It was supposed to feel like this on the valley floors:
but ended up more like this:
Why is that? Well, long story short, there is tremendous uncertainly with the early fall systems (troughs) that roll through Utah. If you have questions on why, come see me later.
The southerly flow never developed in Utah valley (Provo) or SLC valley with any degree of strength. This was likely due to how slowly the trough is rolling across the area tonight.
However, the surface flows in the west Utah valleys saw plenty of south winds, but the Wasatch front stayed light and variable, with a stronger north flow settling in late in the day. All in all the models resolved this weather event poorly, and still is.
The certainty of a no-fly day was still nearly 100% due to a completely saturated mid level moisture pulse that is still lingering in the area, slowly making its way NE into S WY. This alone made getting a task in impossible for the day.
The virga, mammata, and other scary looking dark things falling from the clouds didn't really make the day any more appealing to fly.
The higher terrain saw strong S winds all day, with winds at 10,000 ft averaging 10-12 mph gusting to as high as 35 mph mid day. At least that part was well predicted.
Here's the surface obs for the top of Alta ski resort which shows the southerly flow nicely:
OK. Onto another day...
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