This date in Utah history
Moments from Utah's past, in calendar order. Each entry links to the record it comes from. The homepage shows the entry for today's date, or the next one coming up.
January
Weather history: Flooding closes Snow Canyon Road
NOAA’s historical record for January 1, 2023 documents flash flood in Utah. Floodwater made Snow Canyon Road impassable and forced the closure of the state park’s south entrance after persistent rain, according to local law enforcement reports.
Weather history: Snow disrupts Park City schools
NOAA’s historical record for January 2, 2017 documents winter storm in Utah. The storm brought 15 inches to the Park City Library and 13 inches to Heber City. Its heaviest snow on January 3 prompted a school closure. The event record spans January 2–January 3.
Weather history: Snow falls in St. George
NOAA’s historical record for January 3, 2011 documents winter storm in Utah. Observers reported approximately two to three inches of snow across St. George, documenting a winter storm in Utah’s Dixie and Zion National Park forecast zone.
Utah becomes the 45th state
President Grover Cleveland issued a proclamation on Jan. 4, 1896, admitting Utah to the Union as the 45th state. It ended an effort that began in 1849, when newly arrived settlers first asked Congress for statehood. They petitioned seven times over 45 years before Utah was admitted.
Weather history: The Virgin River rises rapidly
NOAA’s historical record for January 5, 2008 documents flash flood in Utah. River flow climbed from 137 to 2,591 cubic feet per second between 6 and 10 a.m.; Zion rangers reported flooding along the river and tributaries.
Utah inaugurates its first state officers
Utah’s first state officers were inaugurated on January 6, 1896, two days after the statehood proclamation. Heber M. Wells began serving as the state’s first governor. The inauguration marked the start of elected state government under the new constitution, following decades of territorial administration.
Weber Stake Academy begins classes in Ogden
Weber Stake Academy held its first classes in Ogden on January 7, 1889. Students gathered in a church meetinghouse for elementary and high school instruction, including preparation for teaching. The academy developed into the institution later known as Weber State University.
Weather history: A fatal avalanche in Dutch Draw
NOAA’s historical record for January 8, 2021 documents avalanche in Utah. An avalanche killed a snowboarder in Dutch Draw. Fair weather on the day followed two storms that had added fresh snow and strong winds during the preceding week.
Weather history: A snow squall crosses the Wasatch Front
NOAA’s historical record for January 9, 2024 documents winter weather in Utah. A narrow band of snow sharply reduced visibility as temperatures dropped below freezing. Ogden-Hinckley Airport recorded gusts reaching 60 mph during the squall.
Weather history: An avalanche blocks the Provo River
NOAA’s historical record for January 10, 2023 documents avalanche in Utah. Snow and trees from an avalanche near Bridal Veil Falls temporarily dammed the Provo River. A worker caught in subsequent floodwater required rescue and treatment for hypothermia.
Weather history: Wind drives snow across the Tavaputs Plateau
NOAA’s historical record for January 11, 2013 documents winter weather in Utah. Around five inches of snow accumulated across the area. Gusts of 35 to 45 mph blew and drifted the new snow, according to the historical event report.
Weather history: Wind damages Ferron’s fire station
NOAA’s historical record for January 12, 2014 documents strong wind in Utah. A gust reaching 55 mph accompanied winds that stripped the fire station’s roof, leaving its plywood substructure behind. NOAA placed the incident in its Castle Country report.
Weather history: Snowmobilers survive an American Fork Canyon slide
NOAA’s historical record for January 13, 2024 documents avalanche in Utah. An avalanche caught three members of a snowmobile group. Companions dug out the buried riders, including one who regained consciousness after being uncovered several minutes later.
Weather history: Fog settles over Canyonlands Field
NOAA’s historical record for January 14, 2015 documents dense fog in Utah. Dense fog reduced visibility to a quarter mile in lower parts of Grand County, including Canyonlands Field Airport, according to observations preserved in the federal weather archive.
Weather history: A powerful gust at Lakeside Mountain
NOAA’s historical record for January 15, 2008 documents high wind in Utah. A cold front brought gusts above 58 mph to several Great Salt Lake Desert stations. The Lakeside Mountain sensor recorded a peak of 79 mph.
Weather history: Deep snow accumulates in the Wasatch
NOAA’s historical record for January 16, 2019 documents winter storm in Utah. Across the full storm, Brighton reported 45 inches and Alta Ski Area 42 inches. Alta’s observation site also recorded a January 18 daily snowfall record at the time. The event record spans January 16–January 18.
Weather history: Downslope winds damage a Ferron home
NOAA’s historical record for January 17, 2011 documents high wind in Utah. Wind tore the roof from a manufactured home in Ferron. Farther south, the Fremont Junction sensor recorded a gust reaching 72 mph during the same event.
Weather history: A fatal slide near Electric Lake
NOAA’s historical record for January 18, 2019 documents avalanche in Utah. An avalanche caught one of two skiers near Electric Lake. Search and rescue teams later recovered the buried skier, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Weather history: Rain and snowmelt flood Cache Valley homes
NOAA’s historical record for January 19, 2012 documents flood in Utah. Rain falling on frozen ground combined with melting snow to flood parts of Mendon and Wellsville. Debris clogged culverts, basements flooded, and water temporarily closed State Route 23. The event record spans January 19–January 20.
Weather history: A storm blankets Salt Lake Valley benches
NOAA’s historical record for January 20, 2017 documents winter storm in Utah. Storm totals reached 16 inches in eastern Cottonwood Heights and 15 inches in eastern Sandy. Lower elevations received less, including six inches at Salt Lake City International Airport. The event record spans January 20–January 21.
Weather history: Flooding reaches homes in Ogden Valley
NOAA’s historical record for January 21, 2012 documents flood in Utah. Additional heavy rain sent water across roads in the Ogden Valley. Six homes near the Wolf Mountain ski resort experienced flooding, according to the archived report.
Utah’s first senators
Utah’s legislature elected Frank Cannon and Arthur Brown as the state’s first two United States senators on January 22, 1896. Their selection followed statehood earlier that month and began Utah’s representation in the Senate.
Weather history: Dense fog envelops the eastern Uinta Basin
NOAA’s historical record for January 23, 2020 documents dense fog in Utah. Visibility remained below a quarter mile for several hours in the eastern Uinta Basin, with Vernal Regional Airport among the locations reporting the dense fog.
Weather history: Freezing rain disrupts Utah Valley travel
NOAA’s historical record for January 24, 2013 documents ice storm in Utah. Icy roads were linked to approximately 90 crashes in Utah Valley. Hospitals also treated people injured in falls, while a trooper was hurt assisting a stranded motorist.
Weather history: A fatal avalanche in the La Sal Mountains
NOAA’s historical record for January 25, 2019 documents avalanche in Utah. A snowmobiler was buried in Dark Canyon. After an unsuccessful initial search, teams from several counties and Wasatch ski areas recovered the rider’s body the following afternoon.
Weather history: Boulders cover a San Juan County highway
NOAA’s historical record for January 26, 2013 documents debris flow in Utah. Law enforcement reported water and boulders across Highway 262 between Aneth and Montezuma Creek. The historical report attributed the slides to heavy rainfall in the area.
Utah’s senators are seated
Frank Cannon and Arthur Brown presented their credentials and took the Senate oath on January 27, 1896. They drew lots to determine their Senate classes, establishing different term lengths for Utah’s first two senators.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds strike St. George airport
NOAA’s historical record for January 28, 2008 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. An automated weather station at St. George’s municipal airport recorded a thunderstorm gust of 74 mph, a specific observation preserved in NOAA’s Washington County event record.
The Bear River Massacre
On Jan. 29, 1863, U.S. Army troops of the Third California Volunteers under Col. Patrick E. Connor, sent from Camp Douglas near Salt Lake City, attacked a Northwestern Shoshone winter camp on the Bear River near present-day Preston, Idaho. The Shoshone call the place Boa Ogoi. The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation counts some 350 of its people killed.
Weather history: Snow piles up along the northern Wasatch Front
NOAA’s historical record for January 30, 2016 documents winter storm in Utah. Centerville, the Bountiful Bench and northeast Ogden Bench each received seven inches. Brigham City, Kaysville and South Ogden were among communities reporting six inches from the storm.
Weather history: An avalanche on Square Top Peak
NOAA’s historical record for January 31, 2021 documents avalanche in Utah. An avalanche killed a man along the Park City ridgeline. The slide followed a storm that had deposited approximately 14 inches of new snow over the preceding two days.
February
Weather history: Canyon winds sweep Centerville
NOAA’s historical record for February 1, 2011 documents high wind in Utah. Two sensors in Centerville recorded easterly gusts above 58 mph, with a maximum of 63 mph, during a canyon wind event along the northern Wasatch Front.
Weather history: Strong gusts along Interstate 80
NOAA’s historical record for February 2, 2020 documents high wind in Utah. A sensor near Interstate 80’s second milepost measured a 66 mph gust. Stations near milepost 29 and the Wendover Port of Entry also recorded strong winds.
Weather history: River flooding closes Washington County roads
NOAA’s historical record for February 3, 2019 documents flood in Utah. NOAA’s county record describes river flooding that closed roads at Utah Manganese. The reporting location is listed near Goldstrike, rather than as a statewide flooding event.
Weather history: Fog limits visibility in the Uinta Basin
NOAA’s historical record for February 4, 2013 documents dense fog in Utah. Extensive fog became especially dense overnight and into the middle of the morning, when visibility fell to a quarter mile or less across the reporting area.
John Christopher Cutler is born
John Christopher Cutler was born in Sheffield, England, on February 5, 1846. After his family moved to Utah, he became a businessman and Salt Lake County clerk. He later served as Utah’s governor from 1905 to 1909.
Weather history: The Wilson Glade avalanche
NOAA’s historical record for February 6, 2021 documents avalanche in Utah. An avalanche in Millcreek Canyon buried six backcountry skiers and killed four. The Utah Avalanche Center reported high avalanche danger despite sunny, fair weather on the day.
Weather history: Flooding spreads through Box Elder County
NOAA’s historical record for February 7, 2017 documents flood in Utah. Rain and snowmelt flooded basements, businesses and roads, with Bothwell, Garland and Tremonton particularly affected. The report estimated that 60 to 100 homes experienced basement flooding. The event record spans February 7–February 27.
Salt Lake City opens the Winter Olympics
President George W. Bush opened the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium on the night of Feb. 8, 2002, five months after the Sept. 11 attacks. "On behalf of a proud, determined, and grateful nation, I declare open the Games of Salt Lake City," he said.
Salt Lake City opens its new Main Library
Salt Lake City’s new Main Library opened to the public on February 8, 2003. The building paired library collections with public gathering spaces. Its opening added a distinctive civic landmark to the block near the City and County Building.
Weather history: A drainage failure floods Coalville homes
NOAA’s historical record for February 9, 2014 documents flood in Utah. After two days of rain, a culvert could not handle the water. Four homes along 150 South flooded, with particularly extensive damage reported at two properties.
Weather history: A rockslide closes Shafer Trail
NOAA’s historical record for February 10, 2015 documents debris flow in Utah. Large boulders fell onto Shafer Trail, closing the road. The report identified repeated freezing and thawing after earlier rain and snow as a likely contributor to the slide.
Mike Leavitt is born in Cedar City
Michael Okerlund Leavitt was born in Cedar City on February 11, 1951. He graduated from Southern Utah University and later served as Utah’s governor. His subsequent federal service included leading the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Utah Territory passes women's suffrage
Utah's acting territorial governor signed "An Act conferring upon women the elective franchise" on Feb. 12, 1870. Two days later, women voted in Salt Lake City's municipal election. Congress took the vote away from Utah women in 1887 with the Edmunds-Tucker Act.
Weather history: Strong gusts in the Sevier valleys
NOAA’s historical record for February 13, 2019 documents high wind in Utah. The Interstate 15 station at Sevier River measured a peak gust of 69 mph, while Sevier Reservoir recorded 58 mph during the same event.
Seraph Young casts her ballot
Seraph Young voted in Salt Lake City's municipal election on Feb. 14, 1870, two days after Utah Territory's suffrage act was signed. The Deseret Evening News reported that it believed she was the first woman to record her vote in that election. Her ballot is remembered as a milestone in the history of women's voting in the United States.
