Alert archive / Utah / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026

Flash Flood Warning 17, NWS Salt Lake City, UT

July 16, 2026Garfield County, Wayne County, Utah

NWS Salt Lake City, UT issued this flash flood warning at Jul 16, 2026, 5:21 PM MDT for Garfield County, Wayne County, Utah. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 16, 2026, 5:21 PM MDT (23:21 UTC)
Expired
Jul 16, 2026, 8:30 PM MDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Salt Lake City, UT
Area
Storm-based polygon
Damage threat
Considerable
Flood severity
None

Counties Garfield County, UT, Wayne County, UT

The radar

The Cedar City radar (KICX), 169 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:20 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The text

As transmitted.

611 
WGUS55 KSLC 162321
FFWSLC
UTC017-055-170230-
/O.NEW.KSLC.FF.W.0017.260716T2321Z-260717T0230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
521 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Northeastern Garfield County in southern Utah...
  South Central Wayne County in southern Utah...

* Until 830 PM MDT.

* At 521 PM MDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing 
  heavy rain across portions of Capitol Reef National Park, 
  including Capitol Gorge, Pleasant Creek, Burro Wash, Cottonwood 
  Wash, Five Mile Wash, and Sheets Gulch. Up to 0.5 inches of rain 
  have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 0.5 inches are 
  possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected 
  to begin shortly.

  HAZARD...Life threatening flash flooding. Thunderstorms
           producing flash flooding.

  SOURCE...Radar.

  IMPACT...Life threatening flash flooding of creeks, streams,
           and normally dry washes.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Capitol Reef National Park.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

Remain alert for flooding even in locations not receiving rain. Dry 
washes, streams, and rivers can become raging killer currents in a 
matter of minutes, even from distant rainfall.

Flooding is occurring or is imminent. It is important to know where 
you are relative to streams, rivers, or creeks which can become 
killers in heavy rains. Campers and hikers should avoid streams or 
creeks.

&&

LAT...LON 3824 11112 3828 11105 3828 11103 3821 11104
      3815 11103 3808 11108 3809 11118 3823 11122

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED
FLASH FLOOD DAMAGE THREAT...CONSIDERABLE

$$

JAC
2 follow-up statements
033 
WGUS75 KSLC 170128
FFSSLC

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
728 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

UTC017-055-170230-
/O.CON.KSLC.FF.W.0017.000000T0000Z-260717T0230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Garfield UT-Wayne UT-
728 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 830 PM MDT THIS 
EVENING FOR NORTHEASTERN GARFIELD AND SOUTH CENTRAL WAYNE COUNTIES...

At 728 PM MDT, Doppler radar indicated earlier thunderstorms 
producing heavy rain across portions of Capitol Reef National Park, 
including Capitol Gorge, Pleasant Creek, Burro Wash, Cottonwood 
Wash, Five Mile Wash, and Sheets Gulch. Up to 0.6 inches of rain 
have fallen, but no additional amounts are expected. Flash flooding 
is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.

HAZARD...Life threatening flash flooding. Thunderstorms producing
         flash flooding.

SOURCE...Radar.

IMPACT...Life threatening flash flooding of creeks, streams, and
         normally dry washes.

Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Capitol Reef National Park.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

Remain alert for flooding even in locations not receiving rain. Dry 
washes, streams, and rivers can become raging killer currents in a 
matter of minutes, even from distant rainfall.

Flooding is occurring or is imminent. It is important to know where 
you are relative to streams, rivers, or creeks which can become 
killers in heavy rains. Campers and hikers should avoid streams or 
creeks.

&&

LAT...LON 3824 11112 3828 11105 3828 11103 3821 11104
      3815 11103 3808 11108 3809 11118 3823 11122

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED
FLASH FLOOD DAMAGE THREAT...CONSIDERABLE

$$

JAC
647 
WGUS75 KSLC 170225
FFSSLC

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
825 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

UTC017-055-170235-
/O.EXP.KSLC.FF.W.0017.000000T0000Z-260717T0230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Garfield UT-Wayne UT-
825 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 830 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR 
NORTHEASTERN GARFIELD AND SOUTH CENTRAL WAYNE COUNTIES...

