Utah, 2008

Flash Flood in Utah, September 10, 2008

September 10, 2008 · NWS SLC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Flash flooding occurred in a very narrow slot canyon in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
2
Injuries
2
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

Flash flooding occurred in a very narrow slot canyon in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

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 Sep 10, 4:10 AM MST, 7 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 4:10 AM MST, 7 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
510 AM MDT WED SEP 10 2008

.SYNOPSIS...MOISTURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH
TONIGHT THEN WILL SLOWLY DRY FROM THE WEST THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. A
COOL UPPER LOW WILL CUT ACROSS NORTHERN UTAH THURSDAY AND THURSDAY
NIGHT.

&&

.DISCUSSION...THE LARGE UPPER TROF CONTINUES OVER THE WESTERN STATES
THIS MORNING WITH A COUPLE OF PRIMARY LOW CENTERS. THE LOW OVER WRN
NV WILL KEEP PUMPING MOISTURE INTO UT TODAY AND TONIGHT THEN IT
MOVES OFF TO THE SOUTH THU.

THE OTHER LOW IS OVER THE NRN ROCKIES AND WILL MOVE INTO NRN UT THU
MORNING. THIS FEATURE WILL BRING SOME COOLING AND ALSO DRYING IN THE
NORTHERLY FLOW ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE FEATURE. THIS LOW MOVES OFF
TO THE EAST FRI WITH DRYING SPREADING OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA.
HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR NORTHWEST WILL KEEP THE AREA DRY THRU SUN.

BOTH GFS AND EC WANT TO BRING SOME MOISTURE BACK UP FROM THE
SOUTHEAST STARTING SUN NIGHT SPREADING OVER THE ENTIRE AREA BY TUE
AND DAY 4-7 FORECAST WAS TRENDED THIS WAY.

&&

.AVIATION...WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN PRIMARILY OUT OF THE
SOUTHEAST TODAY...THOUGH THERE IS A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF A
NORTHWESTERLY LAKE BREEZE DEVELOPING LATER THIS AFTERNOON...BETWEEN
20Z AND 22Z. OUTFLOW FROM DEVELOPING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD
RESULT IN PERIODS OF GUSTY WINDS WITH ERRATIC DIRECTIONS...PRIMARILY
THIS AFTERNOON. ADDITIONALLY...THERE IS A 20 PERCENT CHANCE THAT A
THUNDERSTORM WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT THE TERMINAL LATER TODAY. CEILINGS
ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN VFR AND ABOVE 6000 FT.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...NONE.
WY...NONE.

&&

WILENSKY/TRAPHAGAN

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

The radar

The Cedar City radar (KICX), 143 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Garfield

When
September 10, 11:30 AM MST to 12:15 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 21.42 mi ESE of Escalante Muni Arpt to 21.55 mi ESE of Escalante Muni Arpt
Cause
Heavy Rain
Deaths
2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Park/Forest Service
Coordinates
37.589, -111.235

Flash flooding occurred in a small, but popular, slot canyon called Egypt 3, located near the Escalante River in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. This flooding resulted in two fatalities and two more injuries.

The drainage of Egypt 3 is very small, measuring approximately 1.2 square miles. The area is void of vegetation and soil, and the underlying parent matter is Navajo Sandstone, which is virtually impermeable. Radar rainfall estimates indicated that approximately 0.2 to 0.4 inches of rain fell on the drainage. Based on calculations after the event, the peak discharge was estimated to be approximately 450 cfs, and the time from the beginning of the rainfall to peak discharge was estimated to be 24 minutes. With the dimensions of the channel, it is probable that the depth of the flood exceeded 20 feet.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flash Flood, Garfield2008-09-1060MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect
Flash Flood, Garfield2008-09-1060FemaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

What these are

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 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, September 2008

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: 135416.