Utah forecast: Rains bring cooler temperatures and flood risk

A series of thunderstorms and rain, occasionally heavy, had much of Utah under a Flash Flood Watch extending into late Monday night — and more precipitation was on tap for Tuesday.

The National Weather Service warned that storm activity would begin to pick up Monday afternoon and accelerate into the late-evening hours. The region's slot canyons, normally dry washes, some downhill urban areas and mountain slopes recently denuded by fire all were potential flood areas.

The advisory extended from northern Utah through central Utah along the Wasatch Front, and all the way south to Zion National Park and St. George.

The precipitation also cooled the state's weeks-long trend of near-triple digit temperatures. The Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, for example, expected highs in the upper-70s both Monday and Tuesday. Southern Utahns, too, looked for a break from the heat with temperatures in the upper-80s to low-90s.

Thanks to the rain, the Utah Division of Air Quality rated the entire state as "green," or healthy, for air quality through Tuesday.

The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website listed only mold and chenopods at "moderate," while other allergens were deemed "low" on the pollen index as of Wednesday.

Visit the Tribune's weather page (http://www.sltrib.com/weather) for more extensive, localized forecast content.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims