Flooding and avalanche risks continue to impact parts of Utah after an active weekend, as record-high temperatures are causing major chunks of the state's record snowpack to melt rapidly.
Uphill traffic into Little Cottonwood Canyon is also currently closed because of avalanche mitigation efforts, according to UDOT. Uphill traffic into Big Cottonwood Canyon will be closed until 5 p.m., as well.
Utah's current statewide figure also fell out of record status over the weekend, the first time it has not been in uncharted territory since March 15. That means there is finally less water in Utah's statewide snowpack than there was at this point in the year back in 1983. "Streams, creeks, and rivers will continue to experience significant rises moving forward throughout the upcoming week, especially low and mid-elevation watersheds across ," the agency wrote in an advisory Sunday.Salt Lake City set a new daily record on Sunday when temperatures reached 87 degrees. Records or unseasonably hot temperatures were also recorded all over the state this weekend, which is fueling the runoff.
Johnson explained that record-high temperatures result from air mass patterns in the West. A low-pressure system off the Pacific Coast in California is helping pump "warm, dry desert air" from the south into Utah and other parts in and around the Great Basin where a high-pressure system moved in over the weekend.
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