Unusual June snow, hailstorms move across Utah

10 inches in Logan; cold temperatures relieve flood worries

Unusual weather blew across Utah Tuesday morning, leaving some places blanketed white and some people looking twice at the calender.

"Normal is 79 and we were around 59," Brent Bourgeous, KSL weather producer, said of the recorded temperatures.

A pounding hailstorm in Davis County presented morning commuters with problems as they battled more than traffic on their way to work.

Snow in Logan, Tooele and higher elevations along the Wasatch Front stuck on the ground until the sun finally peeked its way through the clouds in the afternoon.

It didn't all melt, though. Snow reports include 14 inches from Farmington Canyon and 10 inches from Tony Grove in Logan Canyon.

Since June 1, the Salt Lake City International Airport weather center has recorded almost an inch of rain. That's 334 percent above the average for the typically dry summer month.

"We're wetter than normal. We're much more moist compared to the last springs we've had," said Eugene Vancor, a forecaster for the National Weather Service.

Tuesday's storm was fast and the cold front that came with it brought relief for those worried about flooding, Vancor said. The cold temperatures keep snow on the mountains and the rain isn't enough to bring stress to the rivers that have been overworked this season.

"Normally, this time of year, the jet stream starts to lift northward with the heating of the season, but you can still get a dip that creates a storm like this. It doesn't happen very often this time of year, but it can still happen," Bourgeous said.

Experts agree on one thing when a random storm comes in: No one can predict Mother Nature.

Esmaiel Malek, interim director of the Utah Climate Center at Utah State University, received calls all day about the crazy storm from re- searchers, statisticians and government agencies — and that's all he could tell them. That, and that the crazy weather had dumped snow outside his office window in Logan.

Those who enjoy warm weather can look forward to the weekend, which should feature temperatures in the upper 70s and partly cloudy skies without precipitation.

• Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputies said the weather was directly responsible for an accident at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon on Tuesday morning.

Just after 8 a.m., a 49-year-old man driving on Little Cottonwood Road ran into 3 inches of slush as the storm moved over the area, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Jaroscak.

The man's vehicle started drifting into oncoming traffic and he overcorrected, Jaroscak said. His car went off the road and rolled down the embank- ment.

The driver walked away with no injuries because he was wearing a seat belt, Jaroscak said.

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Contributing: Pat Reavy

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E-mail: nandrews@desnews.com