Dust Storm, Grand Valley
- When
- February 8, 3:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
- Where
- Grand Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 39.308, -108.185 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dust Storm in Colorado, February 8, 2002
Winds associated with a cold front passage blew 30 to 40 mph with gusts approaching 50 mph. This resulted in extensive blowing dust mainly in the eastern part of the Grand Valley.
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.
Winds associated with a cold front passage blew 30 to 40 mph with gusts approaching 50 mph. This resulted in extensive blowing dust mainly in the eastern part of the Grand Valley. Visibilities were down to near zero in some areas. Reduced visibility contributed to multiple vehicle accidents on I-70 which resulted in one fatality and nine injuries.
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 Feb 8, 1:28 PM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 1:28 PM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 128 PM MST FRI FEB 8 2002 WILL MAINTAIN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY THRU TONIGHT FOR OUR NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED PACIFIC SYSTEM RIDING JET INTO GRAND VALLEY AT 1330. COLD FRONT SHOULD BE ENTIRELY THRU CWA BY MIDNIGHT. MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM AGAIN RATHER LIMITED...BUT HEAVY SNOW BURSTS MAY ACCOMPANY THE COLD FRONT IN A VERY UNSTABLE ATMS. MDLS INDICATE SOME SHEARING OF SYSTEM AND MOISTURE FIELD AS IT ENTERS NW COLORADO...AND THIS THE REASONING FOR ONLY CHANCE POPS OVER THE NORTHERN VALLEYS. IN THE SOUTH JUST DONT BELIEVE THERE WILL BE ENOUGH MOISTURE FOR MORE THAN SCATTERED MTN SHOWERS. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT AND KEEP THE ATMS STIRRED AND AS A RESULT SOME MINS MAY BE WARMER THAN LAST NITE. COLD POOL ALOFT AND OROGRAPHIC FORCING MAY SUSTAIN A FEW SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS EARLY SATURDAY...THEN DRYING AND SUBSIDENCE SHOULD PRODUCE MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES BY LATE AFTN. RIDGING OCCURS FROM THE WEST SUNDAY ACCOMPANIED BY WARMING...ESPECIALLY ABOVE VALLEY INVERSIONS. MC EXTENDED (TUE-FRI)...STRONGER RIDGING PROJECTED FOR TUE THRU THUR WILL JUST ABOUT ELIMINATE ANY CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. LAST NGT/S MODELS AGREE WELL IN PRODUCING DRY AND WARMING CONDITIONS UNTIL FRIDAY. THEN MRF AND UKMET PRODUCE A CLOSED LOW THAT UNDERCUTS THE RIDGE...AFFECTING THE FOUR CORNERS AREA FRIDAY. THE EC IS WEAKER AND SLOWER WITH THIS TROUGH...BUT STILL SHOWS THE SAME TREND. WILL INTRODUCE CLDS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP FOR THE SW CO/SE UT FRI WITH A BIT OF DAYTIME COOLING. CJC .GJT...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT COZN 4/10/13.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Dust Storm
- Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Dense Fog in California, February 8, 2002
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 8 to 9, 2002
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, February 8 to 9, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 8 to 9, 2002
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 8 to 9, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, February 8, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 8, 2002
- Frost and Freeze in North Carolina, February 8, 2002
- Winter Storm in Utah, February 8, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 8 to 9, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 8 to 9, 2002
- High Wind in Colorado, February 8, 2002
More
Every storm in Colorado in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2002
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: 5283802.