Weather history: A 78 mph gust at Little Mountain
NOAA’s historical record for February 15, 2023 documents high wind in Utah. An automated station at Little Mountain measured a peak gust of 78 mph. NOAA preserved the observation in its report for the eastern Uinta Mountains forecast zone.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage a Washington barn
NOAA’s historical record for February 16, 2011 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind badly damaged a barn near Washington, Utah. Pieces of the structure blew across a road and struck power lines, according to the county event narrative.
Weather history: Heavy snow disrupts flights and schools
NOAA’s historical record for February 17, 2021 documents heavy snow in Utah. Cottonwood Heights reported 19 inches of snow and Salt Lake City International Airport 13.2 inches. The storm disrupted schools, flights, travel and scheduled health appointments.
Weather history: Wind damage in the Wasatch mountain valleys
NOAA’s historical record for February 18, 2016 documents high wind in Utah. A barn was destroyed in Wallsburg and trees fell near Wolf Creek Ranch and Empire Pass. Heber City’s airport recorded a peak gust of 60 mph.
Weather history: High winds at Canyonlands Field
NOAA’s historical record for February 19, 2018 documents high wind in Utah. Canyonlands Field Airport near Moab measured a peak gust of 62 mph and sustained winds reaching 44 mph during a windy day across the reporting area.
Reed Smoot retains his seat
The United States Senate voted against expelling Reed Smoot on February 20, 1907. His position as a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had prompted challenges to his Senate membership.
Weather history: Wind topples Cache Valley power poles
NOAA’s historical record for February 21, 2017 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Thunderstorms knocked down poles in Wellsville and Amalga. In Smithfield, a large tree fell onto a mobile home, while Logan-Cache Airport recorded a 53 mph gust.
Weather history: High winds along southwest Utah’s Interstate 15
NOAA’s historical record for February 22, 2023 documents high wind in Utah. The Black Ridge station recorded a 72 mph gust. Other sites around Cedar City and Hamiltons Fort reported gusts exceeding 60 mph during the wind event.
Weather history: Snow and wind hamper northern Utah travel
NOAA’s historical record for February 23, 2013 documents winter storm in Utah. South Ogden received ten inches of snow. Low visibility and blowing snow complicated travel, and the historical report counted approximately 60 crashes along the northern Wasatch Front.
The Salt Lake City Winter Olympics close
The Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games closed on February 24, 2002. The ceremony ended the Olympic gathering that had opened earlier that month. Utah’s international winter sports season continued in March with the Paralympic Winter Games, a separate event with its own athletes and ceremonies.
Weather history: Wind sweeps the Great Salt Lake Desert
NOAA’s historical record for February 25, 2012 documents high wind in Utah. Promontory Point recorded a 66 mph gust, with similarly strong observations at Lakeside Mountain and along Interstate 80, documenting the geographic reach of the wind event.
Weather history: Skiers caught near Big Cottonwood Canyon
NOAA’s historical record for February 26, 2024 documents avalanche in Utah. Four skiers were caught in an avalanche. One injured skier could not travel out and required an aerial evacuation; the others departed after medical crews reached the scene.
Simon Bamberger is born
Simon Bamberger was born on February 27, 1845, outside the United States. He later became a Utah businessman and governor. His term from 1917 to 1921 placed him in office during the First World War and its immediate aftermath.
The University of Deseret is founded
The school now called the University of Utah was officially founded as the University of Deseret on Feb. 28, 1850, less than three years after Latter-day Saint settlers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham Young had assembled its board of regents. Its first classes met that November, and it took its current name in 1892.
March
Weather history: A fatal avalanche on the Manti Skyline
NOAA’s historical record for March 1, 2013 documents avalanche in Utah. Snowmobilers discovered that a member of their group was missing near Twelve Mile Canyon. Searchers eventually located him beneath avalanche debris, but he had died before recovery.
Hovenweep becomes a national monument
President Warren G. Harding established Hovenweep National Monument on March 2, 1923. The federal designation protected ancestral buildings in Utah and Colorado. It should be read as a preservation milestone, alongside the much longer histories and continuing connections of Native peoples.
Weather history: An avalanche in the Beaver Basin area
NOAA’s historical record for March 3, 2012 documents avalanche in Utah. A snowmobiler was buried in a large La Sal Mountains avalanche. The slide traveled roughly 1,250 vertical feet, and the buried rider was recovered the next day.
Utah's constitutional convention begins
Delegates met on March 4, 1895, to begin writing a constitution for the future state of Utah, the main requirement Congress set in its 1894 Enabling Act. Over two months they debated the structure of state government, the separation of church and state and woman suffrage.
Weather history: Wind and dust disrupt southwest Utah highways
NOAA’s historical record for March 5, 2017 documents high wind in Utah. Gusts reached 70 mph at Milford’s airport. Blowing dust and debris contributed to serious crashes on State Route 21, while trees and fences were damaged elsewhere.
Weather history: Wind overturns a truck near Wendover
NOAA’s historical record for March 6, 2012 documents high wind in Utah. Strong gusts swept the west desert, including a 66 mph reading near Interstate 80’s first milepost. A semitrailer overturned near milepost two during the event.
Salt Lake City opens the Paralympic Winter Games
The Salt Lake City Paralympic Winter Games opened on March 7, 2002, with a ceremony at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Games brought athletes from 36 countries to Utah. Muffy Davis and Chris Waddell jointly lit the Paralympic cauldron, beginning a separate international sporting event after the Olympics.
The Agricultural College of Utah is founded
The Agricultural College of Utah, now Utah State University, was founded on March 8, 1888. The Logan institution began as Utah's land-grant college. Its development links higher education to agriculture, engineering and the changing economy of Cache Valley.
The Castle Gate mine disaster
Explosions tore through a coal mine at Castle Gate in Carbon County on March 8, 1924. A headlamp ignited methane gas, which set off airborne coal dust in a chain of blasts. The disaster changed the lives of more than 100 families, and a state relief fund later helped widows and their children.
Utah establishes its public arts agency
The Utah Art Institute was established on March 9, 1899, following legislation advanced by Representative Alice Merrill Horne. The agency supported an annual exhibition and a public art collection. Its founding connects the work of an early woman legislator to the state's continuing cultural institutions.
Utah’s Legislature adopts a state flag
Utah’s Legislature adopted a state flag on March 9, 1911. The date later became Utah State Flag Day and preceded several revisions in the flag’s history. More than a century later, the new Beehive Flag became official on the same calendar date in 2024.
Utah’s new Beehive Flag becomes official
Utah’s new Beehive Flag became official on March 9, 2024. The effective date followed the governor’s signing of the flag legislation in March 2023. The design’s arrival was a new chapter in the state’s symbols, while the earlier flag continued to have a separate historic designation.
Weather history: Wind brings down Salt Lake Valley trees
NOAA’s historical record for March 10, 2023 documents high wind in Utah. A Sandy weather station recorded a 75 mph gust. Uprooted trees blocked roads, and power outages affected Sandy, Cottonwood Heights and surrounding parts of the valley.
Utah creates Cedar City’s Branch Normal School
The State of Utah created the Branch Normal School in Cedar City on March 11, 1897, as a branch of the University of Utah. The teacher-training institution became the predecessor of Southern Utah University. Its creation brought a new educational undertaking to southern Utah.
An earthquake strikes Hansel Valley
A powerful earthquake struck Hansel Valley in northwestern Utah on March 12, 1934. The Utah Geological Survey documents surface faulting and ground deformation associated with the event. The earthquake became an important reference for understanding Utah’s seismic history beyond the populated Wasatch Front.
Golden Spike becomes a national historical park
A federal law signed on March 12, 2019, redesignated Golden Spike National Historic Site as Golden Spike National Historical Park. The change came in the year of the transcontinental railroad’s 150th anniversary. It changed the site’s designation; it did not mark the railroad’s completion or the beginning of federal ownership.
Jurassic National Monument is established
Public Law 116-9 established Jurassic National Monument on March 12, 2019. The monument protects the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry area in Emery County, a site known for its concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils. The Bureau of Land Management administers the monument, connecting scientific research with preservation and public education.
John Wesley Powell National Conservation Area is designated
John Wesley Powell National Conservation Area was designated on March 12, 2019, under Public Law 116-9. The Bureau of Land Management’s Vernal Field Office administers the area. The designation belongs to the region’s modern conservation history, separate from Powell’s nineteenth-century river expeditions.
Weather history: Thunderstorm gusts in St. George
NOAA’s historical record for March 13, 2010 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Two automated stations in the St. George area recorded gusts of 58 and 59 mph as isolated severe thunderstorms moved through, according to the county event narrative.
Weather history: A cold front brings west desert winds
NOAA’s historical record for March 14, 2016 documents high wind in Utah. Promontory Point recorded a gust of 65 mph behind the front. Dugway Proving Ground stations also measured strong gusts at Camel Back Mountain and Causeway.
Weather history: Rain on snow floods Tremonton-area roads
NOAA’s historical record for March 15, 2023 documents flood in Utah. Water covered roads near Tremonton’s Sky Way Golf Course and affected homes. The report also described the Malad and Bear rivers overflowing their banks during the episode.
Utah’s Paralympic Winter Games conclude
The Salt Lake City Paralympic Winter Games concluded on March 16, 2002. Their closing ceremony took place at the Olympic Medals Plaza. Across the Games, athletes competed in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing and ice hockey, extending Utah’s winter sports year beyond February’s Olympic competitions.
Weather history: Wind damages fences and roofs in Emery County
NOAA’s historical record for March 17, 2014 documents high wind in Utah. Communities from Huntington to Ferron reported damaged fences, signs and roofs. A parked trailer overturned, and damaged transmission lines left approximately 2,500 people without power.
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes near Magna
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck near Magna at 7:09 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time on March 18, 2020. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations reported widespread shaking along the Wasatch Front and numerous aftershocks. The event remains an important reference point for regional earthquake preparedness.
Weather history: Wind drifts snow in southeastern mountains
NOAA’s historical record for March 19, 2010 documents winter weather in Utah. Snow totals ranged from four to seven inches. Gusts blew and drifted the snow, with localized speeds reaching 62 mph on top of the La Sal Mountains.
Weather history: A powerful gust in the western Uintas
NOAA’s historical record for March 20, 2021 documents high wind in Utah. The Lofty Lake Peak sensor measured a 77 mph gust. Windy Peak and Chepeta also recorded strong gusts, illustrating the event’s reach across high mountain stations.
Weather history: Snow-covered Highway 89 sees a fatal crash
NOAA’s historical record for March 21, 2023 documents winter weather in Utah. Three people died in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 89. Officials reported snow-covered pavement and identified weather as a likely factor, rather than establishing it as the sole cause.
Weather history: Wind overturns an Interstate 80 semitrailer
NOAA’s historical record for March 22, 2018 documents high wind in Utah. Dugway’s Camel Back Mountain and Upper Cedar Mountain stations each measured 69 mph gusts. The event also overturned a semitrailer on Interstate 80 in the west desert.
Weather history: Heavy rain floods Salt Lake apartments
NOAA’s historical record for March 23, 2017 documents heavy rain in Utah. Two families evacuated the Sunnyvale Apartments after flooding. Salt Lake City International Airport recorded 1.97 inches of rain, described in the contemporary report as a March daily record.
Weather history: Ice causes a Legacy Parkway ramp pileup
NOAA’s historical record for March 24, 2023 documents winter weather in Utah. Freezing pavement contributed to a crash involving 17 passenger vehicles and two semitrailers on the ramp to northbound Interstate 15. Five occupants were taken to hospitals.
Weather history: A probable dust devil in Minersville
NOAA’s historical record for March 25, 2014 documents dust devil in Utah. A trampoline was lifted into power lines. Because surrounding wind observations were relatively light, the report identified a dust devil as the likely explanation, with the time estimated.
Weather history: Thunderstorms damage Utah County trees and roofs
NOAA’s historical record for March 26, 2003 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind tore off shingles, broke tree limbs and overturned a trampoline. Springville reported a 69 mph gust, while a Brigham Young University station in Provo recorded 62 mph.
Weather history: Wind capsizes a Jordanelle Reservoir canoe
NOAA’s historical record for March 27, 2001 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Thunderstorm outflow overturned a canoe carrying two men. Both became hypothermic in the cold water; one drowned, while the other was rescued and treated at a hospital.
Weather history: An avalanche buries a snowcat near Farmington
NOAA’s historical record for March 28, 2023 documents avalanche in Utah. Two occupants were caught near the Gold Ridge and Hardscrabble backcountry area. People in another snowcat began digging them out before rescue crews completed the response.
