Extreme to exceptional drought continued across the eastern quarter of Utah through the month of September. However, periods of rainfall reduced the usage of water across the area, while decreasing the risk of wildfires.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
Extreme to exceptional drought continued across the eastern quarter of Utah through the month of September. However, periods of rainfall reduced the usage of water across the area, while decreasing the risk of wildfires. See the October 2002 Storm Data publication for a continuation of the drought in the eastern quarter of Utah.
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 31, 1:02 PM MST, 10 hours 58 minutes earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 202 PM MDT SAT AUG 31 2002 DEEP SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER THE FORECAST AREA AHEAD OF AN UPPER TROUGH MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. TAIL END OF THE TROUGH WILL PASS THROUGH LATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...VEERING WINDS TO THE WEST AND NORTHWEST. MOISTURE IS LACKING ACROSS THE AREA AND EXPECT ONLY ISOLATED HIGH BASED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH EARLY EVENING ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS NEAR THE DIVIDE. UPPER JET SHOULD PROVIDE ENOUGH LIFT FOR SOME CLOUDS ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT EXCEPT NORTHEAST UTAH AND FAR NORTHWEST COLORADO. DRIER AIR ADVECTS INTO THE AREA SUNDAY. ENOUGH MOISTURE AND JET DYNAMICS DURING PEAK HEATING ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO FOR ISOLATED AFTERNOON POPS. EXCEPT FOR GUSTY WINDS WITH ISOLATED STORMS...WEAK GRADIENT FLOW WILL ALLOW DIURNAL TERRAIN DRIVEN WINDS TO PREVAIL. PERSISTENCE TEMP FORECAST SUNDAY. FURTHER DRYING OF THE AIRMASS SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. A LITTLE MID LEVEL MOISTURE PROGGED ACROSS SOUTHWEST COLORADO MONDAY. LITTLE TO NO LARGE SCALE FORCING BUT LOCAL CONVERGENCE ACROSS HIGH TERRAIN MAY BE ENOUGH FOR AN ISOLATED STORM ACROSS THE SAN JUAN RANGE...ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS. WILL USE ETA TEMPS MONDAY FOR NEAR PERSISTENCE FORECAST. AMPLIFICATION OF THE PATTERN MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY AS A WEST COAST TROUGH DEVELOPS. FLOW TURNS SOUTHWEST BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON WITH INCREASING MOISTURE. MODELS GENERATE AN UPPER DIVERGENCE MAX OVER SOUTHWEST COLORADO. TUESDAY LOOKS LIKE THE BEGINNING OF A MOIST AND UNSETTLED PERIOD. LINDQUIST EXTENDED (WED-SAT)...WEST COAST TROUGH PROGRESSION IS SLOWER IN THE EC/UK...AND THE 12Z AVN IS SIMILAR AND SLOWER THAN LAST NIGHTS GFS. TROUGH PASSAGE ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER NOW OCCURS ON FRIDAY AND SUSPECT IT MAYBE LATER YET. SO WITH THE NEW MEXICO HIGH DOMINANT AND ALLOWING A MONSOONAL BLOOM...WILL KEEP POPS IN FOR FRIDAY. AS TROUGH APPROACHES...GRADIENT TIGHTENS ACROSS THE NORTH FOR WINDY CONDITIONS. WILL INTRODUCE SATURDAY AS DRY...BUT A SLOWER PROGRESSION COULD MEAN POPS CONTINUE THEN. RAMEY .GJT...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, September 2002
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: 5320837, 5320838, 5320839, 5320840, 5320841, 5320842, 5320843.