The heavy rain has ended. Flooding is no longer expected to pose a 
threat. Please continue to heed remaining road closures.

A Flood Watch remains in effect until 1200 AM MDT for portions of 
central, southern, and southwest Utah.

&&

LAT...LON 3824 11112 3828 11105 3828 11103 3821 11104
      3815 11103 3808 11108 3809 11118 3823 11122

$$

JAC

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Salt Lake City, UT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 16, 12:18 PM MDT, 5 hours 3 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • A monsoon surge will continue to bring the threat of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall, with the highest threat across southern Utah through the weekend and into at least early next week.
  • A Flood Watch for flash flooding is in effect for southern Utah through this evening.
  • A new Flood Watch for flash flooding was issued for Friday afternoon and evening for southwest and south central Utah. Additional Flood Watches may be needed for Saturday in this area.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 16, 12:18 PM MDT, 5 hours 3 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
1218 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- A monsoon surge will continue to bring the threat of
  thunderstorms with heavy rainfall, with the highest threat
  across southern Utah through the weekend and into at least early
  next week.

- A Flood Watch for flash flooding is in effect for southern Utah
  through this evening.

- A new Flood Watch for flash flooding was issued for Friday
  afternoon and evening for southwest and south central Utah.
  Additional Flood Watches may be needed for Saturday in this
  area.

&&

.DISCUSSION...As an active monsoon surge continues across the
region for the entire forecast period, the weather each day across
the southern half of Utah will be focused on afternoon and evening
convection. Precipitable water values have already exceeded the
98th percentile across many locations of southern Utah and
extended ensemble modeling suggests PWs will remain above 90th
percentile through at least next Thursday.

While there is no obvious source of lift today in regards to a
shortwave trough, convection will continue to develop across the
higher terrain through early afternoon. With most parameters at or
more preferential for cold pool/shear balance, expect slow moving
convection with very heavy rainfall to gradually shift into
adjacent valleys with higher available instability. A Flood Watch
remains in effect across much of southern Utah this afternoon and
evening.

It'll feel a bit like rinse and repeat for southwest and south
central Utah Friday afternoon and evening. Little change in the
environmental conditions will yield another round of higher
probabilities of flash flooding for these areas. A Flood Watch for
flash flooding was issued for southwest and south central Utah
with this package.

Not seeing much change in relation to the monsoon into the
weekend...so future shifts will continue to monitor for expansion
of the flood watches into the weekend. This is not the time for
outdoor recreationists to plan hikes into/near slot canyons,
normally dry washes, slick rock areas. Additionally, those near
recent burn scars such as Cottonwood, Monroe Canyon, France
Canyon, and Forsyth should continue to monitor for potential
warnings and have a plan if a warning is issued.

&&

.AVIATION...KSLC...Overall VFR conditions are expected at the
terminal today and tonight. Showers and thunderstorms will develop
over the surrounding high terrain to the south by late this
afternoon, bringing increasing potential for gusty outflow winds
by this evening. With storms generally residing to the south of
the terminal, would expect these winds to have a southerly
component. There will be a 10 to 20% chance for showers to move
over the terminal itself this evening between 0Z and 3Z.

REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...Showers and thunderstorms are
expected to develop again over the high terrain features across a
majority of Utah (lower coverage north of I-80). Showers and
thunderstorms are expected to begin drifting off terrain features
into adjacent valleys after 20Z, bringing potential reductions in
visibility due to moderate to heavy rainfall along with gusty and
erratic outflow winds in excess of 30 kts.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...An ongoing monsoon surge will continue to bring
the threat of heavy rainfall to much of southern and portions of
eastern Utah through at least the weekend, and potentially into
early next week. For areas more removed from this surge across
northern and west central Utah, coverage of any thunderstorms will
be less across valley locations. Humidities in the 20-30% range
across the northern and western valleys will further increase this
weekend to around 30-40%.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...Flood Watch through this evening for UTZ121>131.

     Flood Watch from Friday afternoon through Friday evening for
     UTZ122>128.

