HIGHS
FOR THE MONTH (JULY 26,27) 105.0(DEG)
AVERAGE THIS MONTH 96.5(DEG)
30-YEAR AVERAGE 92.2(DEG)
RECORD (JULY 26, 1960) 107.0(DEG)
LOWS
FOR THE MONTH (JULY 7) 50.0(DEG)
AVERAGE THIS MONTH 64.9(DEG)
30-YEAR AVERAGE 63.7(DEG)
RECORD (JULY 1, 1968) 40.0(DEG)
MISC.
THUNDERSTORM DAYS 6
NORMAL THUNDERSTORM DAYS 7
MOST THUNDERSTORM DAYS (1985) 14
PRECIPITATION
TOTAL FOR JULY 0.06"
30-YEAR AVERAGE 0.81"
MOST IN 24-HOURS (MANY DAYS) 0.02"
RECORD (1982) 2.57"
Records set at Salt Lake weather station
JULY 6: Record-low maximum temperature of 73; old record was 74 in 1938.
JULY 9: Tied record-high maximum temperature of 102; also in 1939.
JULY 27: Record-high maximum temperature of 105; old record 104 in 1960.
Utah Weather Highlights:
JULY 1-4: Hot dry weather with low humidity prevailed with lots of wildfires, mainly caused by lightning. Fires broke out on the West Desert, in the Richfield area, in eastern Utah and north of St. George. The Skull Valley wildfire was so intense and fast moving that the tiny town of Terra (about 100 residents), located just west of Johnsons Pass, had to be evacuated. A home, several out buildings and a vehicle were destroyed in the desert community. A few areas with record-high temperatures, followed by previous record and year: Alta, 78 (76 degrees in 1973); Green River, 105 (104 in 1949); and Hanksville, Emery County, 107 degrees (104 in 1989).
JULY 5: A vigorous thunderstorm with severe damaging winds fanned wildfires. Strong winds belted the heart of the Wasatch Front northward
into Cache Valley and Rich County. This was the third severe weather event in northern Utah in six weeks. The brief, violent storm that was followed by west winds sent smoke billowing into the Wasatch Front. Emergency hotline operators were inundated with callers thinking their house or a house in the neighborhood was on fire. Widspread power outages occurred in mainly Davis and Salt Lake counties.
High winds in the Woods Cross area resulted in about $20,000 damage to vehicles at a car dealership in the Woods Cross area. Some wind gusts: West Bountiful, 82 mph; Woods Cross, estimated 80 mph; Randolph, Rich County, 65; Magna, 55; Salt Lake Airport and Kearns, 63; and Logan Airport, 60.
JULY 18: Monsoon rains inundated portions of Washington County, with the heaviest precipitation falling in the St. George, New Harmony and Hurricane areas. Strong winds accompanied the thunderstorms. A gust of about 70 mph hit Hurricane, while the St. George Airport clocked 50 mph wind. Power lines were downed and tree limbs snapped. Lightning and thunder frequently jolted the area, knocking out the primary transmitter at the emergency broadcast system at station KSUB in Cedar City.
Minor flooding was reported in the St. George and New Harmony areas. A clogged storm drain resulted in flooding of some St. George businesses. U-9 was covered with about 2 to 3 inches of water. Rainfall amounts (in inches): New Harmony, 2 inches in 50 minutes; Hurricane, 0.79 of an inch in 30 minutes; St. George Airport, 0.80 in 40 minutes; and Bloomington, 0.53 in 30 minutes.
JULY 22: Monsoon moisture encompassed the majority of Utah, producing substantial rain in some areas. Park City got dumped on with 1.88 inches in two hours. The storm total was 2.19 inches. Storm drains in Park City couldn't handle the water. Nearby Snyderville received 1.35 inches and Silver Creek Junction, 0.52 of an inch. A few other amounts: Magna, 0.57; Randolph, 0.51; and Moroni, Sanpete County, 0.35.
JULY 26-28: Record-hot temperatures wilted residents in the Salt Lake area, with 105 degrees on the 26th and 27th and 104 on the 28th. A check of records back to 1874 showed that temperatures were never that warm on consecutive days. Daily record-high temperatures were set in various parts of Utah.
Some July monthly precipitation totals: Alta, 0.53 of an inch (33 percent of normal); Blanding, 1.08 (83 percent of normal); Brigham City, 0.08 (10 percent); Bryce Canyon, 0.75 (50 percent); Holladay, 0.03 (3 percent); Kanab, 0.02 (2 percent); Provo-BYU, 0.09 (12 percent); Heber City, 0.25 (28 percent); Richmond, 0.06 (7 percent); Tooele, 0.14 (152 percent); and Zion National Park, 0.48 (38 percent).
Source: Salt Lake office, National Weather Service