Cloudburst floods in Utah, 1939-69

Abstract

During 1939-69, 836 cloudburst floods were reported in Utah. The largest number was in 1965, when 88 floods were reported; 63 floods were reported in 1968, and 56 were reported in 1961. The smallest number of floods reported was three in 1944. In 1942, 1948, and 1950, six floods were reported each year. The main source of data was newspaper reports. Cloudburst floods in Utah were experienced in the vicinity of 131 of 228 communities (incorporated communities and those unincorporated places of 1,000 or more population). Floods were also reported in the vicinity of 63 other inhabited places (1,000 or less population), for a total of 194 places that experienced floods. Twenty were reported to have experienced 10 or more cloudburst floods. Since July 1847, when permanent settlement began, Utah has experienced a total of 1,339 recorded cloudburst floods, of which 408 occurred along the Wasatch Front. These figures do not represent the total number o thunderstorms but only those violent enough to produce cloudburst floods. Many other floods that took place in sparsely settled areas have gone unrecorded.