Mudslide closed Arches National Park, roads flooded in Moab
Jun 27, 2024, 5:42 PM | Updated: 8:18 pm
MOAB — Weather has struck Grand County again; this time, it closed the entrance to Arches National Park and flooded some roads in nearby Moab.
The city said another mudslide has happened north of the area.
A mudslide on U.S. 191, the main road with access to the park, was closed at Arches Scenic Drive. But at 5:46 p.m., roads were reopened, and traffic moved through the park.
The same road is the main route through Moab, emerging on the other side of town to head south. It handles local and tourist traffic but also is a route for semitrucks.
“It was a complete whitewash. It was just chaos. No one knew what to do,” said Diane Harris, who witnessed the storm. “The hail came, and the storm wind hit the car sideways.”
In Moab at 550 N. Main Street, at Stewart Canyon, water over the road restricted travel to one lane.
The city urged residents to be cautious with travel and said streetlights were flashing red in all directions at the intersection of 100 South and Main Street and at state Route 128 where water was also over the road.
“All the creeks from the mountains come through town, and all the residential areas, and that’s when you get the really big, high volume of water flowing through town,” said Hunter Kessler, who also was in the storm.
A week ago the city issued flash flood warnings as roads flooded.
Moab averages approximately 10 inches of precipitation each year. The nearby La Salle mountains typically receive more water.
Contributing: Andrew Adams, KSL TV
