A cold front driven by gusty outflow winds moved through northern Utah, with a redevelopment of high winds behind the initial line across the West Desert.
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.
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.
A cold front driven by gusty outflow winds moved through northern Utah, with a redevelopment of high winds behind the initial line across the West Desert.
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 May 1, 9:43 AM MST, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT 1043 AM MDT Sun May 1 2022 .UPDATE...Progression of the the H7 frontal boundary continues into central Utah. Noting CAMs struggling to represent both more organized precipitation along the southern extent of the boundary as well as lacking sufficient precipitation over the Great Salt Lake that is expected to sustain into the Wasatch Front, have updated PoPs and QPFs accordingly. Still expecting fairly modest MUCAPE of under 500 J/kg/K this afternoon, though with greater extent to the south and east. Have expanded thunderstorm probs towards the Green River including Grand Staircase, eastern valleys, and the Uinta Basin. These areas will have less moisture input in the pre-convective environment and as such carry a higher potential for strong gusty winds and isolated dry microbursts. Large scale subsidence will finally bring an end to most convective activity beyond 09Z Monday. Updated aviation section and other previous discussions follow. && .SYNOPSIS...A round of showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected across portions of the area today. Active weather will return late Monday through Wednesday, with yet another system on the horizon by the weekend. && .SHORT TERM (Through 6PM Monday)...A modest upper trough currently noted over the northern Great Basin region will continue to translate into the area throughout the day today. A precipitation shield observed over western Box Elder and Tooele county, aided by upper diffluence and lower forcing from the H7 frontal boundary, will continue to slide eastward this morning as the trough continues its track through the eastern Great Basin region. Persistent light to moderate precipitation will result along the leading edge of the precip shield, where ~0.1-0.2 inches of rain are expected. Current high-res guidance supports this leading band pushing into eastern Box Elder and Tooele counties before dissipating as the western flank of the trough become more energetic and weakens the H7 frontal progression as it approaches the Wasatch Front through the mid-morning hours. During this period, the 500mb cold pool will begin to transition overhead and help to destabilize the environment. This, in conjunction with sufficient heating, will help to kick off a round of rather widespread showers across primarily the northern two-thrids of Utah west of the terrain along the I-15 corridor. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected today given sufficient heating in a fairly unstable environment (MUCAPE ~150-300 J/kg/K), however, threat of widespread microburst activity seems unlikely given the moistening of the lower levels during the afternoon hours. High elevation snowfall is also expected (~8000ft and above), but stronger convective showers will likely contain greater portions of graupel, which would limit accumulation potential. Aside from the afternoon showers and thunderstorms, strong winds are anticipated in the pre-frontal environment across far southern Utah. With ~40kts of 700mb flow depicted by various NWP models and a tightening surface gradient across the southern half of Utah, the stage will be set for some stiff afternoon winds. HREF mean wind gusts during the afternoon hours show widespread 40-45 mph across the Grand Staircase-Escalante Natl Monument area, which creates borderline wind advisory concerns. 08Z HRRR also suggests exceedance of 45 mph within the aforementioned area during the afternoon. Given the modest flow aloft and a tightening surface gradient, have decided to hedge toward the higher wind gusts for this afternoon and issued a Wind Advisory for the Grand Staircase region, as well as the Glen Canyon Natl Rec Area/ Lake Powell from noon through 8PM. As daylight comes to an end today, convective showers will taper off and leave only the higher terrain with lingering light upslope snow showers until drying out during the early morning hours on Monday. Minimal accumulations are expected. A transient ridge will cross the region during the day on Monday, bringing generally quiet weather with warmer conditions. Active weather will resume once again by late Monday evening as yet another trough pushes into the region. .LONG TERM (After 6PM Monday)...The shortwave ridge over the area on Monday will quickly shift east of the area Monday night as the next storm system approaches from the northwest. This system takes the form of a closed low centered over Oregon at 00z Tuesday, with the associated cold front making its way into far northwest Utah. Looking at the details presented by the global deterministic models, this low will feature a couple of vorticity lobes dumbbelling around each other and the mean H5 low center. The first of these vort lobes will eject across northeast NV into southern ID Monday evening. This will push the associated cold front through most of the northwestern half of Utah fairly quickly before the front slows pending the arrival of the second vort lobe. Winds are expected to ramp up on both sides of the front Monday evening, but may be particularly strong in the postfrontal environment, especially across the northwest deserts, with wind gusts over 40 mph likely in some spots. There is a potential need for a wind highlight there, but would prefer to wait and ensure consistency on future model runs while letting today's wind event play out first. The second vort max is progged to swing across southern Utah on Tuesday, sweeping the cold front through the rest of the forecast area. A couple of days of showers can be expected with this storm system, with a focus across the north. This is due to several factors, including better moisture availability, better jet dynamics Monday night, and greater instability due to steeper lapse rates in proximity to the colder air aloft. The airmass does get quite cool, with H7 temperatures down to -8C across portions of northern Utah on Tuesday. As such, snow levels could reach as low as 5kft. However, any accumulations will be minor, given the relatively warm