Flash Flooding in Utah, September 28, 2014

Name: Flash Flooding in Utah, September 28, 2014
Start: 2014-09-28T08:10
End: 2014-09-28T22:00
Location: Utah

September 28, 2014 · NWS GJT · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding in portions of eastern Utah.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $20,000
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 GJT wrote it up.

Heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding in portions of eastern Utah.

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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 28, 2:23 AM MST, 5 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 28, 2:23 AM MST, 5 hours 47 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
323 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

.SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH MONDAY)
ISSUED AT 321 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINSHOWERS CONTINUE THIS MORNING...STRADDLING
BOTH SIDES OF THE UT/CO BORDER WITH A FEW RUMBLES OF THUNDER MIXED
IN. UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT WANED LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING AS A JET
STREAK CURVES BACK AROUND THE CLOSED LOW OVER NV. THIS STREAK IS
THE SUPPORT THAT'S CAUSING THE RAINSHOWERS. A STRONGER JET STREAK
IS PROGGED TO ROUND THE BASE OF SAID LOW PRESSURE AND MOVE ACROSS
THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE
MORNING HOURS...RAINSHOWERS WILL CONTINUE WITH A FEW BEING LOCALLY
HEAVY BUT WITH THE LOW SLOWLY MOVING E AND PRECIP FOLLOWING
SUIT...FLASH FLOOD CONCERNS WILL LOWER SO WILL DROP ERN UT FLASH
FLOOD WATCH WITH THIS MORNINGS PACKAGE. THE WATCH FOR WRN COLORADO
STILL STAY IN PLACE HOWEVER WITH SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED STORMS
CONTINUING TO TRACK EWRD. THE HRRR IS AGAIN PERFORMING WELL AND
IS INDICATING BY 0700L THAT PRECIP SHOULD BE ENDING FOR ERN UT
WHILE MUCH OF WRN COLORADO...EXCEPT THE NRN MTNS...WILL BE SEEING
SOME RAINFALL.

NEXT CONCERN WILL BE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENT IR SATELLITE
SHOWS PLENTY OF DRY AIR OVER WRN/SRN UT THAT WILL MOVE INTO OUR
CWA TODAY. AS THIS OCCURS...BULK SHEAR WILL REMAIN ESPECIALLY
HIGH AND THIS MIXED WITH AFTERNOON HEATING AND UPPER LEVEL
DYNAMIC SUPPORT WILL LEND ITSELF FOR SOME STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
THIS AFTERNOON. SOME STORMS MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS WITH WIND
GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH POSSIBLE ALONG WITH HALF- INCH SIZED HAIL OR
LARGER UNDER AND NEAR THE STRONGEST CELLS. HRRR ALSO SHOWING THIS
CONVECTION FORMING FROM ABOUT 3PM ONWARDS. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE...AN
ACTIVE AFTERNOON IS EXPECTED.

SUNDAY NIGHT A SIGNIFICANT SPOKE OF ENERGY DIGS INTO THE BASE OF
THE LOW ELONGATING IT SOUTH TO NORTH. THE JET STREAK LIFTS NORTH
OF THIS AREA AND THE DRY SLOT LOWERS PRECIP WATER VALUES TO 0.25
SOUTH...0.5 INCH NORTH. THIS BRINGS A DIMINISHING OF SHOWERS
THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THE SOUTHERN SPOKE ROTATES NE
WITH THE ASSOCIATED 80KT JET LIFTING THROUGH THE FOUR CORNERS IN
THE MORNING. ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT UNDER THE JET SUPPORT
WILL PRODUCE SOME MORNING SHOWERS IN THE SW SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS IN
SPITE OF THE DRIER AIR. THE LOW OPENS AS IT LIFTS NE MONDAY
AFTERNOON PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR MAINLY OROGRAPHIC SHOWERS AND
STORMS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL BE 5-10
DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE.

.LONG TERM...(MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY)
ISSUED AT 321 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

SOME SHOWERS MAY CONTINUE OVER THE NORTH MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH
TUESDAY NIGHT IN ACTIVE NW FLOW WITH ONLY MARGINAL MOISTURE AND
INSTABILITY AVAILABLE. 700MB TEMPERATURES HOVER NEAR 0C MONDAY FOR
A SNOW POSSIBLE DOWN TO NEAR 9000 FT IN THE PARK RANGE. ANY SNOW
ACCUMULATION BELOW TIMBERLINE WILL MELT ON TUESDAY AS TEMPERATURES
RECOVER TO NEAR NORMAL.

THE JET STREAM WILL DROP DOWN FROM THE PACNW WEDNESDAY AND CARVE
OUT A RELATIVELY WEAK TROUGH THAT WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA WED
EVENING AND THURSDAY MORNING. SOME ISOLD SHOWERS/STORMS ARE
EXPECTED WITH SOME SNOWFALL FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS UP NORTH.
MAYBE AN INCH OR TWO POSSIBLE. BY THURSDAY MORNING...HIGH PRESSURE
SETS UP OVER THE WRN GREAT BASIN KEEPING US IN NW FLOW FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD WITH DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED.

TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW NORMAL FOR MUCH OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD
SLOWLY WARMING UP TOWARDS THE WEEKEND.