Weather history: Wind overturns trucks along Interstate 80
NOAA’s historical record for March 29, 2009 documents high wind in Utah. Three semitrailers overturned during a west desert windstorm. The Callao Gate sensor recorded a 73 mph gust, with other strong readings near Wendover and the salt flats.
Beaver Dam Wash receives a conservation designation
Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area was designated on March 30, 2009, under Public Law 111-11. The southwestern Utah designation became part of the Bureau of Land Management’s conservation lands system. Its legislative history provides context for later discussions about protecting and managing the landscape.
Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is designated
Red Cliffs National Conservation Area was designated on March 30, 2009, under Public Law 111-11. The designation placed a southwestern Utah landscape within the Bureau of Land Management’s conservation lands system. The date marks the legislative designation, rather than the beginning of the area’s natural or human history.
Weather history: A thunderstorm gust at Boulder Summit
NOAA’s historical record for March 31, 2013 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The State Route 12 sensor at Boulder Summit recorded a peak gust of 60 mph. NOAA archived the observation as a Garfield County thunderstorm wind event.
April
Moss’s cigarette advertising legislation
President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act on April 1, 1970. Utah senator Ted Moss championed the legislation, which strengthened cigarette labeling requirements and prohibited cigarette advertising on radio and television.
Golden Spike receives its first historic-site designation
Golden Spike was designated a National Historic Site on April 2, 1957. The site was not federally owned at that point. This recognition preceded the federal ownership milestone of 1965 and the 2019 redesignation as a national historical park, tracing several stages in preserving the railroad completion site at Promontory Summit.
Federal recognition is restored to the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act became law on April 3, 1980. The Tribe identifies restoration as a turning point after termination cut off federal recognition and services. Its five constituent bands are Cedar, Indian Peaks, Kanosh, Koosharem and Shivwits.
Weather history: A fatal cornice collapse in the Wasatch
NOAA’s historical record for April 4, 2010 documents avalanche in Utah. A snowmobiler triggered a cornice collapse that released an avalanche and carried him over a cliff band. His partner located him, but rescuers could not revive him.
Weather history: Microburst damage near Tabiona
NOAA’s historical record for April 5, 2002 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A strong microburst removed the roof from a shed and brought down a large cottonwood tree. NOAA recorded the damage in its Duchesne County thunderstorm wind report.
The Salt Lake Temple’s dedication begins
Wilford Woodruff offered the dedicatory prayer at the first dedication session of the Salt Lake Temple on April 6, 1893. The ceremonies continued through additional sessions over the following weeks. The date marked a religious milestone after decades of construction in downtown Salt Lake City.
Weather history: Lightning starts a St. George house fire
NOAA’s historical record for April 7, 2018 documents lightning in Utah. A lightning strike ignited a fire that destroyed a St. George home. The federal record places the reporting point near Santa Clara. The event record spans April 7–April 8.
Weather history: A debris flow traps two people in Fruit Heights
NOAA’s historical record for April 8, 2023 documents debris flow in Utah. A slide destroyed a barn and trapped two people in the debris. Both were rescued and hospitalized temporarily, according to NOAA’s account of the Davis County event.
The first Pony Express relay from Missouri reaches Salt Lake City
The first Pony Express rider traveling from the eastern terminus reached Salt Lake City on April 9, 1860. The mail had left St. Joseph, Missouri, six days earlier. Its arrival connected Utah to a relay network of riders and horses carrying correspondence toward California.
Huge landslides collapse into Bingham Canyon Mine
Two massive rock avalanches fell into Bingham Canyon Mine on April 10, 2013. University of Utah researchers studied the slides and the small earthquakes they triggered. The event connected the working copper mine’s history with research into how very large landslides move and affect the ground.
A military guard kills James Wakasa at Topaz
A military guard shot and killed 63-year-old James Wakasa at Topaz on April 11, 1943. His death prompted organized protests among people incarcerated at the camp near Delta. The episode is part of Topaz’s history of confinement and the denial of Japanese Americans’ civil rights during World War II.
Arches National Monument is created
President Herbert Hoover signed Presidential Proclamation No. 1875 on April 12, 1929, establishing Arches National Monument. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower later changed its boundaries. Arches became a national park in 1971 and was enlarged again in 1998.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds topple Orem trees
NOAA’s historical record for April 13, 2014 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Several large trees fell in Orem during an early morning thunderstorm. In Provo, the Eyring Science Center sensor measured a wind gust reaching 60 mph.
Weather history: Wind disrupts Salt Lake Valley air travel
NOAA’s historical record for April 14, 2015 documents high wind in Utah. Gusts reached 81 mph at the Great Salt Lake Marina. Strong winds disrupted airport operations, diverted flights, overturned a semitrailer and damaged trees and caused power outages.
Weather history: Snowbasin records extreme mountain gusts
NOAA’s historical record for April 15, 2008 documents high wind in Utah. The Straw Top sensor at Snowbasin measured a 93 mph gust. The resort’s lower Wildcat sensor also recorded a powerful gust, reaching 91 mph during the event.
Natural Bridges becomes a national monument
President Theodore Roosevelt established Natural Bridges National Monument on April 16, 1908. The proclamation protected natural stone bridges in southeastern Utah and their surrounding lands. It was Utah's first national monument; the designation marked federal protection, not the beginning of the area's human history.
Weather history: A presumed roof avalanche in Brighton
NOAA’s historical record for April 17, 2023 documents avalanche in Utah. The body of a Holladay man was found beneath snow in Brighton. NOAA described the incident as a presumed roof avalanche; this anniversary marks the reported discovery date.
Weather history: A thunderstorm gust at Dugway
NOAA’s historical record for April 18, 2017 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The Causeway weather sensor at Dugway Proving Ground recorded a peak gust of 60 mph. The observation appears in NOAA’s Tooele County thunderstorm wind record.
Weather history: Chalk Creek threatens Coalville bridges
NOAA’s historical record for April 19, 2011 documents flood in Utah. The creek rose above its documented flood threshold after a rapid increase in flow. Water approached upstream homes and crossed the bridge at Border Station Road.
Weather history: Spring snow in the eastern Uintas
NOAA’s historical record for April 20, 2018 documents winter weather in Utah. Observers generally measured three to seven inches of new snow in the eastern Uinta Mountains forecast zone, according to NOAA’s historical report for this spring weather event.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage Salt Lake City trees
NOAA’s historical record for April 21, 2011 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A falling airport light pole struck two cars, and trees fell in Rose Park and the Avenues. The airport’s weather station measured a 67 mph gust.
Weather history: Wind damages buildings and boats
NOAA’s historical record for April 22, 2014 documents high wind in Utah. A scaffolding collapse in Murray and damaged Great Salt Lake Marina boats were among the impacts. Gusts reached 86 mph at Vernon Hill during the wider event.
Weather history: A gust at St. George’s airport
NOAA’s historical record for April 23, 2007 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A storm brought a reported 53 mph gust to the airport’s automated weather station. The observation provides a local record of thunderstorm winds in southwestern Utah during the spring.
Weather history: A strong gust near Snowville
NOAA’s historical record for April 24, 2023 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The Chaulk Hill weather station reported a 60 mph gust. NOAA preserved the measurement as a thunderstorm wind observation associated with its Snowville reporting point.
Weather history: Lightning disables a Utah weather radar
NOAA’s historical record for April 25, 2011 documents lightning in Utah. A strike damaged wiring, circuit boards and protective radome panels at the National Weather Service radar near Promontory Point. The radar remained unavailable for almost 24 hours.
Weather history: Lightning damages a century-old Kaysville home
NOAA’s historical record for April 26, 1999 documents lightning in Utah. A late-night strike opened a large hole in the roof. The owners were home but uninjured, and the contemporary report estimated damage at approximately $50,000.
Weather history: Wind snaps power poles serving weather radar
NOAA’s historical record for April 27, 2010 documents high wind in Utah. Twenty-one poles supplying the radar near Promontory Point snapped. The broader west desert wind event included an 83 mph gust at Hat Island and other strong readings. The event record spans April 27–April 28.
Railroad crews lay ten miles of track in a day
Near Promontory Summit, Central Pacific crews laid 10 miles and 56 feet of track on April 28, 1869. Chinese workers carried out much of the work alongside Irish rail layers. Their coordinated labor preceded the ceremonial joining of the transcontinental railroad the following month.
Weather history: Late-season snow in southeastern Utah’s mountains
NOAA’s historical record for April 29, 2010 documents winter weather in Utah. Locations above 8,000 feet received five to twelve inches of snow. Wind gusts reaching 50 mph caused blowing and drifting snow in the La Sal and Abajo area.
Weather history: A damaging northern Wasatch Front windstorm
NOAA’s historical record for April 30, 2016 documents high wind in Utah. Power outages affected more than 39,000 customers, and hundreds of trees fell. NOAA notes that the damaging wind episode continued into May; impacts are episode totals.
May
The Winter Quarters mine disaster
At 10:25 a.m. on May 1, 1900, an explosion ripped through the Winter Quarters No. 4 mine near Scofield and into the No. 1 mine, both run by the Pleasant Valley Coal Company. Scofield residents rushed to rescue miners. State coal mine inspector Gomer Thomas later wrote a series of letters on the disaster and how to prevent another.
Weather history: Lightning ignites a Midvale restaurant roof
NOAA’s historical record for May 2, 1999 documents lightning in Utah. A strike started a fire on part of the roof at Silvester’s Restaurant. The fire was extinguished quickly, and the report states that nobody was injured.
Weather history: A tornado touches down in Willard
NOAA’s historical record for May 3, 2009 documents tornado in Utah. The tornado followed a one-mile path and received an EF0 rating. It damaged siding, uprooted or snapped trees, and tossed an empty snowmobile trailer in town.
Replica locomotives arrive at Golden Spike
Working replicas of the Jupiter and No. 119 locomotives arrived at Golden Spike on May 4, 1979. They recreated the engines associated with the railroad’s completion ceremony at Promontory Summit. The replicas gave the historic site another way to interpret the 1869 event through operating machinery.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage Santaquin property
NOAA’s historical record for May 5, 2005 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind damaged a shed, doghouse and satellite dish, and brought down power lines. The historical Utah County record documents several distinct impacts from the passing thunderstorm.
Weather history: Wind damages a Weber County turkey farm
NOAA’s historical record for May 6, 2017 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Several outbuildings at the Wight Fresh Turkey Farm sustained major damage, including collapsed structures and damaged roofs. The report estimated total farm damage at $60,000 at the time.
Gary Herbert is born
Gary Herbert was born on May 7, 1947, in Utah. He later served as a Utah County commissioner and lieutenant governor before becoming governor in 2009. His career links county government with the state’s executive branch.
Delegates sign Utah's constitution
Utah's constitutional convention read, adopted and signed the handwritten copy of the state constitution on May 8, 1895, each delegate signing as his name was called. Clerk Joseph A. Smith had copied the whole document in one hand. Eight absent delegates had until Oct. 15 to add their names. Voters approved it that November.
Weather history: Penny-sized hail in Holladay
NOAA’s historical record for May 9, 2016 documents hail in Utah. Observers reported hail approximately the diameter of a penny in Holladay. NOAA preserved the report as a localized Salt Lake County hail event, rather than a statewide measurement.
The transcontinental railroad is completed
The first transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. The site is now Golden Spike National Historical Park, where crowds gathered for the 100th anniversary in 1969 and about 50,000 visitors came over three days for the 150th in 2019.
Weather history: High Ogden River flows undermine a highway
NOAA’s historical record for May 11, 2023 documents flood in Utah. Erosion caused one lane of State Route 39 in Ogden Canyon to collapse. The road closed for about eleven hours before traffic resumed on the stable lane.
Young civil-rights advocates confront lunch-counter discrimination
LaVerne Price presented the Salt Lake City NAACP Youth Council's petition to the City Commission on May 12, 1948. The campaign followed the refusal to serve five Black women at the City and County Building lunch counter. The later commission response stopped short of an enforceable nondiscrimination requirement.
Weather history: A fatal flash flood in Zion
NOAA’s historical record for May 13, 2001 documents flash flood in Utah. A sudden flood swept two brothers from a trail crossing. The older child died after being carried over a ledge; the younger held onto a tree and was rescued.
Weather history: Flash flooding near Capitol Reef’s visitor center
NOAA’s historical record for May 14, 2023 documents flash flood in Utah. Park officials reported water flowing through Sulphur Creek after showers and thunderstorms. A separate visitor report described deeper water in Spring Canyon, illustrating differing conditions within the park.
