY ABUNDANT
DAYTIME CLOUD COVER SEEMS TO HAVE SUPPRESSED CONVECTIVE
DEVELOPMENT OVER THE SOUTHEAST THUS FAR. PWATS GREATER THAN AN
INCH AND SBCAPE GREATER THAN 1000 J/KG REMAIN IN PLACE. ANTICIPATE
DEVELOPMENT WILL BUILD OVER THE TERRAIN FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS
THE WATCH AREA OVER THE NEXT 2 TO 3 HOURS THEN HOLD THROUGH LATE
THIS EVENING BEFORE DIURNAL TRENDS WANE ACTIVITY. FLASH FLOOD WATCH
REMAINS IN PLACE THROUGH 10 PM TONIGHT.

SHARP CONTRAST IN PWAT OVER WESTERN NEVADA...IN WAKE OF PASSING
VORT MAX. SHORT TERM GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO ADVECT THIS DRIER AIR
INTO FAR WESTERN UTAH FRIDAY LIMITING CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL FOR
AREAS WEST OF THE INTERSTATE 15 CORRIDOR THROUGH SATURDAY. POP
TRENDS REFLECT THIS IN FORECAST.

AFOREMENTIONED TROUGH ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST WILL EJECT INLAND
LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. GLOBAL MODELS KEYED IN ON
TIMING OF TROUGH PASSAGE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. MOISTURE WILL
SURGE NORTH AND WEST AGAIN AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE ON SUNDAY
BRINGING A THREAT FOR CONVECTION STATEWIDE ONCE AGAIN...THEN A
DRYING SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL ENSUE IN WAKE OF TROUGH PASSAGE
EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH TUESDAY LIKELY BEING THE FIRST DRY DAY STATEWIDE.

&&

.AVIATION...THERE IS A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF THE SLC TERMINAL BEING
IMPACTED BY THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH GUSTY
ERRATIC WINDS BEING THE MOST LIKELY IMPACT. THE MOST LIKELY
TIMEFRAME FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY IS 22Z TO 03Z.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...WETTING RAINS WILL CONTINUE TO ACCOMPANY
THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...ESPECIALLY THOSE EAST OF THE INTERSTATE 15
CORRIDOR...WITH DRIER BUT STILL ACTIVE CONDITIONS IN THE WESTERN
HALF OF THE STATE. SOUTH WINDS AND SUBSTANTIAL DRYING WILL BRING THE
FIRST THREAT OF CRITICAL CONDITIONS TO THE NORTHWEST DESERT FRIDAY
AND SATURDAY...THOUGH FUELS ARE NOT REPORTED AS CRITICAL AT THIS
TIME. AS UPPER TROUGH MOVES VERY SLOWLY INLAND...THESE DRYING AND
BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY SPREAD ACROSS ALL WESTERN VALLEYS BY
EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
     UTZ009>014-020-021-517-518.

WY...NONE.
&&

MERRILL/SCHOENING

FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)

FOR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY/GENERAL/AFD_FAQS.PHP (ALL LOWER CASE)