Funnel Cloud, Rio Blanco
- When
- May 9, 3:00 PM MST to 3:05 PM MST
- Where
- Rio Blanco County, 2 mi NW of Rangely
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 39.980, -108.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in Colorado, May 9, 1998
A long narrow funnel cloud was observed in the oil fields near Rangely. The tail of the funnel cloud was on the other side of a low ridge from the observers.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
A long narrow funnel cloud was observed in the oil fields near Rangely. The tail of the funnel cloud was on the other side of a low ridge from the observers. If the funnel cloud did not touch down, at least it came very close to the ground.
The radar
The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 102 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:59 UTC.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Texas, May 9, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, May 9, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 9, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 9, 1998
- Tornado in Alabama, May 9, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 9, 1998
- Tornadoes in Alabama, May 9, 1998
- Hail in Missouri, May 9, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 9, 1998
- Hail in Alabama, May 9, 1998
- Flooding and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, May 9 to 16, 1998
- Flood in Iowa, May 9, 1998
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, May 1998
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5650191.