A Zion Storm Cell

[oldno7]

This one is hitting the upper narrows.
Be careful out there, it's the monsoon season.
In the next month or so, COUNT ON ONE OF THESE IN ZION EVERY DAY....

[Sombeech]

Looks like it got 3 people:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...rk-flash-flood

[tanya]

Cool photo KURT

[oldno7]

Thank you Tanya

[Bo_Beck]

Wish I'd had that over my head hiking out of the Left Fork and up the slabs of Russell Gulch Friday!


Nice picture for sure!

[oldno7]

Thanks Bo.

[oldno7]

Looks like it got 3 people:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...rk-flash-flood

I missed this the first time. Justin, I took this shot on Sunday.

[nonot]

Here it is hitting the main canyon!

[ratagonia]

The weather in Zion has been unusual this year. But then again, here in the desert, "unusual weather" is the norm.

No, Kurt, the monsoon does not set up for a month at a time, here in Zion. We tend to be on the northern edge of the monsoon zone, so we move in and out of it. The first two weeks of monsoon hit Utah, but did not hit Zion, as most of the action was further east. Escalante got hit consistently in this time period.

In fact, Zion itself did not get hit hard, except in a few, very specific, and unfortunate events. The North Fork Virgin / Springdale gauge is out of order, and shows no hit before it went down. But, we can look at the Virgin River at Virgin, which includes the East Fork and North Creek. http://tinyurl.com/26hjuhn We see a big spike on July 25th, which was the big dump here in Mt Carmel on the East Fork 8 hours earlier. While the North Fork has been running muddy, and spiked to about 90 cfs on July 25th (when the gauge broke) but has not spiked yet this summer. So, yes, the Monsoon is here, lots of clouds and threatening, everyday. And hard rain in a few places. But the Narrows has not flashed yet, despite all this huffing and puffing.

Now the monsoon has shifted, and is threatening Zion almost every day. It will be this way for a while, and then it will change again. Monsoon hitting "for the next month or so" is very unlikely. It hitting for awhile, then being hot and dry for a while, then monsoon for a while, then dry for a while, etc. etc. through to mid-October is likely. Defining and predicting each leg of the "awhile" requires divine intervention. Perhaps Kurt is better connected than I.

Here in Mt Carmel, it has rained really hard (as in 1" /hour) three times in the last week. We are east of Zion.

So, yes, good for people to be aware of the problem. Not a good time to plan on canyoneering, so please don't. But, it does not cancel everyone's plans for the rest of the summer.

Tom

[ratagonia]

For comparison, check out the Escalante River nr Escalante: http://tinyurl.com/33yd6tr

Couple of BIG spikes there, and realize that is above town, does not include stuff happening out on the Hole in the Rock Road.

Tom

[oldno7]

The weather in Zion has been unusual this year. But then again, here in the desert, "unusual weather" is the norm.

No, Kurt, the monsoon does not set up for a month at a time, here in Zion.

I'm thinking, perhaps, making people overly aware rather than unaware.
I completely understand the dynamics of the high pressure(clockwise rotation) setting up in the correct place(4 corners region) to pump moisture out of the gulf of Mexico.
It can be amplified by a low pressure(counter clockwise rotation) setting up off the coast of California.
You are correct this ideal set up does not occur for months at a time, but from late June through September, it could, at any time.
A good canyoneer in our area is a good meteorologist, right up to the moment he/she starts their first rappel into a canyon and throughout it's completion.

Does that sound more reasonable, Tom?

[ratagonia]

I'm thinking, perhaps, making people overly aware rather than unaware.
I completely understand the dynamics of the high pressure(clockwise rotation) setting up in the correct place(4 corners region) to pump moisture out of the gulf of Mexico.
It can be amplified by a low pressure(counter clockwise rotation) setting up off the coast of California.
You are correct this ideal set up does not occur for months at a time, but from late June through September, it could, at any time.
A good canyoneer in our area is a good meteorologist, right up to the moment he/she starts their first rappel into a canyon and throughout it's completion.

Does that sound more reasonable, Tom?

Well put!

[tylerhirshfeld]

Soloed Rock Canyon today. Good looking weather for atleast an hour, so I decided to go down. Figured I could give myself 30 minutes in the slot and another 30 in the wider park of the canyon. It was obvious that it had flashed yesterday, but duh, about half its watershed is slickrock. About an hour after I started, I was back to my vehicle and there was a storm cell about 20 minutes out. Very similar looking to Kurt's photo. Ended up being one of the heaviest dumps I have ever witnessed here in Southern Utah. My windshied wipers couldnt keep up with the rain, but it sure was nice. Temps dropped from 88-59 in no time. I wouldnt mind this weather more often.
Thank goodness for fresh water in our canyons!

[ratagonia]

Soloed Rock Canyon today. Good looking weather for atleast an hour, so I decided to go down. Figured I could give myself 30 minutes in the slot and another 30 in the wider park of the canyon. It was obvious that it had flashed yesterday, but duh, about half its watershed is slickrock. About an hour after I started, I was back to my vehicle and there was a storm cell about 20 minutes out. Very similar looking to Kurt's photo. Ended up being one of the heaviest dumps I have ever witnessed here in Southern Utah. My windshied wipers couldnt keep up with the rain, but it sure was nice. Temps dropped from 88-59 in no time. I wouldnt mind this weather more often.
Thank goodness for fresh water in our canyons!

Cool, Tyler, and welcome to the Bogley! Rock Canyon into East Fork? Did those roads get easier after being wetted down?

Tom

[oldno7]

Soloed Rock Canyon today. Good looking weather for atleast an hour, so I decided to go down. Figured I could give myself 30 minutes in the slot and another 30 in the wider park of the canyon. It was obvious that it had flashed yesterday, but duh, about half its watershed is slickrock. About an hour after I started, I was back to my vehicle and there was a storm cell about 20 minutes out. Very similar looking to Kurt's photo. Ended up being one of the heaviest dumps I have ever witnessed here in Southern Utah. My windshied wipers couldnt keep up with the rain, but it sure was nice. Temps dropped from 88-59 in no time. I wouldnt mind this weather more often.
Thank goodness for fresh water in our canyons!

And I appreciate the invite
Just kidding, glad to see you've made it to the darkside. Welcome.

[tylerhirshfeld]

Thanks for the Welcomes.

Tom,
Yes, into the East Fork. Sure is beautiful down there. The road was definitely easier after being soaked. I used about half the gas this time, yeehaw!

Kurt,
I thought about you if that counts. I am glad to be on the dark side.