OGDEN -- As temperatures go from below average to above average, the remaining snowpack could melt off in the next week, leading to more flooding.
In the meantime, emergency managers in Weber and Davis counties are monitoring to see if the first days of summer bring floodwaters.
"We are really just waiting to see what happens and what plays out," Davis County Sheriff's Sgt. Sue Poulsen said, adding that she anticipates Davis County will be all right.
The National Weather Service issued flood warnings across Northern Utah from Cache to Salt Lake counties because of accelerated snowmelt from rising temperatures this week. The weather is predicted to be mostly sunny throughout the next week, with temperatures reaching up to 91 degrees today before dropping to the mid-80s over the weekend.
"This is what we've been waiting for the past couple of months," National Weather Service meteorologist Glen Merrill said. "It will be the crunch time for this season."
In northeastern Davis and central Weber counties, the NWS is watching the Weber River from the mouth of Weber Canyon until it ends in the Great Salt Lake.
"It was almost inevitable, with so much snow we had late in the season, that we would have flood concerns," Merrill said.
Weber County Emergency Management Director Lance Peterson said the county is monitoring the Weber River at Oakley to see how it affects Wanship and Echo reservoirs.
If there is flooding, most will be snowmelt from the elevations above 8,000 feet. The heat will melt away much of the remaining snow.
"Not all of the snow," Merrill said, "but certainly a majority."
Most of the snow in the mid and lower elevations has already melted off.
Historical average temperatures for June are around 80 degrees, but Northern Utah experienced cooler temperatures this year, which helped by allowing most of the lower-elevation snow to melt while leaving the higher elevations fairly intact.
"The cooler weather helped us," Peterson said. "The rain created a few problems, but all in all, it helped us get through this."
If Utah had experienced normal temperatures a month ago, Merrill said, the flooding would have been worse.
Even with the snowmelt, there is still a possibility that the area can escape flooding, Peterson said, because there is still some holding capacity in the reservoirs.
Whatever the warmer weather brings, Merrill advises people to be careful around the fast-moving rivers and streams.
The water is very cold, and hypothermia will set in quickly. Several people have already died this year in Utah after falling into swollen streams and rivers.
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