Weather history: Hail damages a car north of Delta
NOAA’s historical record for May 15, 2016 documents hail in Utah. Half-dollar-sized hail fell along U.S. Highway 6. The report described a broken sunroof and dents in a vehicle’s exterior, linking the hail size to specific local damage.
Weather history: Large hail falls near Maeser
NOAA’s historical record for May 16, 2014 documents hail in Utah. Hailstones reached roughly ping-pong-ball size in parts of the Maeser area. The historical report noted minor damage, mainly to vehicles, during the Uintah County storm.
Weather history: A microburst gust near Richfield
NOAA’s historical record for May 17, 2003 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Signal Peak measured a 58 mph gust as a cold front crossed the area. NOAA classified the observation as thunderstorm wind in its Sevier County record.
Weather history: Colorado River flooding reaches Moab campgrounds
NOAA’s historical record for May 18, 2023 documents flood in Utah. High river flows inundated a boat takeout and several campgrounds near Moab, including Kings Bottom, Goose Island and Gold Bar. The Bureau of Land Management supplied the report.
Weather history: A 75 mph gust at Milford’s airport
NOAA’s historical record for May 19, 2024 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The airport’s automated station measured a 75 mph gust. NOAA attributed the wind to outflow from a nearby cluster of showers and thunderstorms moving through the area.
Weather history: A fatal flood in Buckskin Gulch
NOAA’s historical record for May 20, 2023 documents flash flood in Utah. Thunderstorms generated flood waves through the slot canyon. Two hikers died, and their bodies were recovered downstream; the report describes drowning in the initial wave as the presumed sequence.
Weather history: High winds in southwest Utah
NOAA’s historical record for May 21, 2021 documents high wind in Utah. Milford’s airport recorded a 62 mph gust. Interstate 15 stations near Paragonah and milepost 62.5 also measured strong gusts, documenting the event at several separate locations.
Weather history: A thunderstorm gust at Playa Station
NOAA’s historical record for May 22, 2011 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Dugway Proving Ground’s Playa Station sensor recorded a peak gust of 61 mph. NOAA retained the observation in its Tooele County thunderstorm wind event record.
Weather history: A flash flood washes away Kane Creek vehicles
NOAA’s historical record for May 23, 2009 documents flash flood in Utah. Seventeen tourists abandoned three SUVs before floodwater swept them away. A subsequent mudslide stranded responding deputies, and helicopters later evacuated both the visitors and rescuers from the area.
Powell’s river expedition sets out from Wyoming
John Wesley Powell and nine companions departed Green River Station in Wyoming on May 24, 1869. Their expedition traveled through the Green and Colorado river canyons, including a long stretch in Utah. The departure took place outside Utah; the journey connected places across the Colorado Plateau.
Weather history: A small tornado damages Holladay businesses
NOAA’s historical record for May 25, 2000 documents tornado in Utah. An F0 tornado damaged a supermarket loading-dock roof and a tire store’s roof, sign and vehicle windows. The contemporary report recorded no injuries from the tornado.
Weather history: A gust front crosses Salt Lake City airport
NOAA’s historical record for May 26, 2001 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A midfield sensor recorded a 78 mph gust, while the airport’s official automated station measured 54 mph. The distinction shows how observations differed within the airport grounds.
Weather history: Flash flooding damages Gunnison and Centerfield
NOAA’s historical record for May 27, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Approximately 30 homes and businesses sustained damage, with additional yard flooding at about 100 homes. Floodwater also entered the Gunnison Market and damaged some grocery inventory.
Weather history: Strong outflow winds at Crescent Junction
NOAA’s historical record for May 28, 2015 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A station at the uranium tailings disposal site measured a 61 mph gust. Workers took shelter indoors before the thunderstorm outflow reached the site, according to the report.
Weather history: A heat burst at Ogden-Hinckley Airport
NOAA’s historical record for May 29, 2024 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Gusts reached 78 mph as temperatures briefly rose from around 75 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit. The localized event accompanied a collapsing convective cell around midnight at the airport.
Rainbow Bridge receives national-monument protection
President William Howard Taft proclaimed Rainbow Bridge National Monument on May 30, 1910. Native peoples knew the bridge long before its federal designation. Its history includes continuing cultural and religious connections, which should be distinguished from the monument's administrative creation.
Weather history: A microburst damages a Millard County hangar
NOAA’s historical record for May 31, 2023 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. An apparent dry microburst accompanied thunderstorms near Clear Lake. Broadcast media shared photographs of a badly damaged airplane hangar, providing the documented local impact in NOAA’s record.
June
Weather history: A microburst strikes Bullfrog Marina
NOAA’s historical record for June 2, 2003 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Thunderstorm winds whipped up waves at the marina. Gusts there were estimated near 80 mph; a nearby weather station had measured 67 mph approximately an hour earlier.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds disrupt Salt Lake airport operations
NOAA’s historical record for June 3, 2015 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A midfield gust reached 70 mph, while western valley stations also recorded strong winds. Airport impacts included ground holds, flight diversions and cancellations during the event.
Weather history: A dry microburst damages Clearfield trees
NOAA’s historical record for June 4, 2017 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind damaged large branches and knocked over a section of fence in Clearfield. Hill Air Force Base also recorded a gust of 64 mph during the episode.
KUER begins broadcasting from the University of Utah
KUER began broadcasting on June 5, 1960, from Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus. The station’s own history places that first broadcast at the beginning of a public radio service that later became a charter member of National Public Radio.
Weather history: Flash floods damage boats at Lake Powell
NOAA’s historical record for June 6, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Flooding stranded visitors in several canyons. In Crystal Springs Canyon, floodwater damaged three boats; one was submerged by boulders and was considered a total loss afterward.
Weather history: Golf-ball-sized hail near Plain City
NOAA’s historical record for June 7, 2020 documents hail in Utah. Broadcast media reported hail estimated at golf-ball size near Plain City. NOAA preserved the estimated observation in its Weber County record for this localized thunderstorm event.
Bryce Canyon becomes a national monument
Bryce Canyon National Monument was established on June 8, 1923, under the U.S. Forest Service. Congress approved a Utah National Park there in 1924 and renamed it Bryce Canyon National Park in 1928, but the park did not become official until that September, after state and private land inside it was sold to the United States.
Weather history: Microburst damage in Spanish Fork
NOAA’s historical record for June 9, 2003 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind knocked down small trees and power lines in Spanish Fork. The same event narrative lists a 69 mph gust in Orem, illustrating the storm’s wider Utah County reach.
Weather history: Hail crosses the northern Salt Lake Valley
NOAA’s historical record for June 10, 1997 documents hail in Utah. A thunderstorm carried hail from West Valley City through downtown Salt Lake City to the University of Utah. Reports included one-inch stones and some minor damage.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage Samak buildings
NOAA’s historical record for June 11, 2016 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind snapped aspens, uprooted a cottonwood and displaced a garage approximately twenty feet. Several other structures sustained considerable roof damage, particularly along Samak Park Loop.
Weather history: Wind knocks trees onto Salt Lake Valley homes
NOAA’s historical record for June 12, 2013 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A storm produced a 75 mph gust at Salt Lake Number Two Airport. Trees fell in West Jordan, South Jordan and Taylorsville, with some damaging house roofs.
Weather history: An Arch Canyon flood carries away an SUV
NOAA’s historical record for June 13, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Fast-moving water swept a parked vehicle approximately 2.2 miles down the canyon. Its owners had camped on higher ground and hiked out for assistance after the flood subsided.
Weather history: An 81 mph gust on McCook Ridge
NOAA’s historical record for June 14, 2024 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A remote automated station captured the powerful gust from a nearby thunderstorm. The report distinguished that measured wind from possible small hail that could not be verified.
Weather history: Accumulating hail affects Interstate 15 traffic
NOAA’s historical record for June 15, 2023 documents hail in Utah. A multi-vehicle crash occurred amid hail accumulation near Kanarraville. Hail also collected on nearby roads, according to NOAA’s historical account of this Iron County storm.
Salt Lake City wins the 2002 Winter Olympics
The International Olympic Committee selected Salt Lake City to host the 2002 Winter Olympics on June 16, 1995. Senator Bob Bennett announced the decision in the United States Senate minutes after the news arrived. The award began the final years of preparation for Utah’s Olympic hosting.
Weather history: An overnight microburst in Utah County
NOAA’s historical record for June 17, 2008 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Several trees fell around Orem and Provo during an overnight microburst. The highest reported measured gust was 51 mph near Vineyard, according to the event narrative.
Weather history: Hail measured in Pleasant Grove
NOAA’s historical record for June 18, 1997 documents hail in Utah. A weather spotter measured three-quarter-inch hail as a severe thunderstorm moved through Utah County. NOAA retained the localized observation in its historical hail record for Pleasant Grove.
Fire tears through central Park City
Fire swept through the heart of Park City on June 19, 1898. The mining town’s commercial center suffered extensive destruction, leaving residents and businesses to rebuild. The Park City Museum preserves the event as a major chapter in the community’s history, alongside mining, work and later recreation.
Weather history: Wind damage and outages near Tremonton
NOAA’s historical record for June 20, 2003 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Thunderstorm winds felled trees and interrupted power. The storm also carried a large trampoline more than one hundred yards into a field; the report recorded no injuries.
Weather history: Wind destroys a home near Price
NOAA’s historical record for June 21, 2002 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Miller Creek sustained major damage, including a mobile home lifted from its foundation. Twelve houses, a barn and a corral were damaged during the broader wind event.
Weather history: A building loses its roof near Castle Dale
NOAA’s historical record for June 22, 2005 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The historical event narrative reports a building roof blown off by thunderstorm winds. NOAA locates the report near Castle Dale in Emery County; further structural details are not supplied.
Weather history: Flash flooding sweeps through Cedar City
NOAA’s historical record for June 23, 2000 documents flash flood in Utah. Drainage systems overflowed as streets filled with water and vehicles were swept along. One subdivision evacuated, basements flooded, and mud and debris covered Highway 56 west of town.
Weather history: One-inch hail near Trenton
NOAA’s historical record for June 24, 2011 documents hail in Utah. A report near Trenton described hail one inch in diameter. The observation reached NOAA through an experimental severe-weather verification project and was retained in its Cache County archive.
Weather history: A strong gust north of Green River
NOAA’s historical record for June 25, 2024 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. An agricultural weather station approximately five miles north of Green River recorded a 58 mph gust. It was the report’s sole measured severe gust from the thunderstorm.
Weather history: Street flooding enters Panguitch shops
NOAA’s historical record for June 26, 2024 documents flood in Utah. Water on North Main Street entered shops through their doorways. NOAA preserved the local flooding report with an approximate time, rather than claiming a precise observation time.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds cross Harley Dome
NOAA’s historical record for June 27, 2024 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. An Interstate 70 weather station at milepost 226 measured a 61 mph gust. The storm traveled east into Colorado, but this entry concerns the documented Utah observation.
Weather history: Wind damages a vehicle near Flight Park
NOAA’s historical record for June 28, 2016 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The Flight Park South sensor measured a 61 mph gust. Strong thunderstorm winds also blew out an SUV’s rear window, according to the Utah County event narrative.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage an airport building
NOAA’s historical record for June 29, 2011 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A fallen Russian olive tree struck a building at Salt Lake City International Airport. Sensors across the valley measured strong gusts, including 75 mph at a tailings station.
Weather history: Strong gusts over the salt flats
NOAA’s historical record for June 30, 2009 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The West Salt Flats sensor measured a 67 mph gust. Twenty minutes later, the North Salt Flats station recorded 62 mph, documenting the wind at two separate sites.
July
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds knock down Tabiona trees
NOAA’s historical record for July 1, 2009 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Trees fell near State Route 35 in Tabiona. A sensor on U.S. Highway 40 at Starvation also measured a gust of 59 mph during the event.
Weather history: A gust at Starvation
NOAA’s historical record for July 2, 2017 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The U.S. Highway 40 weather sensor at Starvation recorded a peak gust of 59 mph. NOAA retained the observation in its Duchesne County thunderstorm wind record.
Weather history: Thunderstorm outflow reaches Mount Baldy
NOAA’s historical record for July 3, 2023 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A mountain weather station recorded gusts above 58 mph for approximately twenty minutes, peaking at 76 mph. NOAA linked the winds to passing showers and thunderstorms.
