Moisture moved into Utah starting July 19, allowing for scattered showers and thunderstorms across the state through July 21. A few of these storms produced strong gusty winds and flash flooding.
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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.
The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.
Moisture moved into Utah starting July 19, allowing for scattered showers and thunderstorms across the state through July 21. A few of these storms produced strong gusty winds and flash flooding.
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 19, 2:48 PM MST, 2 hours 42 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT 348 PM MDT TUE JUL 19 2016 .SYNOPSIS...An upper level trough along the Pacific Northwest coast will keep the Great Basin under a hot southwest flow aloft through much of the week, with moisture remaining over southern and eastern Utah. Drier weather is in store for the weekend and into next week. && .SHORT TERM...Showers and thunderstorms have developed this afternoon as mid-level moisture streams in from the south, mainly along and east of Utah's central spine of mountains. SPC mesoanalysis products show marginal instability in that area (500-1000 j/kg) and very little shear. As a result, storms are mostly weak and of the pulse variety, with the exception of a few terrain-anchored cells. Thus, the main threat is brief heavy rain, and perhaps local flash flooding if any cells become terrain anchored over flood-prone areas. Tomorrow and Thursday are largely expected to be repeats of today, as the upper-level pattern remains nearly unchanged over our area. That is, moist southerly flow will impact the eastern half of Utah, while a drier southwest flow aloft remains over the western portion of the UT and parts of southwest Wyoming. Looking at model depictions of moisture and instability, it appears Thursday may be the more active day of the two. Either way, expect scattered showers and thunderstorms east of a line from approximately Cedar City to Provo, with locally heavy rain being the primary threat. Meanwhile, 700mb temps are currently expected to linger in the 16-18C range for the period, which translates to highs nearing triple digits each day for the Wasatch Front (certainly hot, but still a bit short of records). Latest guidance suggests Thursday could be the warmest day of the week. The pattern finally shifts Friday as the longwave trough over the Pacific NW begins to track inland. This will bring drier air to most of the forecast area, and a reduced chance of thunderstorms in areas which experienced convection in previous days. Also, temperatures should moderate a bit as a modestly cooler air mass moves into the area. .LONG TERM...A weak cool front will move across northern Utah Friday night. The EC suggests a cooling of 2-3 degrees Celsius at 700 mb while the GFS is keeping the temperatures at 700 mb stable. Have leaned toward the EC with a slight cooling for Saturday into Sunday but then warm the temperatures for next week. && .AVIATION...Gusty southerly winds will continue to impact the SLC terminal until around 01 to 03Z at which point they will relax and also lose their gustiness. There is a less than 20% chance the SLC terminal will be impacted by thunderstorm outflow winds between 23 and 03Z. && .FIRE WEATHER...The trough off the Pacific Northwest coast will weaken and shift eastward across the northern Rockies over the weekend. This will allow the ridge over the midwest to expand westward across the Great Basin shutting off the monsoonal flow into the region. A weak cool front Friday night (according to the EC model) could lower temperatures by 3-6 degrees across northern Utah Saturday but little if any cooling across the south. As the ridge strengthens over the region temperatures will climb to several degrees above normal for at least the first half of next week. Single digit RH values expected in most valleys each afternoon. && .SLC Watches/Warnings/Advisories... UT...None. WY...None. && For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity For frequently asked questions about the Area Forecast Discussion visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity/general/afd_faqs.php
The Cedar City radar (KICX), 161 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:29 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Park rangers at Capitol Reef National Park reported flash flooding along Sulphur Creek.
Peak wind gusts in the Dugway Proving Ground mesonet from this thunderstorm included 67 mph at Callao Gate, 62 mph at both Camel Back Mountain and Baker Lab, and 61 mph at the Romeo & Centerline sensor.
The English Village sensor in the Dugway Proving Ground mesonet recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, July 2016
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: 653313, 653307, 653305.