&&

.AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z MONDAY MORNING)
ISSUED AT 321 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

RAIN...RAINSHOWERS...AND EMBEDDED STORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS
MORNING CAUSING MVFR CONDITIONS FROM TIME TO TIME THOUGH BY AND
LARGE...VFR WILL BE THE PREDOMINANT FLIGHT CATEGORY. MORE ROBUST
CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO FIRE THIS AFTERNOON AFTER 18Z WITH
COVERAGE AND INTENSITY REALLY GETTING GOING AFTER 21Z. SOME STORMS
WILL BE ON THE STRONG SIDE WITH GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLY REACHING
50MPH...POSSIBLY HIGHER...WITH HALF INCH SIZED HAIL ALSO POSSIBLE.
SOME CONVECTION WILL PERSIST OVERNIGHT.

&&

.GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

CO...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL NOON MDT TODAY FOR COZ001>003-006-007-
     009-011-013-017>022.

UT...NONE

&&

SHORT TERM...TGR/JOE
LONG TERM...JOE/TGR
AVIATION...TGR

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 28, 4:59 AM MST, 3 hours 11 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
559 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-291200-
LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN-
ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS-ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-
UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-GRAND VALLEY-DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR-
CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN-GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS-
GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS-
CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN-
WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS-FLATTOPS-
UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY-UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE-
NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-SOUTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-
PARADOX VALLEY/LOWER DOLORES RIVER-
FOUR CORNERS/UPPER DOLORES RIVER-ANIMAS RIVER BASIN-
SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN-SOUTHEAST UTAH-EASTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS-
EASTERN UINTA BASIN-TAVAPUTS PLATEAU-ARCHES/GRAND FLAT-
LA SAL AND ABAJO MOUNTAINS-CANYONLANDS/NATURAL BRIDGES-
559 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN
COLORADO.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS MORNING WITH SOME FLASH
FLOODING CONCERNS REMAINING SO THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN
EFFECT. IN THE AFTERNOON...UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT AND STRONG SHEAR
WILL CAUSE SOME STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM...POSSIBLY REACHING
SEVERE CRITERIA WITH WINDS OF 55 TO 60 MPH AND HAIL REACHING HALF-
INCH SIZES AND GREATER. SOME CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

MORE RAINFALL IS EXPECTED MONDAY AS A CLOSED LOW MOVES OVER THE
FORECAST AREA. SNOWFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS AS
COOLER TEMPERATURES FILTER INTO THE AREA. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR
PRECIPITATION WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY AS A WEAK TROUGH MOVES
OVERHEAD. AGAIN...RAIN IS LIKELY WITH HIGHER ELEVATIONS SEEING
SOME SNOWFALL. NORTHWEST FLOW THEN SETS UP BRINGING DRY CONDITIONS
THROUGH SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 28, 4:37 AM MST, 3 hours 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
537 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

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

0700 PM     TSTM WND DMG     NAPLES                  40.43N 109.49W
09/27/2014                   UINTAH             UT   PUBLIC

            POWER OUTAGE...POWER LINE IN ROAD...LARGE TREE LIMBS
            DOWN

&&

EVENT NUMBER GJT1401459

TB

Local storm report, Sep 28, 5:51 AM MST, 2 hours 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
651 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

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

0647 AM     HEAVY RAIN       CEDAR POINT             37.72N 109.08W
09/28/2014  M0.95 INCH       SAN JUAN           UT   CO-OP OBSERVER

            24 HOUR RAINFALL

&&

EVENT NUMBER GJT1401460

TB

Local storm report, Sep 28, 7:22 AM MST, 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
822 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

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

0810 AM     DEBRIS FLOW      ARCHES NP               38.62N 109.62W
09/28/2014                   GRAND              UT   PARK/FOREST SRVC

            ARCHES NATIONAL PARK REPORTED DEBRIS FLOWS IN THREE
            WASHES. WINTER CAMP WASH... SALT WASH... AND SALT VALLEY
            WASH EXPERIENCED SILT...MUD AND DEBRIS FLOWS. ROADS
            ACROSS SALT WASH AND WINTER CAMP WASH WERE CLOSED.

&&

EVENT NUMBER GJT1401461

CC

Local storm report, Sep 28, 7:32 AM MST, 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
832 AM MDT SUN SEP 28 2014

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

0600 AM     HEAVY RAIN       ARRIOLA                 37.43N 108.65W
09/28/2014  M1.51 INCH       MONTEZUMA          CO   CO-OP OBSERVER

            AMOUNT RECEIVED FROM 630 PM SATURDAY THROUGH 0600 AM
            SUNDAY.

&&

EVENT NUMBER GJT1401462

NL

The radar

The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:09 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Grand

When: September 28, 8:10 AM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Grand County, 2.59 mi SSW of Elba Station to 4.49 mi SSW of Thompson
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Park/Forest Service
Coordinates: 38.917, -109.523

The three main washes that run through Arches National Park flowed high with fast moving water and debris on September 28th due to earlier heavy rainfall upstream. Roads near Delicate Arch were closed that day due to the flash flooding and also due to the mud and debris that was deposited onto the road surface.

Flash Flood, Grand

When: September 28, 12:30 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Grand County, 4.9 mi NE of Harley Dome to 2.01 mi NE of Harley Dome
Cause: Heavy Rain
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 39.219, -109.054

Flash flood waters at least four feet deep flowed down the normally dry Bittercreek Wash and swept away a jeep which had been driven into the flood waters where the Tabeguache Trail crosses the wash. The driver was able to get out of the vehicle and reach the bank while the passenger was trapped inside and drowned. The vehicle came to a stop about 200 feet downstream from the Tabeguache Trail crossing.

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.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Flash Flood, Grand	2014-09-28	57	Female	In Water	Direct

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

Every storm in Utah in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, September 2014

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: 550823, 538239.