WY...None.
&&

Kruse/Van Cleave

For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/saltlakecity

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 16, 11:24 AM MDT, 5 hours 57 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
1124 AM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0620 PM     Flash Flood      4 ESE Eagle Point Ski R 38.30N 112.33W
07/13/2026                   Piute              UT   Law Enforcement

            Piute County Sheriff and Emergency
            Management reported muddy flows in City
            Creek Canyon originating off of the
            Cottonwood burn scar in Piute County.
            Between 0.3 and 0.7 inches of rain fell
            across upper portions of this City Creek
            drainage.

&&

AD
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 2:55 PM MDT, 2 hours 26 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
255 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

UTZ122-162145-
Southwest Utah UT-
255 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of west central Iron
County through 345 PM MDT
...

At 255 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 15
miles southeast of Echo Canyon State Park, or 15 miles southeast of
Ursine, moving northeast at 10 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and pea size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Modena.

This includes Utah Route 56 between mile markers 1 and 11.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 3793 11402 3777 11387 3771 11404 3773 11405
      3791 11405
TIME...MOT...LOC 2055Z 241DEG 7KT 3781 11402

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

JAC
Local storm report, Jul 16, 3:19 PM MDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
319 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0236 PM     Hail             10 NW Alton             37.52N 112.65W
07/16/2026  E0.50 Inch       Kane               UT   Public

            Report from mPING: Half-inch (0.50 in.).

&&
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 3:21 PM MDT, 2 hours before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
321 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

UTZ125-162200-
Southern Mountains UT-
321 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of south central
Garfield County through 400 PM MDT
...

At 321 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 12
miles east of Henrieville, or 14 miles southwest of Escalante, moving
south at 5 mph.

HAZARD...Half inch hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.

This storm will remain over mainly rural areas of south central
Garfield County.

This includes Utah Route 12 between mile markers 39 and 45.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 3768 11188 3770 11165 3754 11166 3754 11188
TIME...MOT...LOC 2121Z 014DEG 4KT 3761 11177

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...<40 MPH

JAC
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 3:28 PM MDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
328 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

UTZ113-121-162215-
San Rafael Swell UT-Wasatch Plateau/Book Cliffs UT-
328 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northeastern Emery
County through 415 PM MDT
...

At 327 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 15
miles southeast of Sunnyside, or 25 miles north of Green River. This
storm was nearly stationary.

HAZARD...Half inch hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.

Locations impacted include...
Woodside.

This includes US Route 6 between mile markers 273 and 279.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 3946 11033 3945 11008 3924 11017 3926 11040
TIME...MOT...LOC 2127Z 010DEG 4KT 3935 11025

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...<40 MPH

JAC
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 4:59 PM MDT, 22 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
459 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

UTZ123-125-162330-
Southern Mountains UT-Lower Washington County UT-
459 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of west central
Washington County through 530 PM MDT
...

At 458 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Gunlock State Park, or 18 miles southeast of Beaver Dam. This storm
was nearly stationary.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and half inch hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Gunlock State Park, Gunlock, and Veyo.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 3724 11378 3727 11391 3741 11388 3736 11369
TIME...MOT...LOC 2258Z 193DEG 4KT 3733 11380

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

JAC

The office that day

Everything else NWS Salt Lake City, UT issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 16, 10:29 AM MDTFlood WatchSLCBeaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Piute, Sevier and 2 more36 hr
Jul 16, 2:06 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCBeaver4 hr
Jul 16, 2:37 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisorySLCPiute, Sevier, Wayne113 min
Jul 16, 2:55 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementSLC50 min
Jul 16, 3:21 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementSLCGarfield39 min
Jul 16, 3:28 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCPiute, Sevier3 hr
Jul 16, 3:28 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementSLCCarbon47 min
Jul 16, 3:37 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCPiute3 hr
Jul 16, 4:25 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCIron3 hr
Jul 16, 4:26 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCEmery3 hr
Jul 16, 4:51 PM MDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSLCIron, Washington3 hr
Jul 16, 4:59 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementSLCWashington31 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Utah, 2026Every flash flood warning in 2026

Sources

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