Frost/Freeze in Southeast Utah, Utah

Minimum temperatures across the zone ranged from 32F to 23F during this event. The minimum temperature of 23F occurred at multiple sites, first at the mesonet site PC180, and then at the KBDG ASOS at Blanding Airport, in Blanding, UT. 6 of the 7 available sites recorded temperatures at or below 32F for at least 3 hours, with these temperatures lasting for, on average, 5 hours. Additionally, 5 of the 7 available sites recorded temperatures at or below 28F for at least 3 hours, with these lasting for on average 3.5 hours. These data indicate this zone experienced both a Freeze and a Hard Freeze event.

An unusually cold air mass had moved in over eastern Utah and western Colorado by the night of April 6th to the 7th. This already cold air was compounded by clear and calm conditions that promoted radiational cooling across much of the region. At this point in the year, only the lowest elevations of eastern Utah and western Colorado had acquired enough Growing Degree Days to warrant freeze highlights, as important agricultural assets, with particular emphasis on fruit trees, were beginning to bloom and a hard freeze event could be disastrous. Luckily, many of these crops were not damaged by this freeze event, even though many locations did hit hard freeze criteria.