CCC workers support Cedar Breaks' dedication
Civilian Conservation Corps workers helped direct traffic, assist stalled motorists and serve a barbecue at Cedar Breaks' dedication on July 4, 1934. The event is distinct from the monument's legal establishment in 1933. CCC crews later built enduring park structures.
Weather history: Flood debris closes Little Cottonwood Canyon
NOAA’s historical record for July 5, 2013 documents flash flood in Utah. Rain triggered rockslides and mudslides that covered the canyon road with trees, branches and rocks. Crews needed approximately twelve hours to clear debris before reopening the road.
Weather history: Floodwater washes an SUV off Highway 191
NOAA’s historical record for July 6, 2022 documents flash flood in Utah. Runoff carried mud, debris and railroad ties onto the highway near milepost 292. A family required rescue after its SUV was swept off the road; no injuries were reported.
Weather history: Thunderstorm gusts along Interstate 80
NOAA’s historical record for July 7, 2013 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A station near milepost 29 measured a 66 mph gust. Dugway’s Diddle Knoll station recorded 65 mph as the storm crossed the interstate in Tooele County.
Weather history: Overnight flooding on the northern Wasatch Front
NOAA’s historical record for July 8, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. A line of storms continuing into July 9 flooded roads, including Parrish Lane in Centerville. A Woods Cross home suffered major basement losses during the episode. The event record spans July 8–July 9.
Weather history: Flash flooding reaches Kanab homes and businesses
NOAA’s historical record for July 9, 2017 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy rain flooded town roads and businesses, with mud or water entering approximately twenty home basements. The report also documented damage to a drainage canal in Kanab.
The University of Utah Medical Center opens
The University of Utah Medical Center opened on July 10, 1965. Its E-shaped building brought a hospital, clinical departments and basic science departments into one complex. The Eccles Health Sciences Library’s history describes a 220-bed hospital in the building’s northernmost arm, connecting patient care with medical teaching and research.
Spencer Cox is born
Spencer Cox was born on July 11, 1975, and grew up in Fairview. His public service included municipal and county offices, the state legislature and the lieutenant governorship before he was sworn in as Utah’s governor in 2021.
Weather history: Flooding damages Washington County homes
NOAA’s historical record for July 12, 2018 documents flash flood in Utah. Flash flooding damaged homes in Dammeron Valley, Hurricane and Washington. Debris also temporarily closed State Route 18, according to the county’s historical weather event narrative.
Weather history: Flooding washes out State Route 35
NOAA’s historical record for July 13, 2011 documents flash flood in Utah. A blocked drainage near Tabiona washed away a deep section of highway. Two vehicles entered the washout late that night, resulting in one fatality and two injuries.
Weather history: Flood damage closes Capitol Gorge access
NOAA’s historical record for July 14, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy rain flooded Capitol Reef’s Scenic Drive and damaged the road to Capitol Gorge. The latter closure lasted more than two months after the flood, according to the report.
Weather history: Lightning ignites oil tanks near Altamont
NOAA’s historical record for July 15, 2013 documents lightning in Utah. A strike started a storage-tank fire and explosion outside town. Firefighters extinguished the blaze after crews shut down a nearby gas line; the report recorded no injuries.
The Enabling Act opens a path to Utah statehood
The Utah Enabling Act was approved on July 16, 1894. It authorized a constitutional convention and set conditions for admission to the Union. Delegates would draft a constitution, voters would consider it, and the president would determine whether the requirements for statehood had been met.
Weather history: Thunderstorm crosswinds overturn Interstate 15 trucks
NOAA’s historical record for July 17, 2023 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Strong outflow winds overturned multiple semitrailers near milepost 163. A nearby station measured a 71 mph gust, and video showed a substantial plume of blowing dust.
Weather history: Flooding raises the Virgin River
NOAA’s historical record for July 18, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Rangers reported flooding in Zion’s Pine Creek drainage. The Virgin River rose sharply downstream, while roads also flooded in Washington City, Bloomington and St. George during the event.
Weather history: A microburst damages Duchesne County communities
NOAA’s historical record for July 19, 2008 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Fallen trees and poles disrupted power, roofs and fences were damaged, and a shed overturned in Myton. Downed trees closed Highway 40 for a couple of hours.
Weather history: Flooding enters a Washington City home
NOAA’s historical record for July 20, 2013 documents flash flood in Utah. Water spread into the Coral Canyon subdivision. Firefighters pumped water away from one threatened house, but mud and water entered another, damaging much of its interior.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage Neola
NOAA’s historical record for July 21, 2010 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind knocked over several trees and a small barn in Neola. NOAA retained these specific local impacts in the historical narrative for its Duchesne County event.
Utahns organize the State Historical Society
The Utah State Historical Society held its first meeting on July 22, 1897, at the Templeton Hotel in Salt Lake City. Its organizers sought to preserve documents, share research and involve communities across Utah. Governor Heber M. Wells appointed Jerrold Ranson Letcher as chairman at that meeting.
Weather history: Floodwater enters the Arches visitor center
NOAA’s historical record for July 23, 2007 documents flash flood in Utah. Salt Wash overflowed near Wolfe Ranch, temporarily closing the road. Flooding also reached the visitor center area, where water entered the main building during the event.
Settlers hold the first Pioneer Day celebration
Settlers in the Salt Lake Valley held the first celebration now known as Pioneer Day on July 24, 1849. Music, speeches and a reading of the Declaration of Independence accompanied the event. The Utah Historical Society describes an afternoon communal meal attended by Latter-day Saint settlers, local Native Americans and California-bound gold miners.
Salt Lake City-Utah receives the 2034 Games
The International Olympic Committee awarded Salt Lake City-Utah the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on July 24, 2024. The decision set Utah on a path toward hosting again after 2002. This date marks the host award, with the Games themselves still in the future.
Salt Lake’s City and County Building cornerstone is laid
The cornerstone of Salt Lake City’s City and County Building was laid on July 25, 1892. The ceremony marked a stage in constructing the shared government building at Washington Square. The project would provide offices for both city and county officials before its dedication in 1894.
Weather history: Salt Lake flooding damages schools and a library
NOAA’s historical record for July 26, 2017 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy overnight rain flooded East High School and Sprague Library, among other properties. Water also disrupted TRAX service, requiring buses to bridge affected stops during the episode.
Weather history: Record rain floods Cedar City and Enoch
NOAA’s historical record for July 27, 2013 documents flash flood in Utah. Cedar City’s station measured 2.25 inches for the day, a site record at the time. Homes flooded, and heavy rain caused an unoccupied industrial building’s roof to collapse.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds cross the eastern Uinta Basin
NOAA’s historical record for July 28, 2010 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Trees and power lines fell across the area. In Lapoint, falling trees damaged a home and a vehicle; the narrative also documented lightning-caused fires during the storms.
Weather history: A Buckskin Gulch flood catches campers
NOAA’s historical record for July 29, 2017 documents flash flood in Utah. Floodwater swept two campers several hundred feet downstream. Another member of the party broke both feet while attempting assistance, and some injured hikers later required an aerial evacuation.
Golden Spike comes under federal ownership
Golden Spike National Historic Site was established under federal ownership on July 30, 1965, at the place where the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. The site had been designated in 1957 but was not federally owned. Congress made it a national historical park in 2019.
Weather history: A flash flood washes out railroad track
NOAA’s historical record for July 31, 2014 documents flash flood in Utah. Floodwater removed a fifty-foot section of track near Brendel. A nearby gauge measured almost an inch of rain in less than an hour during the storm.
August
Weather history: Flash flooding near Virgin and Zion
NOAA’s historical record for August 1, 2007 documents flash flood in Utah. Flooding affected Zion National Park and nearby communities, damaging homes and prompting rooftop evacuations. Kolob Terrace also closed, according to NOAA’s account of the wider event.
Capitol Reef is protected as a national monument
President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Capitol Reef National Monument on August 2, 1937. This was an earlier step than its designation as a national park in 1971. The monument history connects local advocacy around Fruita and Wayne County to federal protection.
Weather history: Draper declares a flooding emergency
NOAA’s historical record for August 3, 2023 documents flash flood in Utah. Flooding and mudslides closed several major roads and damaged uphill lanes of Bangerter Parkway. Hundreds of residential damage reports were subsequently submitted to the city after the episode.
Weather history: Debris from a burn scar closes Huntington Canyon
NOAA’s historical record for August 4, 2014 documents flash flood in Utah. Rain on the Seeley burn scar sent trees and boulders onto State Route 31. Transportation crews needed approximately twenty-four hours to reopen the road to traffic.
Weather history: A microburst brings down West Jordan power poles
NOAA’s historical record for August 5, 2013 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Dozens of transmission and distribution poles required replacement near State Route 111 and New Bingham Highway. The damage caused outages and closed the highway for several hours.
Weather history: Flooding follows rain on the Brian Head burn scar
NOAA’s historical record for August 6, 2017 documents flash flood in Utah. Debris closed State Route 143, while later runoff damaged Parowan homes. Flood debris also forced a temporary Interstate 15 closure during the broader Iron County episode.
Weather history: Flash flooding damages Uintah County roads
NOAA’s historical record for August 7, 2008 documents flash flood in Utah. Debris covered roads and part of Red Cloud Loop Road washed out. Homes near Maeser sustained basement flooding, and flood damage extended to fences, equipment and landscaping.
Weather history: A flash flood rushes down Bull Creek
NOAA’s historical record for August 8, 2003 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy rain produced a reported eight-foot wall of water near Hanksville. Businesses southwest of town also experienced flooding, according to NOAA’s account of the Wayne County event.
Weather history: Heavy rain floods Cedar City streets
NOAA’s historical record for August 9, 2001 documents flash flood in Utah. Water submerged part of the north freeway interchange and contributed to a multi-car crash. Streets and basements also flooded in the Fiddlers Canyon subdivision during the storm.
Weather history: Hail falls near East Millcreek
NOAA’s historical record for August 10, 2008 documents hail in Utah. Reports described nickel-sized hail that broke apart on impact and a separate public observation of one-inch hail nearby. The narrative preserves the distinction between the two observations.
Weather history: Salt Lake City’s destructive tornado
NOAA’s historical record for August 11, 1999 documents tornado in Utah. An F2 tornado crossed downtown, damaged convention facilities and continued toward the Capitol and Avenues. One person died, scores were injured, and hundreds of buildings sustained damage.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage Salt Lake airport property
NOAA’s historical record for August 12, 2014 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Wind uprooted trees at the International Center and damaged airport buildings and private aircraft. The airport’s automated weather station recorded a peak gust of 62 mph.
Weather history: A mudslide prompts Woodland Hills evacuations
NOAA’s historical record for August 13, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Rain on already saturated ground sent mud onto properties and Skylake Drive. Fourteen homes were evacuated as a precaution, with damage reported to one home’s basement.
Weather history: Flooding washes out part of State Route 211
NOAA’s historical record for August 14, 2022 documents flash flood in Utah. Thunderstorm runoff damaged the highway near its junction with U.S. Highway 191. Water crossed the road, and vehicles became stranded, according to the San Juan County report.
Weather history: Short Creek floods a Hildale home
NOAA’s historical record for August 15, 2022 documents flash flood in Utah. A flash flood on Short Creek entered a home in Hildale. NOAA preserved this local impact in its Washington County record, with the reporting point listed near Rockville.
Weather history: Wind snaps Richmond trees and poles
NOAA’s historical record for August 16, 2010 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Strong thunderstorm winds damaged Richmond, snapping trees and telephone poles. The Cache County event narrative documents those physical impacts without providing a measured local wind speed.
Earl Douglass finds the Carnegie Quarry’s dinosaur bones
Paleontologist Earl Douglass found dinosaur bones at the site of the Carnegie Quarry on August 17, 1909. The discovery in northeastern Utah led to years of excavation for the Carnegie Museum. The quarry later became the core of Dinosaur National Monument’s fossil protection and public interpretation.
Flaming Gorge Dam is dedicated
Flaming Gorge Dam was dedicated on August 17, 1964, by Lady Bird Johnson. The Bureau of Reclamation built the dam and powerplant as part of the Colorado River Storage Project. The dedication followed major construction milestones; it was not the day the first concrete was poured or the last concrete was placed.
Weather history: Creeks and streets flood in Salt Lake County
NOAA’s historical record for August 18, 2021 documents flood in Utah. Parleys Creek overflowed in Sugar House Park, flooding also affected homes in Herriman, and water closed eastbound Interstate 215 lanes at 3300 South for two hours.
