Dense Fog in Colorado, December 14, 2004

Name: Dense Fog in Colorado, December 14, 2004
Start: 2004-12-14T07:00
End: 2004-12-14T10:00
Location: Colorado

December 14, 2004 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Dense fog reduced visibilities to less than 1/4 mile across the western portion of the Grand Valley. Spotter reports indicated visibilities as low as 100 to 200 feet in some places.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Dense fog reduced visibilities to less than 1/4 mile across the western portion of the Grand Valley. Spotter reports indicated visibilities as low as 100 to 200 feet in some places.

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 Dec 14, 3:30 AM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 3:30 AM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 14, 5:15 AM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
515 AM MST TUE DEC 14 2004

COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-151230-
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-
515 AM MST TUE DEC 14 2004

...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM MST THIS MORNING FOR
EXTREME SOUTHERN SAN JUAN COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST UTAH...

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT...

AREAS OF DENSE FOG WILL AFFECT THE LOWER VALLEYS ALONG THE COLORADO
AND SAN JUAN RIVERS...FROM WEST-CENTRAL COLORADO TO SOUTHEAST UTAH
THIS MORNING. VISIBILITIES WILL BE REDUCED TO LESS THAN 1/4 MILE AT
TIMES. MOTORISTS TRAVELING ALONG I-70...HIGHWAY 191 OR 163 SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR DENSE FOG. LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WILL REDEVELOP THIS
EVENING ACROSS SOUTHEAST UTAH. ELSEWHERE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS
EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...

THE POTENTIAL FOR SNOW WILL EXIST WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS A SYSTEM
CROSSES THE AREA FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. AT THIS TIME...THE FOCUS
FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL BE IN THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS
OF WESTERN COLORADO. IN ADDITION...A COLD FRONT WILL BRING COLDER
TEMPERATURES AND WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND
THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT...HOWEVER
SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CALL IN ANY FOG OR OTHER WEATHER-RELATED
REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION.

DJN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Grand Valley

When: December 14, 7:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where: Grand Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.308, -108.185 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Dense Fog: Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Colorado in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, December 2004

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5431171.