Alert archive / Utah / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 448

August 18, 202121 counties in Utah

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 18, 2021, 12:14 PM MDT for 21 counties in Utah. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 18, 2021, 12:14 PM MDT (18:14 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 2021, 8:00 PM MDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 21 counties

Beaver County, UT, Carbon County, UT, Daggett County, UT, Duchesne County, UT, Emery County, UT, Garfield County, UT, Grand County, UT, Iron County, UT, Juab County, UT, Kane County, UT, Millard County, UT, Piute County, UT, Salt Lake County, UT, Sanpete County, UT, Sevier County, UT, Summit County, UT, Uintah County, UT, Utah County, UT, Wasatch County, UT, Washington County, UT, Wayne County, UT

The radar

The Cedar City radar (KICX), 221 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:13 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
10%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 12:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSLCJuab, Tooele56 min
Aug 18, 1:05 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCWayne3 hr
Aug 18, 1:12 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCGarfield2 hr
Aug 18, 1:24 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSLCJuab, Tooele, Utah81 min
Aug 18, 1:39 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCKane, Washington3 hr
Aug 18, 2:27 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCUtah3 hr
Aug 18, 2:37 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCUtah113 min
Aug 18, 3:25 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCUtah3 hr
Aug 18, 3:46 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCEmery, Wayne3 hr
Aug 18, 4:22 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCGarfield3 hr
Aug 18, 4:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGJTGrand, San Juan24 min
Aug 18, 4:57 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGJTGrand, San Juan33 min
Aug 18, 7:43 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCKane4 hr

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Salt Lake City I, UT (KSLC), launched 12:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 215 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Salt Lake City I, UT at 12:00Z on 2021-08-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 7 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Salt Lake City I, UT at 12:00Z on 2021-08-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -6 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-398 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1192 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

723 
WWUS20 KWNS 181810
SEL8  
SPC WW 181810
UTZ000-190200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 448
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1210 PM MDT Wed Aug 18 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Utah

* Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 1210 PM
  until 800 PM MDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Scattered storms including a few supercells will become
capable of producing damaging wind and a few instances of large hail
this afternoon into the early evening.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 105
statute miles north and south of a line from 20 miles east southeast
of Vernal UT to 40 miles west of Cedar City UT. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU8).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 447...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
24035.

...Dial

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 11:34 AM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Iron and 8 more86 min
Aug 18, 2:35 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Piute and 3 more115 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Utah, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2021

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.