Weather history: A washout strands Mineral Bottom visitors
NOAA’s historical record for August 19, 2010 documents flash flood in Utah. Flooding badly damaged Mineral Bottom Road’s switchbacks and covered the route with debris. Twenty-nine people were evacuated by helicopter after the road became impassable during the event.
Weather history: A major flash flood in Moab
NOAA’s historical record for August 20, 2022 documents flash flood in Utah. Repeated thunderstorms flooded homes and businesses with water and debris. Floodwater damaged the Mill Creek recreation path and broke a water main, interrupting service in several areas.
Weather history: Thunderstorms bring wind and flooding to Salt Lake Valley
NOAA’s historical record for August 21, 2001 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Strong gusts accompanied hail and heavy rain. Flooding affected streets and houses from Herriman to downtown, while Little Cottonwood Canyon reported a gust reaching 74 mph.
Cedar Breaks becomes a national monument
Cedar Breaks National Monument was established by presidential proclamation on August 22, 1933. Management passed to the National Park Service. The designation protected the area's cliffs and canyons, while its human history extends far beyond the establishment of the monument.
Weather history: Intense rain closes St. George roads
NOAA’s historical record for August 23, 2020 documents flash flood in Utah. Flooding closed Interstate 15 in both directions and stranded vehicles. The historical report also documented apartment and basement damage, power outages and a partial rehabilitation-facility evacuation.
Weather history: Lightning strikes an Interstate 15 vehicle
NOAA’s historical record for August 24, 2009 documents lightning in Utah. A strike disabled an SUV between Santaquin and Payson. A passenger stopped breathing, received CPR and recovered; the vehicle sustained damage to its electrical system and other components.
Weather history: Hail blankets Helper roads
NOAA’s historical record for August 25, 2024 documents hail in Utah. Golf-ball-sized hail covered roads in Helper. Crews used plows to clear the accumulation, providing an unusual summer road-maintenance detail preserved in the Carbon County weather record.
Weather history: Flash flooding damages Browns Park roads
NOAA’s historical record for August 26, 2014 documents flash flood in Utah. Flooding affected the John Jarvie Ranch and Red Creek areas. More than ten miles of paved and dirt roads sustained damage, including sections that washed out.
Weather history: Flash flooding reaches Duchesne yards
NOAA’s historical record for August 27, 1999 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy rain left some yards under one to three feet of water. Spotters reported more than an inch of rainfall in fifty-five minutes during the event.
Weather history: Floodwater damages a bridge in Arches
NOAA’s historical record for August 28, 2007 documents flash flood in Utah. Salt Wash flooding damaged a temporary footbridge and covered roads near Wolfe Ranch. The access road toward Delicate Arch closed temporarily as a precaution during the event.
Weather history: Monsoon flooding across Washington County
NOAA’s historical record for August 29, 2000 documents flash flood in Utah. Runoff flooded a Dammeron Valley home, carried mud into the Veyo pool and washed out a Brookside road. The county report describes multiple impacts across the wider episode.
Weather history: A thunderstorm floods Pine Valley basements
NOAA’s historical record for August 30, 2013 documents flash flood in Utah. Five homes experienced basement flooding, with water reaching approximately six inches. Debris covered several roads, and floodwater damaged some roadways in the Pine Valley area.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds cross the Great Salt Lake
NOAA’s historical record for August 31, 2008 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Lakeside recorded a 79 mph gust and West Warren 77 mph. Farther east, falling branches and trees caused damage in Tremonton and Brigham City during the event.
September
Weather history: Burn-scar runoff floods Saratoga Springs
NOAA’s historical record for September 1, 2012 documents flash flood in Utah. Rain over the Dump Fire burn scar generated a debris flow. Twenty residences sustained yard or basement damage, and Highway 68 closed temporarily during the flood.
Weather history: A tornado crosses North Salt Lake and Woods Cross
NOAA’s historical record for September 2, 2021 documents tornado in Utah. The tornado damaged trees, homes, businesses and a public works building. Surveyors assigned an EF1 rating, with an intermittent track approximately two miles long during the brief event.
Weather history: Debris closes Highway 6 in Price Canyon
NOAA’s historical record for September 3, 2023 documents debris flow in Utah. Heavy rain over the Bear Fire burn scar sent debris across U.S. Highway 6. The Utah Department of Transportation reported that the closure continued into the following morning.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage Davis County property
NOAA’s historical record for September 4, 2007 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A roof was torn off and large tree limbs fell. Hill Air Force Base’s automated weather station recorded a maximum gust of 57 mph during the event.
Sutherland wins Supreme Court confirmation
The Senate confirmed former Utah senator George Sutherland as a Supreme Court associate justice on September 5, 1922. His confirmation connected Utah’s congressional delegation with the nation’s highest court and a new judicial career.
Weather history: Wind topples a lift at a football game
NOAA’s historical record for September 6, 2002 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Two people filming a football game were seriously injured when thunderstorm winds overturned their scissor lift. They fell approximately twenty-five feet, according to the Tooele County report.
Farnsworth transmits a television image
Philo T. Farnsworth used his newly designed image dissector to send the image of a single straight line to a receiver in the next room of his San Francisco laboratory on Sept. 7, 1927. Farnsworth had studied at Brigham Young University in Provo and opened a radio repair business in Salt Lake City, where he met the investors who funded his lab.
George Dern is born
George Henry Dern was born on September 8, 1872, in Nebraska. He later became a Utah mining executive and governor, serving from 1925 to 1933. His career subsequently extended to national government as United States secretary of war.
Congress creates Utah Territory
Congress established Utah Territory on Sept. 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, giving the region a territorial government. Sen. Henry Clay had introduced the territorial bill that January. Utah remained a territory for more than 45 years, until statehood in 1896.
Weather history: A fatal flood in Egypt Three canyon
NOAA’s historical record for September 10, 2008 documents flash flood in Utah. Flash flooding killed two people and injured two others in the narrow canyon near the Escalante River. Post-event analysis described a rapid response to rainfall over its small drainage.
Emigrants are massacred at Mountain Meadows
On September 11, 1857, local militia members killed approximately 120 men, women and children from the Baker-Fancher emigrant party at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. The killings followed a siege and an offer of truce. State Archives court records document later proceedings against John D. Lee.
Topaz opens in the Sevier Desert
The Central Utah Relocation Center, later named Topaz, officially opened on Sept. 11, 1942, in the Sevier Desert of central Utah. The federal government held Japanese Americans there during World War II after removing them from the West Coast. Most of the people held at Topaz came from the San Francisco area.
Canyonlands National Park is established
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law establishing Canyonlands National Park on September 12, 1964. The designation followed years of advocacy for Utah's canyon country. Later boundary changes mean the original legislation and the present park should not be treated as geographically identical.
Weather history: Thunderstorms flood Kanab streets
NOAA’s historical record for September 13, 2023 documents flash flood in Utah. Water, mud and debris closed streets and made outlying dirt roads impassable. Officials also reported minor basement flooding in several homes, according to NOAA’s historical event narrative.
Weather history: Microburst winds overturn Lake Powell boats
NOAA’s historical record for September 14, 2017 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Thunderstorms produced damaging winds in several Glen Canyon recreation areas. Boats overturned, including a large houseboat, and several people sustained serious injuries during the event.
Bryce Canyon National Park becomes official
Bryce Canyon National Park was officially established on Sept. 15, 1928, when the remaining state and private land inside it was sold to the United States and management passed from the U.S. Forest Service to the National Park Service. Congress had approved the park in 1924 and its current name that February.
Salt Lake City opens its new airport terminal
The first portion of the New SLC opened on September 15, 2020, including the new terminal and Concourse A facilities at Salt Lake City International Airport. Concourse B opened separately on October 27. These were stages of the airport’s redevelopment, rather than the founding of Salt Lake City’s airport.
Weather history: Flash floods cross southern Zion
NOAA’s historical record for September 16, 2011 documents flash flood in Utah. Pine Creek and Spry Canyon experienced large floods. Rocks and other debris affected park roads, while smaller drainages flowing toward Rockville also flooded during the episode.
Bingham miners vote to strike
Immigrant workers gathered at the Bingham Theater on September 17, 1912, and voted to strike. Their demands included higher pay, improved working conditions and union recognition. The vote began a confrontation that exposed the labor-agent system and divided mining communities.
Grand Staircase-Escalante is proclaimed a national monument
President Bill Clinton established Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by proclamation on September 18, 1996. The designation covered a southern Utah landscape with paleontological, geological, archaeological and historic resources. This entry records the original proclamation; the monument’s later boundary and management changes have their own histories.
Weather history: Thunderstorm outflow reaches Wendover Peak
NOAA’s historical record for September 19, 2023 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A weather station at Wendover Peak recorded a gust of 59 mph. NOAA linked the observation to outflow from a nearby group of showers and thunderstorms.
Weather history: A flash flood in Echo Canyon
NOAA’s historical record for September 20, 2014 documents flash flood in Utah. NOAA’s historical event narrative records flash flooding in Zion National Park’s Echo Canyon. The Washington County entry uses Zion Lodge as its reporting point for this localized event.
Weather history: Storms damage Bryce Canyon trails
NOAA’s historical record for September 21, 2022 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy rain caused rockfalls, debris flows and erosion on several trails. Retaining walls failed, and damage on the Wall Street section of Navajo Loop required an extended closure.
Utah’s Territorial Legislative Assembly first meets
Utah’s Territorial Legislative Assembly first met on September 22, 1851. The gathering began legislative work under the territorial government created by Congress the previous year. Its journals and published proceedings became part of the documentary record of lawmaking before Utah achieved statehood.
Frank “Ted” Moss is born in Holladay
Frank Edward “Ted” Moss was born in Holladay. After serving as a Salt Lake City judge and Salt Lake County attorney, he represented Utah in the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1977, working on consumer protection and national parks.
Weather history: High winds across Dugway’s weather network
NOAA’s historical record for September 24, 2013 documents high wind in Utah. The Causeway station recorded a 60 mph gust. North Salt Flats and Callao each measured 58 mph, according to the historical wind report for the west desert. The event record spans September 24–September 25.
Weather history: A funnel cloud near Church Rock
NOAA’s historical record for September 25, 2022 documents funnel cloud in Utah. A member of the public observed a funnel cloud while looking east from U.S. Highway 191. The record reports a funnel cloud, without establishing a tornado touchdown.
Weather history: Strong gusts in the west desert
NOAA’s historical record for September 26, 2014 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Dugway Proving Ground’s weather network recorded a 72 mph gust at Callao. Other stations measured 61 mph at West Salt Flats and 59 mph near Interstate 80.
Flaming Gorge begins generating electricity
President John F. Kennedy initiated the first power generation at Flaming Gorge Powerplant on September 27, 1963. The event marked an operating milestone for the Colorado River Storage Project facility on the Green River in northeastern Utah. The dam’s dedication followed in August 1964.
Weather history: A fatal vehicle incident in Bitter Creek Wash
NOAA’s historical record for September 28, 2014 documents flash flood in Utah. Floodwater swept away a Jeep at a trail crossing. The driver escaped, but a passenger drowned; the vehicle stopped approximately two hundred feet downstream from the crossing.
Weather history: Thunderstorms flood washes in Zion Canyon
NOAA’s historical record for September 29, 2022 documents flash flood in Utah. Park officials reported flooding near Canyon Junction, waterfalls along both canyon walls and minor campground flooding. A passing thunderstorm supplied the rain that triggered the local runoff.
Utah legislators vote to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment
Utah’s Legislature voted to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on September 30, 1919. The amendment addressed denial of voting rights based on sex and reached the required national ratification threshold in 1920. Utah’s vote followed its own earlier history of territorial suffrage, disenfranchisement by Congress and restoration of women’s voting rights at statehood.
October
Weather history: Hail accumulates in Boulder
NOAA’s historical record for October 1, 2022 documents hail in Utah. Hail fell for approximately thirty minutes and accumulated several inches deep, according to an Anasazi State Park employee. At least one car windshield broke during the storm.
Weather history: Flooding damages Salt Lake City streets
NOAA’s historical record for October 2, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy rain flooded roads, parking lots and basements in the Sugar House and Foothill areas. Approximately six homes experienced basement flooding, and several streets sustained damage.
