On Wednesday, Salt Lake City got the most rain it’s seen in a single day in more than six years — but not nearly as much as Magna and West Valley City.
Monsoon season hit the state hard. According to the National Weather Service, Utah’s capital city got 1.31 inches of precipitation, recorded at Salt Lake City International airport. That’s the most since March 23, 2017, when 1.97 inches fell — the official record for a single day.
(Unofficially, single-day rainfall of 2.3 inches was recorded in Salt Lake City on July 13, 1962, and Sept. 26, 1982, the weather service said.)
Salt Lake City’s Wednesday total was less than half of what hit nearby cities. Magna got a whopping 2.74 inches, and West Valley City was close behind with 2.67 inches of rain.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cars drive through a flooded road in West Valley City after monsoonal rain, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.
Other parts of the state also saw a lot of precipitation: 1.66 inches in Dugway; 1.43 inches in Kaysville; 1.25 inches in Vineyard; 1.13 in Eagle Mountain; 1.04 inches in Vineyard; 1.01 inches in Genola; 0.99 in Fruit Heights; 0.96 in Hurricane and Nephi; 0.85 in Loa; 0.75 in Herriman; 0.71 in Bountiful; 0.57 in Cedar City; and 0.54 in Tooele.
The rain brought minor flash flooding to many areas up and down the Wasatch Front, and flood watches remained in effect in many areas until Thursday afternoon.
In Salt Lake City, the rain helped temperatures plummet from recent triple digits — the forecast weekend highs are 79 on Friday, 82 on Saturday and 79 on Sunday, according to the weather service.
Normal highs for this time of year in Salt Lake City are in the mid-90s.
In southern Utah, normal temperatures are expected, with forecast highs in the low triple digits in St. George through the weekend.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Monsoonal rain in Davis County, on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.