Funnel Cloud, San Juan
- When
- August 21, 1:30 PM MST to 1:36 PM MST
- Where
- San Juan County, 3 mi E of Monticello
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.626, -109.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in Utah, August 21, 2001
1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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 forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Aug 21, 12:14 PM MST, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 12:14 PM MST, 1 hour 16 minutes before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 114 PM MDT TUE AUG 21 2001 THIS EVENING IS LOOKING TO BE AN ACTIVE PERIOD AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHES THE AREA. A GOOD MOIST LAYER IS IN PLACE WITH AROUND AN INCH OF PRECIPITABLE WATER MEASURED PER THE 12Z GJT SOUNDING. SPC HAS PUT EASTERN UTAH AND FAR WESTERN COLORADO IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA FOR SEVERE WINDS/LARGE HAIL AND FEEL BEST TIMING WILL BE THIS EVENING...BEGINNING LATE AFTERNOON FOR EASTERN UTAH. TIMING IS A BIT OFFSET FOR BEST LIFT...AS THE DIURNAL FACTOR DECREASES AS THE DYNAMIC FACTOR INCREASES. SINCE EASTERN UTAH WILL FEEL THE EFFECTS OF THE TROUGH EARLIEST...THAT AREA WILL SEE THE BEST CHANCE OF SEVERE. AN AREA OF UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE MAXIMIZES AROUND 06Z OVER WESTERN COLORADO. THEREFORE EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE PAST MIDNIGHT...WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS BETWEEN 23Z AND 06Z. A SECONDARY WAVE IS SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY...HOWEVER THIS ONE NOT AS STRONG AND IT MOVES THROUGH BEFORE MAX HEATING. WILL KEEP SCATTERED...ESPECIALLY OVER THE MOUNTAIN AREAS. IN THE EVENING...WILL LEAVE AT LEAST ISOLATED FOR THE EARLY EVENING BEFORE CLEARING. LOW LEVEL WESTERLY FLOW WILL EFFECTIVELY DRY THE AREA OUT AFTER WEDS WAVE. LOOK FOR TEMPS TO BE A LITTLE COOLER ON WED. WITH THE DRIER MORE STABLE AIR MASS IN PLACE ON THU...WILL GO WITH MOSTLY SUNNY/PARTLY CLOUDY OVER THE AREA. HOWEVER WILL MENTION ISOLATED OVER THE MOUNTAINS FOR THE AFTERNOON. ITS JUST TOO EASY FOR A FEW CELLS TO POP WITH DIURNAL HEATING. HIGH TEMPS WILL REBOUND AROUND 5 DEGREES DUE TO WARMING ALOFT AND MORE SUN. HEFFERNAN/44 EXTENDED (FRI-TUE)...THE ZONAL WEST-EAST FLOW WILL GRADUALLY BECOME SOUTHWEST FRI...ALLOWING SUB-TROPICAL MOISTURE TO CREEP NORTH INTO NEW MEXICO. HOWEVER...IT WILL REMAIN DRY ACROSS WESTERN CO/EASTERN UT AT LEAST UNTIL SAT...WHEN DEEPER MOISTURE RIDES OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF CO CREATING THE THREAT OF AFTN CONVECTION. MEANWHILE... A NEG TILT TROF DEVELOPS FROM CA TO THE DESERT SW BY SUN BUT APPEARS TO GET SHEARED APART OVER TIME. UPR HIGH RIDGE AXIS STRENGTHENS OVER GREAT BASIN MON/TUE WITH WARM AND RELATIVELY DRY CONDITIONS. DIURNAL MTN CONVECTION LOOKS TO BE MAIN STORY WITH WARM TEMPS. DJN.83 .GJT...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 9:22 AM MST, 4 hours 8 minutes before
COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-212100- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 1022 AM MDT TUE AUG 21 2001 ...SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO... AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHING EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO WILL COMBINE WITH DEEP SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE TO PRODUCE POTENTIALLY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. LOCAL HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING CAN BE ALSO EXPECTED. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE IN EASTERN UTAH AND THE FAR WESTERN PORTION OF COLORADO...ESPECIALLY ACROSS HIGHER TERRAIN. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE ABOVE MENTIONED AREAS FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS ON THIS POTENTIALLY EXTREME WEATHER SITUATION. YOU MAY ALSO VIEW THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION ON THE GRAND JUNCTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/gjt ELH/DJN
The radar
The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 212 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:31 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
- Heavy Rain in Washington, August 21 to 23, 2001
- Heat in Missouri, August 21 to 22, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Utah, August 21, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 21, 2001
- Heat in Illinois, August 21 to 22, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 21, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, August 21, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 21, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 21, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 21, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 21, 2001
- Hail in North Dakota, August 21, 2001
More
Every storm in Utah in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, August 2001
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: 5264315.