Rain swamps southern parts of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Portions of southern Utah were swamped with rain throughout Wednesday and into Thursday morning, while flood watches remained in effect for certain areas.

Bryce Canyon was pelted with 1.02 inches of moisture during the 24-hour period and 0.79 inches of rain was dumped on Goblin Valley.

Bullfrog received 0.77 inches, Ferron, 0.72; Loa, 0.57; and Panguitch 0.55 inches of rain.

On Wednesday, both the Paria River, near Kanab, and the Fremont River, in Capitol Reef National Park, were both running near record levels. The Paria, which normally has a flow of just 10 cubic feet per second, had spiked to 4,190 cfs. The Fremont, with an average flow of 25 cfs, has jumped to 2,877 cfs.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch Thursday morning for virtually all of the rivers and streams in southern Utah — including some in Washington and San Juan counties, plus the cities of Green River and Hanksville.

Hikers are advised to remain out of slot canyons.

The flood advisory does not include the St. George metro area, the Virgin River or the I-15 corridor.

The fire-scarred Mill Flat area near New Harmony has now received five inches of rain since Monday and was still under a flood warning Thursday morning.

According to KSL, a tornado was also spotted between Escalante and Mexican Hat early Wednesday afternoon, but no damage was reported.

Meanwhile, the Salt Lake International Airport received just 0.07 of an inch of moisture Wednesday. Logan had 0.5 inches and Ogden just 0.03.

Thursday in Salt Lake will feature scattered showers and thunderstorms, with a high of just 67 degrees, under mostly cloudy skies. The chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Temperatures Thursday night are expected dip to 49 degrees and the forecast features a 60 percent chance of more rain.

Friday temperatures will reach a high of 61 degrees, under cloudy skies and a 40 percent chance of rain.

Saturday and Sunday are expected to be mostly sunny, with the highs reaching nearly 70 degrees.

Monday, which is Columbus Day, will have a slight chance of rain and a high of 68 degrees.

Temperatures next week will remain in the mid to upper 60s.

Normal temperatures for this time of year are 69 degrees for the high and mid-40s for the low.

e-mail: lynn@desnews.com