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‘Extreme weather’ causes road closures in Zion National Park

Posted at 3:12 PM, Aug 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-10 22:26:20-04

SOUTHERN UTAH -- The roads inside Zion National Park are closed Wednesday due to extreme weather, and other parts of the state are under flash flood warnings while other areas are being hit with rain and hail.

Zion National Park tweeted just before 3 p.m. that all roads in the park were closed, and State Route 9 was briefly closed as well before reopening a short time later. A photo taken around 3 p.m. showed the Virgin River running high. Another photo taken in Springdale by Susan Toensing shows water flooding streets in Springdale in front of Blondie's Cafe.

springdale flodoing

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a flash flood warning for southern Utah in Garfield, Kane and Washington counties until about 6:15 p.m. Video shot in St. George by Brett Menzie showed a microburst bringing rain and hail to the area Wednesday afternoon.

The NWS also reports hail has hit near Mt. Carmel and Orderville, and thunderstorms are developing near Sandy, Draper and Taylorsville with hail and wind gusts possible. A significant weather advisory for East Davis county and Northeast Salt Lake County was also issued at 3:10 p.m. Wind gusts of up to 40 mph are possible along with 1/2-inch hail.

Watch FOX 13 Live at Four and Five Wednesday for the latest on the developing weather situation in Utah.