Utah, 2015Flash Flood and Debris Flow in Utah, July 14, 2015
July 14, 2015 · NWS SLC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones
Two flash floods were observed in the eastern half of Utah on July 14, including a significant flash flood in Capitol Reef National Park.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $75,000
- 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.
Two flash floods were observed in the eastern half of Utah on July 14, including a significant flash flood in Capitol Reef National Park.
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 Jul 14, 8:57 AM MST, 3 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 8:57 AM MST, 3 hours 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
957 AM MDT TUE JUL 14 2015
.SYNOPSIS...THE GREAT BASIN REMAINS BETWEEN HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT
OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ALONG THE WEST
COAST. THE WEST COAST TROUGH WILL TURN EAST AND MOVE ACROSS THE
NORTHERN ROCKIES MIDWEEK.
&&
.DISCUSSION...THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY AREAS OF CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL
TODAY. ACROSS THE NORTHWEST... 500-750 J/KG OF CAPE AND BULK SHEAR
APPROACHING 30 KTS COULD LEAD TO SOME ORGANIZED CONVECTION AND
GUSTY WINDS. ALONG AND EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS, HIGH PWATS MAY
CONTRIBUTE TO BRIEFLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS... BUT
THESE WILL BE SHORT LIVED. IN BETWEEN THESE REGIONS... THE
EXPECTED EVOLUTION OF THE MORNING SOUNDING WILL LEAD TO MICROBURST
POTENTIAL OVER THE WEST DESERT. OVERALL THIS APPEARS TO BE A
FAIRLY QUIET DAY FOR THE MORE POPULATED AREAS ALONG THE WASATCH
FRONT.
POPS WERE INCREASED ALONG AND EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS BASED ON
ELEVATED PWATS AND SHORT-RANGE MODEL GUIDANCE. OVER THE
NORTHWEST... THE POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY WINDS WAS ADDED AS WE WATCH
THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG DOWNDRAFTS.
&&
.AVIATION...NORTHWEST WINDS AT THE KSLC TERMINAL ARE EXPECTED TO
REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON DUE TO CONVECTIVE OUTFLOW
REINFORCEMENT AND PRESSURE GRADIENT FROM THE NORTHWEST.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...THE DRY CONDITIONS AND SOUTHWEST FLOW MAY SUPPORT
LOCALLY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS SOUTHWEST UTAH TODAY
AND TOMORROW.
LARGE SCALE PATTERN CONSISTS OF SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT
BETWEEN A RIDGE IN THE PLAINS AND A TROUGH OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST. THIS IS SUPPORTING DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS CENTRAL UTAH.
MEANWHILE MOISTURE IS POOLING ACROSS THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE
STATE AHEAD OF THE TROUGH...AND THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN VALLEYS
COURTESY OF MONSOON RETURN FLOW AROUND THE RIDGE.
AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION SHOULD BE CONCENTRATED ACROSS FAR
NORTHWEST UTAH...AND SOUTH CENTRAL UTAH INTO THE EASTERN VALLEYS.
CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...LOCALLY GUSTY/ERRATIC WINDS...AND A
BRIEF RAIN ARE EXPECTED WITH THE STRONGER ACTIVITY.
SIMILAR CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TOMORROW. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY THE
TROUGH CROSSES THE NORTHERN ROCKIES...INTRODUCING DRYING WHICH WILL
LIMIT CONVECTION EVEN MORE. WINDS THOUGH DONT LOOK TOO GUSTY.
FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND THE TROUGH STRENGTHENS ONCE AGAIN TO OUR
NORTHWEST. THIS WILL DRAW DEEPER MOISTURE NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHERN
AND CENTRAL UTAH ESPECIALLY INCREASING CONVECTIVE COVERAGE AND THE
POTENTIAL FOR MORE WIDESPREAD WETTING RAIN.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...NONE.
WY...NONE.
&&
KRUSE/RUTZ/ROGOWSKI
FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)
FOR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY/GENERAL/AFD_FAQS.PHP (ALL LOWER CASE)
Flash Flood, Wayne
- When
- July 14, 12:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
- Where
- Wayne County, 3.15 mi NNW of Fruita to 8.57 mi WSW of Caineville
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $75,000
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
- Coordinates
- 38.320, -111.278
Multiple rounds of heavy rain caused significant flash flooding in Capitol Reef National Park. The Scenic Drive was closed due to water and debris impacting the road in multiple locations, particularly at the Grand Wash and near the Slick Rock Divide. Major flooding occurred in Capitol Gorge, and caused significant damage to the dirt road to Capitol Gorge, such that the road to this popular hiking area was closed for more than two months after the flood. Very heavy flows were also reported along Sulphur Creek and Pleasant Creek, as well as all associated washes, with water a foot deep in Sulphur Creek.
Debris Flow, Emery
- When
- July 14, 2:00 PM MST to 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Emery County, 4.21 mi NW of Huntington to 5.66 mi WNW of Mohrland
- Cause
- Heavy Rain / Burn Area
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 39.372, -111.027
Heavy rain over the Seeley Fire burn scar caused flash flooding and debris flows onto State Route 31.
- 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.
- Debris Flow
- A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Heat in Nevada, July 14 to 15, 20153 deaths · 1 event
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Kentucky, July 14 to 15, 20154 injured · $90,000 · EF1 · 113 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, July 14, 20151 death · EF1 · 25 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Tennessee, July 14, 2015$500,000 · EF1 · 66 events
- Flash Flooding in New York, July 14, 2015$4.2 million · 11 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 14 to 15, 2015$181,000 · 1 in hail · 38 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Ohio, July 14, 2015$557,000 · 1 in hail · 13 events
- Hail in Nebraska, July 14, 2015$825,000 · 1.75 in hail · 4 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 14, 2015$89,000 · 1 in hail · 48 events
- Flash Flooding in New York, July 14, 2015$575,000 · 5 events
- Flash Flooding in New York, July 14, 2015$550,000 · 3 events
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, July 14, 2015$1,000 · EF1 · 30 events
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: 596836, 596841.