Utah forecast: The monsoon strikes back

After a near-idyllic summer weekend, Utah's August monsoonal moisture patterns will make a return in the days ahead.

Along with thunderstorms, rain showers and even periodic, wind-driven hail, the state also will see the mercury climb back into the 90s and triple digits as the week progresses.

The National Weather Service had not, as of Monday morning, issued any official flash flooding watches or warnings. But as sure as an "R" designates the seemingly eternal political affiliation of a super-majority in the Utah Legislature, Utah's slot canyons, usually dry washes and burn scars are at risk for inundating storms.

The effects of the monsoonal weather were to be first felt in southern Utah Monday, but from there the system is to engulf the remainder of the state like an atmospheric python.

Cloud cover began building over Utah's Dixie Monday morning, and despite high temperatures forecast to reach 100 degrees, chances for precipitation were accelerating. Tuesday's forecast highlights morning showers, thunder and lightning on the horizon; by afternoon, forecasters warned, hail and heavy rain will accompany daytime highs in the mid-90s.

The Wasatch Front, meantime, looked for chances of precipitation to steadily increase, along with wind gusts, Tuesday morning through the afternoon and evening. Highs were forecast to hit the low-90s, a few degrees cooler than Monday's expectations for mid-90s under skies threatening occasional rain and thunderstorms.

The Utah Division of Air Quality rated Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Box Elder, Utah and Tooele counties as "yellow," or compromised; the remainder of the state was tentatively graded as "green," or healthy into the midweek.

The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website listed only mold and chenopods as "high" while all other allergens were graded "low" on the pollen index as of Monday.

Visit the Tribune's weather page at www.sltrib.com/weather for more extensive, localized forecast content.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims