Heavy rains, melting snowpack leave rivers overflowing across Southern Utah

Written by Cody Blowers
March 16, 2023

ST. GEORGE — The steady downpour of rain that blanketed Southern Utah well into Wednesday night caused flooding throughout the region and left two rivers swelling to the point of running over as water levels rose higher than they have in nearly two decades.

Tanner Pastor wake boarding in the rushing water during heavy rains in Hurricane, Utah, March 15, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Tanner Pastor, St. George News

The heavy rain also melted the snowpack, which makes up about 95% of the state’s water supply, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources. The melting snow also sent water running downstream into the overflowing rivers that quickly reached critical levels.

The National Weather Service issued two flash flood warnings at 8 a.m. Thursday, saying conditions were expected to continue until 6 p.m. and also provided flood stage levels for the Santa Clara River at St. George and the Virgin River at Bloomington. The Santa Clara river rose to nearly 18 feet, the highest since 2005.

David Cordero, communications director for the City of St. George, said it will take some time to rebuild a few of the trails and some of the cart paths at Southgate Golf Club, including the “front 9” that is expected to remain closed for repairs until the middle of April. Sections of the multi-use trail may take a month or so to complete.

“I think we came through OK,” Cordero said. “We will have a better gauge on the timeline in the coming days and weeks,”

Virgin River

The upper Virgin River watershed encompasses nearly 1.4 million acres that stretch across Utah, and in Bloomington, the river rose to 17 feet and was moving at 10,800 cubic feet per second Thursday morning. The last time the river rose to that level was in 2008, when it rose to 17.8 feet.

Flooding of Virgin River near Bloomington Park in St. George, Utah, March 15, 2023 } Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The Virgin River is more than 590% above the seasonal averages, and according to the U.S.  Geological Survey’s SnoFlo report, “Recent flow activity has caused river levels to skyrocket.” The spike in the need for flood removal services is expected to increase the likelihood of water damage to the surrounding area.

Runoff waters and flooding have created waterfalls in Gunlock State Park and caused road closures due to debris coming off the spillway. Those closures remained in effect Thursday.

Zion National Park 

Visitor access has been impacted at Zion National Park, according to the park’s website, which states that the Narrows, as well as all routes that exit through it, are closed for the next 24 hours, or until the volume of water drops below 150 cubic feet per second.

Riverside Walk, a paved trail that starts at the Temple of Sinawava, is open.

The park advisory also states that travel has been reduced to a single lane both in and out of the park at the South Entrance to accommodate for the drainage improvement work being conducted under the roadway.

Additionally, rock falls have limited travel near the Mount Carmel Junction, which is blocked near the East Entrance, as well as to the south, near Springdale. Park officials also advise that a rockfall near Kolob Canyons Road has blocked off travel beyond the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center, and once the debris has been cleared,  the roads will reopen.

St. George News has assembled photos and video, including those submitted by the Southern Utah community, of the  storm and its aftermath, which can be viewed in the video at the top of this report.

St. George News reporter Chris Reed contributed to this report.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cody Blowers was raised in South San Francisco, California. A 2013 graduate of Colorado Technical University, Cody earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in paralegal studies. Through the course of her academic studies she discovered that writing is her true passion, and she is committed to providing credible, integrated news coverage. Cody joined St. George News in 2015, and when she’s not busy chasing the news, she can generally be found chasing her young granddaughter, Kali.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews

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