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Weather advisories in parts of Utah following Tropical Storm Hilary

By Nichole Whiteley - | Aug 21, 2023

Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press

Cars are seen stuck in the mud on a street Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, in Cathedral City, Calif. Forecasters said Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing the potential for flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages.

Christine Kruse, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, said Utah is soaked in moisture that is being pulled north due to a combination of the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary and the contrast of low pressure off the California coast and high pressure in the plains. These conditions are causing several weather advisories, including wind and flood advisories in parts of Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon and Washington over the next few days.

Utah Valley has not currently been issued any weather advisories, warnings or watches, but Kruse said forecasters are keeping watch on the severe thunderstorms that are predicted to hit other parts of Utah through Tuesday night that have the potential to move into the area.

Kruse suggested staying weather alert through Tuesday evening to see if severe thunderstorms will move into Utah Valley. Updated will be posted through the National Weather Service’s social media pages, its website weather.gov/slc and weather apps. She advised to look at the weather forecast to see if there are any advisories before continuing with any outdoor plans.

There was a flood watch in effect in Southern Utah through Tuesday evening, a hazardous weather outlook in effect in eastern Utah and western Colorado into Monday night and a wind advisory in effect in the Great Salt Lake Desert and Wasatch Mountains and Tooele and Rush Valleys until 9 p.m. Monday night.

According to Ryne Willimas, Breeze Airlines public information officer, the airline, which flies out of Provo Airport to Santa Ana, California, did not have delays or cancellations for the nonstop riders to Santa Ana, but Breeze stopped operations at San Bernardino Airport for Breeze. No riders flying out of Provo on Breeze Airlines were stranded.

Nicole Martin, community relations and public information officer for Provo City, relayed information from Brian Torgerson, Provo Airport director, saying no passengers using the Provo Airport were affected by the storm.

According to flightaware.com, Southwest Airlines had canceled the most flights Monday, 189, and delayed 754 more. The cancellations have lowered significantly since Sunday when Southwest canceled 714 and delayed 962 flights.

Severe weather hit Southern California after Hilary made its way up from Mexico on Sunday evening. Hilary came into California as a tropical storm but was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone Monday morning, according to The Associated Press.

Hilary is the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years and has “swept people into swollen rivers, toppled trees onto homes and flooded roadways,” AP reported. There was one death as a result of Hilary hitting Mexico. In California, the tropical storm produced tornado warnings as the state also dealt with wildfires and a magnitude-5.1 earthquake.

No deaths or serious injuries have yet been reported, AP said.

CNN reported, “Across the southwestern US, the ongoing and historic amount of rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening to locally catastrophic flash, urban, and arroyo flooding including landslides, mudslides, and debris flows (Monday). Localized flooding impacts, some significant, are also expected across northern portions of the Intermountain West into Tuesday morning.”

When traveling in Utah, Kruse suggests looking ahead at weather conditions before getting on the road. There will be strong thunderstorms and the potential for flash floods, especially when heading south. “Check the weather forecast, look to see what that is for where they’re going to and just be weather aware,” she said. “If you see water flowing across the road, don’t drive through it; take the longer route and turn around, and don’t drown.”

In the parts of Utah that are under flash flood watches and have had flooding issues in the past, Kruse said to be aware and check if there are any flash flood warnings. She added to stay out of slot canyons, dry washes and anywhere else that is prone to flash floods until the moisture starts to lift out of Utah this weekend.

For those planning to travel to or through California or southern Nevada, Kruse said to check their department of transportation for road conditions including road closures or road condition issues.

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