Lincoln orders the Uintah Valley reservation
President Abraham Lincoln approved an order setting apart the Uintah Valley reservation on October 3, 1861. The document followed a recommendation from the Interior Department. It is one federal action in the region’s history, alongside the much longer history and continuing presence of Ute peoples.
Dinosaur National Monument is established
President Woodrow Wilson established Dinosaur National Monument on October 4, 1915, protecting an 80-acre fossil deposit in northeastern Utah. The original reservation centered on the Carnegie Dinosaur Quarry. A much larger boundary expansion came later; the 1915 date does not describe today's full monument.
Weather history: Lightning injures two students in St. George
NOAA’s historical record for October 5, 2010 documents lightning in Utah. Two teenagers sheltering beneath a tree outside Snow Canyon High School were struck. Both reached hospital in critical condition but survived, according to the historical event narrative.
Weather history: Rain closes Canyonlands roads and trails
NOAA’s historical record for October 6, 2006 documents flood in Utah. Persistent rain caused flooding across southeastern Utah. Mud and water made roads near Needles Outpost, including Highway 211, impassable, and many park routes closed during the episode.
Weather history: A strong gust on Fremont Island
NOAA’s historical record for October 7, 2021 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. An automated weather station on Fremont Island measured a 69 mph gust. The report states that severe gusts lasted approximately ten minutes during the thunderstorm wind event.
Weather history: A massive slide destroys part of State Route 14
NOAA’s historical record for October 8, 2011 documents debris flow in Utah. A landslide east of Cedar City destroyed approximately eight hundred feet of road. Transportation officials closed a twelve-mile stretch after discovering the slide early in the morning.
Utah dedicates its State Capitol
Utah dedicated its State Capitol in Salt Lake City on October 9, 1916. The ceremony marked a new home for state government, two decades after statehood. The building’s dedication is a separate milestone from Utah’s admission to the Union in 1896.
Weather history: A severe gust at St. George airport
NOAA’s historical record for October 10, 2000 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A thunderstorm produced a 66 mph gust at St. George’s airport. The historical Washington County narrative preserves both the speed in miles per hour and its knot equivalent.
States sign the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact
Representatives of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming signed the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 11, 1948. It divides the Upper Basin's share of Colorado River water among them. The compact took effect only after each state's legislature ratified it and Congress approved it.
A treaty is signed with the Goshute
The United States and Goshute leaders signed a treaty of peace on October 12, 1863. It addressed travel and infrastructure through Goshute country. Signing, later ratification and proclamation were separate steps; the agreement was not a blanket cession of Goshute land.
Weather history: A fatal lightning strike near Poison Mountain
NOAA’s historical record for October 13, 2007 documents lightning in Utah. Three campers sheltering in a tent in the Uintas were injured by lightning. One man died, while his son and brother survived, according to the historical report.
Timpanogos Cave becomes a national monument
President Warren G. Harding signed a proclamation on Oct. 14, 1922, setting aside Timpanogos Cave National Monument in American Fork Canyon. It came 14 months after the cave's rediscovery and less than a month after an official request for protection from people in nearby communities worried about mining and vandalism.
Weather history: A spotter records a St. George gust
NOAA’s historical record for October 15, 1998 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A weather spotter reported a gust reaching 66 mph from a severe thunderstorm. NOAA preserved the observation in its Washington County record for the St. George area.
Weather history: Hail covers Interstate 70 near Thompson Springs
NOAA’s historical record for October 16, 2006 documents hail in Utah. Stones ranging from half an inch to one inch in diameter accumulated on the highway. The report described hail as much as five inches deep in places.
Weather history: Flash flooding damages Hildale roads
NOAA’s historical record for October 17, 2015 documents flash flood in Utah. Heavy rain sent debris along State Route 59 and flooded local streets. Several homes reported basement flooding, while floodwater damaged multiple roadways in the Hildale area.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds move objects in Toquerville
NOAA’s historical record for October 18, 2024 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Reports from Toquerville described property damage, large objects shifted by wind and a relocated solar panel. NOAA notes that the event time was estimated in its historical record.
Utah arts agency celebrates its Glendinning Home headquarters
The Utah Division of Arts & Museums held an anniversary celebration at Salt Lake City’s Glendinning Home, with an open house, arts activities and a tree dedication honoring former director Ruth Draper. The agency’s account credits Draper’s efforts with helping save the historic home from demolition. This date marks the celebration, not the building’s construction or the agency’s move-in.
Settlers arrive at what became Payson
Three wagons carrying the families of James Pace, Andrew Jackson Stewart and John Courtland Searles arrived on Oct. 20, 1850, at the site of today's Payson, according to the Payson Historical Society. More families followed that November and December. The settlement was first named Peteetneet, after a Ute leader who lived in the area.
Weather history: A hailstorm in Orderville
NOAA’s historical record for October 21, 2000 documents hail in Utah. A severe thunderstorm dropped three-quarter-inch hail in Orderville. NOAA’s Kane County event narrative records that specific hail size and town, without supplying a broader damage account.
Weather history: Wind overturns vehicles on Interstate 80
NOAA’s historical record for October 22, 2022 documents high wind in Utah. Several high-profile vehicles were blown over during a west desert windstorm. A station near the interstate’s first milepost recorded a 74 mph gust, with strong readings elsewhere.
Weather history: A thunderstorm gust at Curlew Junction
NOAA’s historical record for October 23, 2024 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A weather station on State Route 30 at Curlew recorded a 61 mph gust. NOAA retained the observation in its Box Elder County thunderstorm wind archive.
The transcontinental telegraph is completed
The transcontinental telegraph was completed on Oct. 24, 1861, when the Overland Telegraph Company's line reached Salt Lake City, days after the Pacific Telegraph Company finished the eastern section. That evening Brigham Young wrote the first telegram sent from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. Messages could now cross the country far faster than the Pony Express.
Weather history: One-inch hail along Interstate 70
NOAA’s historical record for October 25, 2006 documents hail in Utah. Observers reported hail one inch in diameter near milepost 190. NOAA’s Grand County record associates the localized observation with the Crescent Junction reporting point for this storm.
Camp Douglas is established
Col. Patrick E. Connor's Third California Volunteer Infantry established Camp Douglas near Salt Lake City on Oct. 26, 1862, with orders to protect the overland mail route and keep watch on the Latter-day Saint settlers. Named for the late Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, the post became Fort Douglas. The fort was transferred to the University of Utah between 1991 and 1993.
Congress establishes Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Legislation signed into law on October 27, 1972, established Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona. The law paired public recreation at Lake Powell and adjacent lands with preservation of scenic, scientific and historic features. This date concerns the recreation area’s legislation, rather than construction of Glen Canyon Dam.
Weather history: Wind topples trees at Southern Utah University
NOAA’s historical record for October 28, 2013 documents high wind in Utah. Cedar City recorded a 71 mph gust. At least ten trees fell on the university campus, including one that damaged a building, during the broader southwest Utah event.
Weather history: A crash on snowy State Route 96
NOAA’s historical record for October 29, 2024 documents winter weather in Utah. A pickup collided with a semitrailer after its driver lost control. Archived precipitation and snow-depth data indicated wintry conditions in the area near the time of the crash.
Arches National Park grows
President Bill Clinton signed Public Law 105-329 on Oct. 30, 1998, enlarging Arches National Park. It was the latest of several boundary changes since President Herbert Hoover created Arches National Monument in 1929; Congress had made it a national park in 1971.
Topaz closes
The Central Utah Relocation Center, known as Topaz, closed on Oct. 31, 1945. After the Supreme Court's decision in a case brought by Mitsuye Endo, who was held at Topaz, many people were free to leave, and many went home to California when the war ended that August. Most of the camp's buildings were later sold, moved or torn down.
November
Weather history: High winds overturn trucks in Tooele County
NOAA’s historical record for November 1, 2014 documents high wind in Utah. Two semitrailers and a pickup towing a trailer overturned near Interstate 80’s milepost 78. One crash closed the interstate for a couple of hours during the event.
Weather history: Wind causes Salt Lake and Tooele outages
NOAA’s historical record for November 2, 2015 documents high wind in Utah. Strong winds broke power lines and left more than 5,000 customers without electricity. South Mountain recorded a 69 mph gust, with similarly strong readings around Tooele Valley. The event record spans November 2–November 3.
Martha Hughes Cannon wins a state Senate seat
Physician Martha Hughes Cannon was elected to the Utah Senate on Nov. 3, 1896, the first woman elected to a state senate in the United States. She was one of five Democrats running at large in Salt Lake County; her husband, Angus Cannon, was among the Republicans. In the legislature, she focused on public health.
Weather history: Prefrontal winds reach Cedar City
NOAA’s historical record for November 4, 2011 documents high wind in Utah. The airport’s automated station measured a maximum gust of 59 mph during strong morning winds ahead of a front, according to NOAA’s southwest Utah event narrative.
Sanpete Stake Academy opens in Ephraim
Sanpete Stake Academy began in Ephraim on November 5, 1888. Founded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the school became part of central Utah’s educational history. It later took the Snow name, connecting the academy’s beginnings to the institution known as Snow College.
Voters approve Utah's constitution
Utah voters ratified the proposed state constitution on Nov. 5, 1895, by a vote of 31,305 to 7,607. Delegates had drafted it at a convention earlier that year. The president's proclamation announcing the result and admitting Utah to the Union as a state followed on Jan. 4, 1896.
Utah’s state quarter enters circulation
The United States Mint released Utah’s commemorative quarter into circulation on November 5, 2007. Its reverse shows two locomotives approaching a golden spike, recalling the transcontinental railroad’s completion at Promontory Summit. Utah was the 45th state honored in the Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program.
Calvin Rampton is born in Bountiful
Calvin Rampton was born in Bountiful on November 6, 1913. He practiced law before entering Utah’s highest executive office. Rampton served as governor from 1965 to 1977, winning three consecutive terms during a period of economic and social change.
Hill Field activates its depot and supply workload
Colonel Morris Berman began command of the Ogden Air Depot at Hill Field on November 7, 1940. The Air Force’s history identifies that date as activation of the installation’s depot and supply workload, a specific milestone in northern Utah’s aircraft maintenance and supply history.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds at St. George airport
NOAA’s historical record for November 8, 1998 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The airport recorded a gust reaching 68 mph as a thunderstorm moved through St. George. NOAA retained the observation in its historical Washington County weather record.
Weather history: A strong thunderstorm gust in St. George
NOAA’s historical record for November 9, 2002 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. A severe thunderstorm produced a 65 mph gust at the airport. The historical narrative identifies the airport observation rather than estimating conditions throughout all of Washington County.
Weather history: A funnel cloud near Utah Lake
NOAA’s historical record for November 10, 2012 documents funnel cloud in Utah. A member of the public near Provo’s airport observed a funnel cloud during lake-effect snowfall. It dissipated quickly and did not touch down, according to the event narrative.
The University of Deseret's first classes
The University of Deseret held its first classes on Nov. 11, 1850, with 25 male students. Women were admitted in the second term, making it one of the first schools in the West to do so. Founded that February, the school was renamed the University of Utah in 1892.
Arches becomes a national park
President Richard M. Nixon signed Public Law 92-155 on Nov. 12, 1971, changing Arches from a national monument to a national park. Arches had been protected since 1929, when President Herbert Hoover proclaimed the monument, and its boundaries were changed several times along the way.
Weather history: A fatal early-season avalanche in Gad Valley
NOAA’s historical record for November 13, 2011 documents avalanche in Utah. Two skiers entered terrain before the resorts had opened for the season. An avalanche carried one through rocky terrain; emergency crews found that he had died.
Weather history: Thunderstorm wind damage in Taylorsville
NOAA’s historical record for November 14, 2020 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Reports described a damaged vinyl fence, an uprooted large tree and fallen limbs. NOAA preserved the separate local damage reports in its historical Salt Lake County event narrative.
Olene Smith Walker is born
Olene Smith Walker was born on November 15, 1930, in Utah. She served in the state legislature and as lieutenant governor before becoming governor in 2003. Her career marked an important chapter in women’s participation in Utah’s executive leadership.
Weather history: Heavy snow slows Tooele Valley travel
NOAA’s historical record for November 16, 2015 documents winter storm in Utah. Tooele City generally reported eight to ten inches while Salt Lake Valley received little snow. Rapid roadway accumulation disrupted State Route 36, and heavy snow broke tree branches.
