Utah, 2004

Flash Flood and High Wind in Utah, June 18, 2004

June 18, 2004 · NWS SLC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A weak upper level trough moved through northern Utah bringing with it a line of strong thunderstorms and one severe storm that brought down power lines and two power poles. A 60 mph hour gust was recorded at the Salt Lake International Airport.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$30,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.

A weak upper level trough moved through northern Utah bringing with it a line of strong thunderstorms and one severe storm that brought down power lines and two power poles. A 60 mph hour gust was recorded at the Salt Lake International Airport. Gusts around 50 mph were common between 8 and 9 pm local time.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Jun 18, 2:40 PM MST, 5 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 2:40 PM MST, 5 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
340 PM MDT FRI JUN 18 2004

.SYNOPSIS...A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE AREA WILL SLOWLY
DRY AND STABILIZE THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...MOIST CONVECTION DEVELOPING OVER THE REGION AND
BECOMING MORE NUMEROUS. LIGHTNING ACTIVITY FROM NEAR BRYCE NORTH
INTO THE UINTA REGION AND NOW JUST FORMING IN NW UTAH. THIS TREND
WILL CONTINUE AND INCREASE OVER THE NORTH AS UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT
MOVES THROUGH THIS EVENING AND EXITS LAST ACROSS NORTHEAST ZONES
LATE TONIGHT. AIR MASS IS QUITE UNSTABLE AND PLENTY MOIST OVER THE
NORTHERN 2/3 OF THE REGION AND GIVEN DYNAMICS THIS EVENING ACTIVITY
WILL CONTINUE BEYOND SUNSET.

GENERAL SOUTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES ON SATURDAY WITH WARMING OF SEVERAL
DEGREES. MOISTURE REMAINS THIS WEEKEND IN SIMILAR AREAS FOR MORE
DIURNAL MAINLY TERRAIN DRIVEN MOIST CONVECTION...HOWEVER DYNAMICS
ARE LESS WITH OUR REGION IN BETWEEN AN ELONGATED UPPER LOW IN THE
PACNW AND WEAK UPPER TROFFINESS IN THE SOUTHWEST STATES. THE UPPER
LOW IN THE PACNW WILL SWING A SHORT WAVE TROF THROUGH NORTHERN
SECTIONS ON MONDAY AND BRING A COOLER LOW LEVEL NORTHWEST FLOW. WEAK
DISTURBANCES LINGER POSSIBLY INTO TUESDAY ACROSS THE FAR NORTH BUT
THEN UPPER RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THE GREAT BASIN AHEAD OF AN UPPER
LOW IN THE PACIFIC. THIS LEADS TO A WARMING TREND WITH ONLY A THREAT
FOR MOIST CONVECTION IN THE MOST FAVORABLE HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS.

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

UT...NONE.
ID...NONE.
WY...NONE.

&&

TARDY/KK

The radar

The Salt Lake City radar (KMTX), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E

When
June 18, 8:00 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where
W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Flash Flood, Davis

When
June 18, 8:00 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where
Davis County, Syracuse
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.991, -112.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Utah in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, June 2004

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5422460, 5422461.