My imminent Western USA holiday - liklihood of storms?

[neil_b]

Guys I'm intrigued to know what sort of chance you think I have of catching some good storms this summer. I've been deprived for years and now all of a sudden I feel I have something to look forward to.

First of all I don't usually do summer holidays and had planned to take the family to the USA for Christmas. However we just found out my wife is expecting which blew our plans out of the water. As the flights are non-refundable I've taken the extra fare on the chin and switched to late July (i.e. next month). We will be flying into Las Vegas and driving up through Utah where we will be staying with relatives in the SLC area and also further up in Idaho. On the way back to Vegas I am planning a 'de-tour' through the desert down to Monument Valley and into AZ, taking in the Grand Canyon and other national parks before flying back. We will be in the US for 2.5 weeks in total.

I'm just wondering if anyone has done the same sort of trip at this time of year and if so what sort of storms if any can I expect to catch, plus any tips or must-sees for the area would be appreciated. I'll have the wife and two kids with me so hard-core storm chasing is out of the question unfortunately!!

[Coopsy]

I would have thought with the heat of AZ there could also be a chance of pop up thunderstorms in the afternoon, plus if the conditions are right then to the east of the US rockies you could see some T-storm activity

[Roger J Smith]

Keep in touch when you arrive, I'll update you on the actual situation. Normally, scattered thunderstorms are widespread from the north rim of the Grand Canyon up throuigh most of Utah on many afternoons in the summer. These tend to be quite elevated and often give a lot of lightning and not that much rain, although you can get a local deluge. There are times when the atmosphere is capped and it is just hot and sunny in that region with extensive higher cloud. As you know, it is hot but with the elevations you encounter in southern Utah (6 to 9 thousand feet) it is usually 95-100 F rather than the sort of 110 F you get around southern AZ. And it's a dry heat without much humidity.

You're in for the trip of a lifetime, I'm not sure what you're expecting but the scenery is breathtaking, the weather is bound to be sunny and warm most of the time, and the highways are not very busy outside the two cities and even there not really that bad. This is my favourite area (my avatar is from Bryce Canyon, you won't believe the colours until you see them for yourself).

The one feature of the north rim Grand Canyon is that it is less crowded in terms of visitors, the views are different from the more popular south rim but just as awe-inspiring. It is a long drive in that way from LV though, but then you are much closer to Utah (like half a day) when you leave. I would look at going LV to Zion, then north rim GC, then Bryce and Arches, then Monument Valley, look into Mesa Verde in southwest CO which is very interesting to visit, and Dinosaur Nat'l Monument in western CO, then on to SLC -- this would be the least driving to see all of this (or save some for later). In southern Idaho you might find Craters of the Moon Nat'l Monument interesting, it's a very large lava flow in the middle of an arid plain. Otherwise, I think you'll find there is not much to see in southern Idaho, you'd be better taking a circle tour of Yellowstone and Grand Teton which are worth a minimum of two days and really 3-4 to see everything at a minimum.

Would recommend Zion, Bryce Canyon and Arches NPs as a must-see if you are travelling around southern Utah and the national parks. Monument Valley is very impressive too. Really, between SLC and the Grand Canyon you can't go wrong in terms of scenery, it gets a little monotonous towards eastern Nevada.

Storms in this region have a tendency to form on the upslope side of mountains and hang over them for several hours so once you see where they are setting up, they are not in need of "chasing" usually, they just sit there and go through their life cycle. A little further north into Idaho and western Wyoming the storms are more mobile and Yellowstone Park pretty much has a daily storm cycle, it is rare for the summer afternoons not to produce storms in that part of the country.

[smich]

Hi Neil,

It's been 10 years or so since I was over in that part of the world, but I'm sure climate won't have changed much since then!

We saw quite a few storms win our two week roam and that was in late summer, even seeing a good T-storm whilst high up in the Rockies. Almost anywhere in that region, the temps should be high enough to brew up a decent storm. Monument Valley was a real highlight - massive storm, lightning striking the tops of the buttes, fantastic.

Like Roger, I'd recommend Bryce Canyon, Zion Nat. Park, Arches Nat. Park, and I would also add Lake Powell, with Glen Canyon Dam - really beautiful. You can take a boat trip to Rainbow Arch which is magnificent.

I'm sure you'll find more than enough to see and visit, and there may even be some severe weather thrown inland by an East Pacific Hurricane!

One tip - while driving, try to keep your eyes off the scenery and on the road!

Have a great trip

Steve M (smich)

Edited June 26, 2008 by smich

[neil_b]

Guys - thanks for the responses.

Just to give you an update I arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday and drove up the I15 into Utah that evening. We passed up through some heavy showers in the desert and I saw a bit of lightning. I noticed as Roger said that the storms clinged to the side of the mountains.

Anyway I've now been in Utah (near Provo) for the last few days and the weather is beautiful. Clear skies and 90-100F. Our hosts claim there hasn't been rain for weeks and that it's too dry for storms to develop.

We're off to Bear Lake (Utah / Idaho border) on Monday for a few nights camping and after that I'm likely to return to this area. We're not going to drive down to AZ / Monument Valley / Grand Canyon / etc. until after next week when we take an extended tour back down to Las Vegas.

So the question is what am I likely to see here for the next few weeks? The weather seems to be very settled and no sign of afternoon storms so far.

Whatever the weather does we're loving every minute of this trip so far. The landscapes and scenery both here and on the way up from Las Vegas are really very breathtaking.

Thanks

Neil