Flood watches ordered as remnants of Hurricane Priscilla head toward Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — A flood watch has been issued for nearly all of Utah’s southern half as remnants of Hurricane Priscilla move into the state.

The National Weather Service issued the watch for mountain and valley areas from the Wasatch Plateau to St. George, effective Thursday afternoon through Saturday evening. However, the storm — and another system heading into Utah — is expected to bring heavy rainfall totals across the state, which may help improve drought conditions but could also increase the risk of flooding.

On Thursday evening the National Weather Service increased the flash flood warning for several areas in Southern to “expected.”

⚠️⛈️ With increasing confidence in widespread heavy rain, the Flash Flood Potential Rating has been upgraded to Expected in parts of S-UT on Friday. This potential will increase rapidly during the early morning hours and will continue through the day and into Saturday. #utwx pic.twitter.com/enbRWWD1x4

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) October 10, 2025

The NWS stated the potential of flash floods will rapidly increase during the early morning hours of Friday and continue through Saturday.

Storm timing

Hurricane Priscilla formed in the Pacific Ocean and nearly reached Category 3 status earlier this week before weakening as it churned near the Mexican coast on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration experts project it will continue to weaken as it makes landfall later this week, but not before providing storms all the way up to Utah.

The northern edge of storm remnants will arrive in southern and central Utah by Thursday afternoon and potentially move north as the day continues, according to KSL meteorologist Devan Masciulli. Showers and thunderstorms could reach the Wasatch Front by Thursday night.

Waves of showers are forecast to continue through Friday, with the strongest precipitation likely in the southwestern and eastern parts of the state. The stormy weather is expected again on Saturday, when a second system is anticipated to arrive from the Pacific Northwest.

Masciulli said a cold front should reach northwestern Utah by Saturday night, bringing heavier precipitation to northern Utah.

“That cold front will help reignite things on Saturday for northern Utah,” she said. “It’s really kind of dynamically different (along the Wasatch Front), where we have two different pieces of the storm — but it will be a multiday storm.”

Showers will likely linger into Sunday, with snow in the mountains. But the cold front is projected to clear out the moisture by the end of the day, as the system moves eastward.

Flood risks and drought benefits

Multiple inches of precipitation are possible between Thursday and noon Sunday, especially in parts of central, eastern and southern Utah, according to KSL Weather projections. Over an inch of rain could fall in high-elevation areas of southern Utah by Friday night. Communities across the state could end up with close to or over an inch of precipitation.

There’s approximately a 10% chance that 2 to 4 inches of precipitation could fall across southern and eastern Utah, per the National Weather Service.

⚠️A Flood Watch is in effect for much of central, southern, and eastern Utah beginning Thursday afternoon through Saturday night. An influx of tropical moisture will result in widespread heavy rain across the area, leading to an increased threat of flash flooding. #utwx pic.twitter.com/2MobpwhaWd

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) October 8, 2025

 

However, both Masciulli and the weather service advise that there are still some variations in the path the system will take. Some models project the system will move more to the west, which would have a larger impact on Utah. Other models project it could move more to the east, potentially impacting southeast Utah much more than other parts of the state.

Either way, the flood watch advises people to prepare for excessive rainfall over the next few days, especially in central and southern Utah. Flash flooding is possible, if not probable, in some areas such as Utah’s slot canyons, dry washes and slickrock areas, as well as recent burn scars after a busy wildfire season across the state.

The good news is that all that water could improve the state’s drought conditions. Over three-fourths of the state remained in severe or extreme drought at the end of the 2025 water year, which concluded on Sept. 30. Between this weekend’s predicted storminess and a system that brought record rainfall to Salt Lake City, those numbers could improve as the 2026 water year begins.

Storms can also improve soil moisture levels in the mountains ahead of the next snowpack, which is vital for enhancing the efficiency of spring runoff next year.

“It’s kind of a good and a bad thing,” Masciulli said. “I’d love if … it doesn’t run off and lead to some really bad flash flooding in areas, (so) that with the next storm, we have some time for it to fully break down and saturate our soils. We don’t want it all at once, but I think it will do, hopefully, really well for areas in drought.”

Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online at the KSL Weather Center.

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