surface temperatures this time of year along with the showery nature of precipitation. Even higher elevation sites are expected to come in with amounts of generally 4 inches or less. High pressure will build back into the area Wednesday night. Where model spread exists is with the strength of this ridge heading into Thursday. Cluster analysis of ensemble members show some (mostly GFS and Canadian members) favoring a quick return to a more zonal pattern as a shortwave trough ripples across Montana. The EPS members are more steadfast in maintaining the ridge in place, suggesting warmer temperatures compared to the more zonal-flow solutions. Low impacts either way, but this would affect the timing of the next storm system arriving next weekend. && .AVIATION...KSLC...Northwest winds will increase into the afternoon, with gusts reaching 20-26 knots through 03Z. Scattered rain showers are expected from 18Z through the evening. A few isolated thunderstorms are expected, especially from 20-03Z. Mountain top obscurations of nearby peaks can be expected near the heavier showers. VFR conditions will prevail, but a more intense shower or thunderstorm could drop ceilings into MVFR range. Showers will be diminishing tonight into tomorrow morning. .REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...Strong and gusty southwest to west winds can be expected across south-central through southeast Utah this afternoon ahead of and with a cold front. Across much of northern and central Utah, expect CIGS to gradually lower into the afternoon hours as showers spread into the area from the northwest. Areas of mountain top obscuration can be expected in the heavier showers. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms can be expected across central and southern Utah this afternoon and evening. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for UTZ128-131. WY...None. && Wessler/Kruse/Wilson/Webber/Cheng 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
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
1254 PM MDT Sun May 1 2022
UTZ122-125-011945-
Southwest Utah UT-Southern Mountains UT-
1254 PM MDT Sun May 1 2022
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Piute
and northeastern Beaver Counties through 145 PM MDT...
At 1254 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Milford, moving east at 25 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Milford.
This includes the following highways...
Interstate 15 between mile markers 117 and 131.
Utah Route 21 between mile markers 73 and 84.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3858 11278 3857 11251 3853 11251 3852 11253
3850 11249 3839 11245 3829 11304 3848 11310
TIME...MOT...LOC 1854Z 254DEG 24KT 3841 11298
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
CRKSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
132 PM MDT Sun May 1 2022
UTZ115>117-122-125-012015-
Southwest Utah UT-Western Millard and Juab Counties UT-
Southern Mountains UT-Central Mountains UT-
Eastern Juab/Millard Counties UT-
132 PM MDT Sun May 1 2022
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of south central
Millard...southwestern Sevier and northeastern Beaver Counties
through 215 PM MDT...
At 131 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 13
miles west of Cove Fort, or 15 miles northeast of Milford, moving
east at 20 mph. Additional strong thunderstorms are located across
eastern Millard and Beaver Counties.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Cove Fort.
This includes the following highways...
Interstate 15 between mile markers 127 and 150.
Interstate 70 between mile markers 0 and 13, and between mile
markers 17 and 21.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3891 11262 3858 11228 3847 11273 3858 11298
TIME...MOT...LOC 1931Z 250DEG 18KT 3857 11283
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
CRKThe Cedar City radar (KICX), 147 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:51 UTC.
25 thunderstorm wind, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The I-70 at Richfield automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Wendover Airport AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 74 mph.
The Wendover Port of Entry automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Bonneville Salt Flats automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The West of Wildcat Mountain automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust 70 mph.
The Interstate 80 automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The V-Grid automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The APG automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The I-80 at MP 40 Knolls automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
The I-80 at Grassey automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Cedar Mountain automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Lakeside Mountain automated weather recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Upper Cedar Mountain automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The I-80 at MP 71 East Delle automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
The White Sage automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Marina automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Promontory Point automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
The I-80 at MP 107 automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Fremont Island automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 61 mph.
The Salt Lake City International Airport ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 67 mph.
The SR-85 at SR-201 automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Power Plant automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Mount Aire Canyon automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Point of the Mountain automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
A social media post showed a large downed tree on cars at a West Valley City apartment complex.
High winds redeveloped behind an initially convectively forced cold front passage across the West Desert, with numerous gusts between 58 and 64 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, May 2022
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: 1030557, 1030559, 1030560, 1030561, 1030562, 1030563, 1030564, 1030565, 1030566, 1030567, 1030568, 1030581, 1030569, 1030572, 1030570, 1030571, 1030573, 1030574, 1030577, 1030575, 1030576, 1030578, 1030579, 1030583, 1030580, 1030582.