Alert archive / Colorado / Blizzard Warnings in 2009

Blizzard Warning 1, NWS Grand Junction, CO

December 5, 200913 counties in Colorado; Grand County, San Juan County, Utah

NWS Grand Junction, CO issued this blizzard warning at Dec 5, 2009, 4:07 PM MST for 13 counties in Colorado; Grand County, San Juan County, Utah. It took effect at Dec 7, 2009, 6:00 AM MST. It was in force for 33 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 5, 2009, 4:07 PM MST (23:07 UTC)
In effect from
Dec 7, 2009, 6:00 AM MST
Expired
Dec 8, 2009, 3:25 PM MST
In force
33 hr
Issued by
NWS Grand Junction, CO

Counties Archuleta County, CO, Delta County, CO, Dolores County, CO, Garfield County, CO, Gunnison County, CO, Hinsdale County, CO, La Plata County, CO, Mesa County, CO, Montezuma County, CO, Montrose County, CO, Ouray County, CO, San Juan County, CO, San Miguel County, CO, Grand County, UT, San Juan County, UT

The radar

The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:07 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Grand Junction, CO (KGJT), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 112 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Grand Junction, CO at 12:00Z on 2009-12-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Grand Junction, CO at 12:00Z on 2009-12-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 158 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2374 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
73 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
158 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
429 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this blizzard warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this blizzard warning went out at Dec 5, 3:37 PM MST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 3:37 PM MST, 30 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 5, 5:45 AM MST, 10 hours 22 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
545 AM MST SAT DEC 5 2009

COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-061300-
ANIMAS RIVER BASIN-ARCHES/GRAND FLAT-CANYONLANDS/NATURAL BRIDGES-
CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN-
CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN-
CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN-DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR-
EASTERN UINTA BASIN-EASTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS-
ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-FLAT TOPS-
FOUR CORNERS/UPPER DOLORES RIVER-
GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS-
GRAND VALLEY-LA SAL AND ABAJO MOUNTAINS-LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-
NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-PARADOX VALLEY/LOWER DOLORES RIVER-
ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS-SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN-SOUTHEAST UTAH-
SOUTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-TAVAPUTS PLATEAU-
UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE-UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY-
UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS-
545 AM MST SAT DEC 5 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN
COLORADO.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A COLD WINTER STORM WILL SPREAD SNOW ACROSS NORTHEAST UTAH LATE THIS
AFTERNOON...AND WESTERN COLORADO THIS EVENING. IN ADDITION...GUSTY
SOUTHWEST MOUNTAIN WINDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH WILL
DEVELOP TODAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

BY SUNDAY EVENING 6 TO 12 INCHES OF NEW SNOW IS EXPECTED IN
THE NORTHERN...AND PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL...MOUNTAINS. LOCAL
BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL OCCUR MAINLY ON NORTH-FACING SLOPES.

A MUCH STRONGER STORM THEN ARRIVES ON MONDAY AND CONTINUES INTO
TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. A THIRD STORM WILL AFFECT THE REGION
STARTING ON THURSDAY.

FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THIS SERIES OF WINTER STORMS...PLEASE
VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/GJT FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT THOUGH
SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY STRONG WIND GUSTS OR SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION.

JOE/NL

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Junction, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 5, 4:26 AM MSTBlizzard WatchGJTArchuleta, Delta, Dolores, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata and 6 more12 hr
Dec 5, 4:26 AM MSTWinter Storm WatchGJTArchuleta, Delta, Dolores, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison and 9 more45 hr

Nearby

Blizzard Warnings in Colorado, 2009Blizzard Warnings in Utah, 2009Every blizzard warning in 2009

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.