PUBLISHED Sep 5, 2026, 12:41 PM ET
Authored by Levi C. Webb
A new flood watch covers parts of central and southern Utah as tropical moisture brings a risk of excessive rainfall on Sunday.
Sunday rain could bring flash flooding to Utah canyons and burn scars, with Zion National Park among areas covered by a newly issued flood watch.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued the watch at 10:23 a.m. MDT Saturday, September 5, for a period beginning Sunday morning and continuing through Sunday evening. Its scheduled window starts at 9 a.m. Sunday and ends at midnight entering Monday, September 7. The alert identifies possible flash flooding from excessive rainfall, making this a forecast of potential conditions during the holiday weekend rather than a report that flooding is already occurring.
The affected areas include Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon Country, Southwest Utah, South Central Utah and the Southern Mountains. Farther north, the alert covers the Sanpete and Sevier valleys, Eastern Juab/Millard Counties, the Central Mountains, the Wasatch Plateau/Book Cliffs and the Western Uinta Basin. Castle Country also appears in the alert's geographic coverage, placing the concern across multiple inland regions rather than only the national park corridor in southern Utah.
Forecasters expect deep tropical moisture to arrive across much of central and southern Utah, with excessive rainfall expected Sunday afternoon. The alert gives anticipated rainfall rates of 0.4 to 0.6 inches per hour, with isolated rates of 0.6 to 0.8 inches per hour possible. Those figures describe how quickly rain could fall during the event; they are not a statewide rainfall total or a prediction that every location within the watch will receive the same amount.
The weather service specifically includes the Cottonwood, Widemouth 2, Forsyth, France Canyon, Monroe Canyon and Black Canyon burn scars in its watch. It says excessive runoff may flood rivers, creeks, streams, dry washes, slot canyons and other low areas, including slickrock terrain and recent burn scars. That list makes the local setting central to the alert: the concern includes places where people travel or recreate away from ordinary streets, as well as waterways running through the covered regions.
KSL meteorologist Kevin Eubank's September 4 outlook also forecast a change arriving Sunday, identifying remnant moisture from Tropical Storm Marie as a source of showers and thunderstorms in southern Utah. He expected that storminess to try to spread north Sunday night, followed by a cold front in northern Utah early Monday. That broader outlook provides context for the incoming weather, while Saturday's NWS watch supplies the specific flood risk, covered locations and timing for central and southern Utah.
The NWS instruction accompanying the watch is to follow later forecasts and be ready to act if flash flood warnings are issued. For people with Sunday plans in Zion, Bryce Canyon Country or the named burn scar areas, the next forecast updates will matter as the rainfall develops. This watch establishes a period of possible flooding; it does not establish that a particular trail, road or park facility has closed.
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Reporting and writing by Levi C. Webb. AI tools were used selectively to assist with research and editorial support.
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