Weather history: High winds near Bryson Canyon
NOAA’s historical record for November 17, 2017 documents high wind in Utah. A remote weather station measured a 64 mph gust northwest of Interstate 70 and west of the Colorado border. The observation belongs to NOAA’s Grand Flat and Arches report.
The Natural History Museum opens its Rio Tinto Center
The Natural History Museum of Utah opened its new Rio Tinto Center to the public on November 18, 2011. The opening followed the building’s dedication the day before. The move gave the University of Utah museum a new home for exhibits, collections and public programs above the Salt Lake Valley.
Utah executes labor songwriter Joe Hill
Joe Hill was executed at the Utah State Prison in Sugar House on November 19, 1915, after a murder conviction that drew international protests and appeals. The Utah State Archives preserves trial, clemency and governor's records documenting the case and its controversy.
Zion becomes Utah's first national park
President Woodrow Wilson signed the law establishing Zion National Park on Nov. 19, 1919, making it Utah's first national park. The canyon had been protected since 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument; Wilson enlarged it and renamed it Zion National Monument in 1918. Sen. Reed Smoot of Utah introduced the park bill.
Weather history: A flash flood in Zion’s Kolob section
NOAA’s historical record for November 20, 2019 documents flash flood in Utah. Zion National Park personnel reported flash flooding along Taylor Creek. NOAA retained the localized observation in its Washington County event record, associated with the New Harmony reporting point.
Weather history: Wind damage in Salt Lake Valley
NOAA’s historical record for November 21, 2013 documents high wind in Utah. The University of Utah recorded a 62 mph gust. The report described relatively minor damage to trees, fences and playground equipment compared with more severe conditions farther north.
Weather history: A brief snow burst makes Uinta Basin roads slick
NOAA’s historical record for November 22, 2014 documents winter weather in Utah. One to two inches accumulated during a short period of snowfall. Slick roads contributed to numerous vehicle crashes, according to the eastern Uinta Basin historical weather report.
Weather history: Thunderstorm gusts across Dugway
NOAA’s historical record for November 23, 2016 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The Causeway station recorded a 71 mph gust and the Salt Flats station 68 mph. Several other sensors also documented strong winds across the western part of the proving ground.
Weather history: Strong gusts at West Granite and Curlew
NOAA’s historical record for November 24, 2018 documents high wind in Utah. West Granite and the State Route 30 station at Curlew Junction each recorded 59 mph gusts. NOAA archived the observations in its Great Salt Lake Desert wind report.
Weather history: A windy day in the west desert
NOAA’s historical record for November 25, 2011 documents high wind in Utah. Promontory Point and Curlew Junction each recorded peak gusts of 64 mph. The observations document strong winds at two separate stations in the Great Salt Lake Desert region.
Weather history: A fatal avalanche in the western Uintas
NOAA’s historical record for November 26, 2010 documents avalanche in Utah. A snowmobiler triggered a slide on a slope known as Cherry Hill in the Humpy Creek drainage. He was buried and died before help could reach him.
Weather history: A fatal crash amid lake-enhanced snowfall
NOAA’s historical record for November 27, 2024 documents winter weather in Utah. Two vehicles collided on Interstate 15 near milepost 354. The Highway Patrol believed weather was the primary factor, while nearby sensors documented snow, slush and pavement temperatures below freezing.
Weather history: Snow blankets the northern Wasatch Front
NOAA’s historical record for November 28, 2016 documents winter storm in Utah. Storm totals reached fifteen inches on the Bountiful Bench, twelve inches in Bountiful and eleven inches in Centerville. Other communities reported substantial accumulation during the same storm.
The Dee Events Center hosts its first basketball game
Weber State played the first basketball game at the Dee Events Center on November 29, 1977. The team defeated Long Beach State in overtime, opening a new chapter for college basketball in Ogden. The university’s timeline records the game as a milestone in the arena’s history.
Weather history: A windstorm begins at West Granite
NOAA’s historical record for November 30, 2011 documents high wind in Utah. Dugway’s West Granite station recorded a 64 mph gust shortly before midnight. NOAA notes that the event continued into December, so this anniversary marks its November start.
December
Weather history: A destructive Davis County windstorm
NOAA’s historical record for December 1, 2011 documents high wind in Utah. Centerville recorded a 102 mph gust. Winds damaged roofs, fences and power lines, toppled trees and overturned eleven semitrailers, prompting restrictions on truck traffic along Interstate 15.
A permanent artificial heart is implanted in Utah
Surgeon William DeVries implanted a Jarvik-7 artificial heart in Barney Clark at the University of Utah Hospital on December 2, 1982. The operation was the first permanent artificial-heart implant in a human. Clark lived for 112 days as the procedure drew worldwide attention and debate.
Weather history: A snowstorm disrupts Cedar City travel
NOAA’s historical record for December 3, 2013 documents winter storm in Utah. Cedar City received twelve inches over the complete storm. Snow complicated road travel, and the report counted twenty-two crashes on Interstate 15 in Iron County, with no injuries reported. The event record spans December 3–December 4.
Weather history: Snow in the Canyonlands region
NOAA’s historical record for December 4, 2013 documents winter weather in Utah. Observers measured snowfall totals ranging from two to six inches across the Canyonlands and Natural Bridges forecast zone, according to NOAA’s historical account of the winter weather event.
Utah casts the decisive vote to repeal Prohibition
Delegates meeting at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City ratified the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933. Utah became the 36th state to ratify, reaching the threshold needed to repeal national Prohibition. The convention followed a November election in which Utah voters selected delegates favoring repeal.
Weather history: Heavy snow at Ben Lomond and Snowbasin
NOAA’s historical record for December 6, 2007 documents heavy snow in Utah. Ben Lomond Peak received roughly eighteen inches in twenty-four hours, while Snowbasin reported fourteen inches over that interval. The report separately lists higher totals for the complete storm. The event record spans December 6–December 8.
Weather history: Unusual snow disrupts Utah’s Dixie
NOAA’s historical record for December 7, 2013 documents winter storm in Utah. Storm totals included fourteen inches at Zion and six inches in St. George. Snow disrupted roads and overwhelmed the St. George airport’s single snowplow, prompting an extended airport closure.
Weather history: Overnight fog in the eastern Uinta Basin
NOAA’s historical record for December 8, 2022 documents dense fog in Utah. Vernal Regional Airport was among sites reporting visibility below a quarter mile. Dense fog persisted for several hours overnight and into the following morning, according to the record. The event record spans December 8–December 9.
Weather history: Frozen sprinklers damage northern Utah buildings
NOAA’s historical record for December 9, 2013 documents cold/wind chill in Utah. Cold weather froze sprinkler systems at the Farmington courthouse and Weber State’s Shepherd Union Building. Resulting leaks damaged interiors, while other cold-related problems disrupted school transportation and heating.
Weather history: Strong winds near Interstate 80
NOAA’s historical record for December 10, 2015 documents high wind in Utah. A station near milepost 78 recorded a 69 mph gust. Flight Park South, the Great Salt Lake Marina and Stockton Bar also reported strong gusts during the event.
Weather history: High winds in Tooele and Rush valleys
NOAA’s historical record for December 11, 2022 documents high wind in Utah. A station at State Route 201 and Interstate 80 recorded a 76 mph gust. Vernon Hill and a State Route 112 station also measured strong gusts.
Weather history: High winds at Upper Cedar Mountain
NOAA’s historical record for December 12, 2014 documents high wind in Utah. A weather station at Upper Cedar Mountain recorded a 63 mph gust. Diddle Knoll also measured a strong gust of 58 mph during the same west desert event.
Weather history: Snow and wind complicate west desert travel
NOAA’s historical record for December 13, 2008 documents winter storm in Utah. Weather stations indicated approximately four inches of new snow. Strong winds combined with the snowfall to create hazardous conditions on Interstate 80, according to the historical storm narrative.
Weather history: A fatal avalanche at Snowbird
NOAA’s historical record for December 14, 2008 documents avalanche in Utah. A snowboarder triggered a slide on the Mount Baldy side of the resort. A woman retrieving a ski was buried and later died from her injuries.
Weather history: A fatal avalanche in Dutch Draw
NOAA’s historical record for December 15, 2019 documents avalanche in Utah. A snowboarder was caught and carried down a slope along the Park City ridgeline. The victim remained buried for an estimated thirty-five minutes and died in the avalanche.
Weather history: A strong gust at Dugway’s English Village
NOAA’s historical record for December 16, 2016 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The English Village weather station measured a peak gust of 64 mph. NOAA retained that observation in its Tooele County thunderstorm wind record for this winter event.
Weather history: A cold front brings Utah County snow
NOAA’s historical record for December 17, 2012 documents winter storm in Utah. The front intensified over central Utah after bypassing the northern Wasatch Front. Storm totals included thirteen inches in Woodland Hills, eleven in Mapleton and ten in Springville. The event record spans December 17–December 18.
Capitol Reef becomes a national park
President Richard Nixon signed Public Law 92-207 on Dec. 18, 1971, establishing Capitol Reef National Park, five weeks after Arches became a national park. The area had been protected since Aug. 2, 1937, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed a proclamation creating Capitol Reef National Monument.
Weather history: Flooding closes Kane County roads
NOAA’s historical record for December 19, 2010 documents flood in Utah. Water crossed U.S. Highway 89 east of Kanab, and a landslide covered another section. Orderville and Glendale also experienced residential flooding and washed-out private roads during the episode. The event record spans December 19–December 23.
Weather history: Dense fog in eastern Grand County
NOAA’s historical record for December 20, 2013 documents dense fog in Utah. Visibility fell to a quarter mile or less across eastern Grand County. NOAA preserved the observation in its historical report for the Canyonlands and Natural Bridges forecast zone.
Weather history: Repeated thunderstorm gusts at St. George airport
NOAA’s historical record for December 21, 2007 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. The automated station recorded gusts above 61 mph on three successive observations. The report documents the repeated strong winds associated with a thunderstorm in far southern Utah.
Weather history: Snow and ice complicate Grand County travel
NOAA’s historical record for December 22, 2009 documents winter weather in Utah. Three to five inches of snow created icy roads. A vehicle left Interstate 70 near milepost 191 and overturned; its driver later died from crash-related injuries.
Weather history: An avalanche at the Canyons Resort
NOAA’s historical record for December 23, 2007 documents avalanche in Utah. A slide in upper Red Pine Chute caught several people. One man died after striking a tree, while a buried child survived after spending several days in hospital.
Weather history: A fatal Christmas Eve avalanche near Logan Peak
NOAA’s historical record for December 24, 2008 documents avalanche in Utah. Four snowmobilers entered terrain near the head of Providence Canyon after several stormy days. A slide caught and killed two riders, according to the historical report.
Weather history: A fatal Christmas Day avalanche in the Uintas
NOAA’s historical record for December 25, 2007 documents avalanche in Utah. A man snowmobiling with family was buried near Windy Ridge at a location known as Superbowl. He died before being found; the report recorded no other injuries.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds snap St. George phone poles
NOAA’s historical record for December 26, 2005 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. Ten telephone poles snapped northwest of St. George, according to the event narrative. NOAA retained the damage report in its Washington County thunderstorm wind archive for this winter date.
Weather history: Snow accompanies a fatal head-on crash
NOAA’s historical record for December 27, 2022 documents heavy snow in Utah. Media reported a fatal collision during snowfall. Nearby road-weather observations showed reduced grip and visibility below a mile during the morning, documenting conditions rather than proving a sole cause.
Salt Lake dedicates its City and County Building
Salt Lake City and County dedicated their new government building on December 28, 1894. The ceremony marked completion of a prominent sandstone civic building at Washington Square. Its shared offices and public architecture reflected the ambitions of local government near the end of Utah’s territorial period.
Weather history: Fog lingers around Canyonlands Airport
NOAA’s historical record for December 29, 2024 documents dense fog in Utah. Visibility fell to a quarter mile or less overnight. Satellite imagery and road cameras confirmed widespread fog along highway corridors, and conditions began improving around noon.
Weather history: Canyon winds cause Salt Lake City outages
NOAA’s historical record for December 30, 2014 documents high wind in Utah. The University of Utah recorded a 60 mph gust. Winds damaged trees and fences and temporarily left more than 4,000 Salt Lake City customers without electricity.
Weather history: Thunderstorm winds damage tents and a stage
NOAA’s historical record for December 31, 2005 documents thunderstorm wind in Utah. NOAA’s event narrative records damage to tents and a stage, alongside an 80 mph airport gust. The historical observation places a severe thunderstorm on the year’s final day.