Salt Lake County "Gets the Shaft"

When it comes to thunderstorms, it's often better to be lucky than good.

Driving back from a quick hike up the 'bird early this afternoon, a well-defined shaft of precipitation was moving across the northwest Salt Lake Valley.

Radar imagery showed some very localized and isolated cells around that time over the Salt Lake Valley and the Oquirrh Mountains.

Source: NCAR/RAL

 Those cells eventually merged, with high radar reflectivities over the central Salt Lake Valley.

Source: NCAR/RAL

 Eventually, the covered a good chunk of southwest Salt Lake County from Point of the Mountain to Parley's Canyon.

Source: NCAR/RAL

You'l notice that there wasn't much else going on west of the Wasatch Mountains as most of the action this afternoon was to our east and north.

Sometimes when it comes to convection, it's better to be lucky than good.  Of course, that assumes the storms didn't rain (and hail) on your parade.  For me, I was glad we got the "shaft" as it cooled things down at my place, even though we only got a trace of rain.

Models are suggesting some sort of a trough/frontal passage tomorrow.  The forecast high from the NWS for Tuesday is 82, which would be the lowest maximum we've seen around here since, gasp, June 17 (when it hit 82).  For lower than 82, you have to go back a few more days to June 14.