Dense Fog, Eastern Uinta Basin
- When
- January 11, 6:00 PM MST to January 14, 3:00 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Uinta Basin forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.125, -109.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dense Fog in Utah, January 11 to 14, 2004
Trapped low level moisture and a strong inversion resulted in a prolonged period of widespread dense fog, with reported and measured visibilities less than 1/4 mile. Additionally, below freezing temperatures allowed icy patches to form on roads.
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.
Trapped low level moisture and a strong inversion resulted in a prolonged period of widespread dense fog, with reported and measured visibilities less than 1/4 mile. Additionally, below freezing temperatures allowed icy patches to form on roads.
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 Jan 11, 12:55 PM MST, 5 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 11, 12:55 PM MST, 5 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 1255 PM MST SUN JAN 11 2004 ...DENSE FOG TO CONTINUE IN GRAND JUNCTION AND MOAB ZONES... .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT)...WILL EXTEND DENSE FOG ADVISORY THROUGH MONDAY NOON FOR CO ZONE 6 AND UTAH ZONE 27. PRETTY MUCH STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. SHARP RIDGE OVERHEAD WILL KEEP VERY STABLE CONDITIONS IN PLACE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. ZONES CO 06 AND UTAH 27 WILL REMAIN SOCKED IN AS STRONG SURFACE INVERSION KEEPS THE BOUNDARY LAYER SATURATED. VERY BRIEF PERIODS OF PARTIAL SUN IN LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON WILL MAKE MINOR IMPROVEMENTS IN VISIBILITY ONLY TO EVAPORATE ENOUGH MOISTURE BACK INTO THE LOWER LEVELS SO THAT LIFR CONDITIONS QUICKLY REDEVELOP. OTHER VALLEYS...CO 7/8/11/14 AND UT 24 AND NRN PORTION OF UT 29... WILL SEE SAME CONDITIONS TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT AS HAVE OCCURRED THE LAST TWO DAYS. WIDEPSPREAD FOG WITH LOCALLY DENSE FOG AT NIGHT THROUGH MID-MORNING...THEN IMPROVEMENT IN THE AFTERNOON. MOUNTAINS WILL REMAIN MOSTLY SUNNY AND ABOUT THE WARMEST ZONES IN THE FORECAST AREA. HIGH CLOUDS FROM WEAK SOUTHERN NMEX/AZ SHORTWAVE WILL CONTINUE SPREADING NORTH AND OVER THE FOUR CORNERS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BUT WILL HAVE LITTLE AFFECT. MOS GUIDANCE TEMPS HAVE BEEN MISSING BADLY ON HIGH AND LOW TEMPS IN THE FOG PRONE CITIES AND WILL CONTINUE PERSISTENCE FORECASTS. MOS DOING BETTER OVER THE CLEAR ZONES. LONG TERM (TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)...PERSISTENT UPPER RIDGE ACROSS WESTERN NORTH AMERICA GETS FLATTENED TUE NIGHT AS A SHORTWAVE TRACKS EASTWARD AND DROPS INTO THE MEAN TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION BY WED. THIS WEAK WAVE JUST BARELY BRUSHES OUR NORTHERN BORDER. MODELS INDICATE MINIMAL EFFECTS FOR OUR FORECAST AREA. AT 700 MB TEMPS DECREASE A LITTLE WHICH WILL WEAKEN VALLEY INVERSIONS SOME... BUT DO NOT THINK THIS WAVE WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO SCOUR OUT THE PERSISTENT VALLEY FOG...ESPECIALLY AS FAR SOUTH AS THE CENTRAL VALLEYS. WILL LEAVE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TUE NIGHT...BUT THIS MAY BE OVERDONE. RIDGE REBUILDS TO OUR WEST ON WED WITH A STRONGER SYSTEM SCHEDULED FOR THU NIGHT. THE EC IS ABOUT 6 HOURS SLOWER WITH THIS WAVE...OTHERWISE MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT WITH A SPLIT INDICATED. THIS WILL BE OUR BEST CHANCE TO CLEAR OUT THE VALLEYS UNTIL THE WEEKEND. PRESENT PACKAGE HANDLES SITUATION WELL WITH A CHANCE BEGINNING OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THU AND SPREADING TO THE REST OF THE MOUNTAINS WITH SLIGHT CHANCE FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL VALLEYS THU NIGHT INTO FRI. MAJOR PATTERN CHANCE PROGGED BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND WITH UNSETTLED WEATHER AND INCREASING MOISTURE IN WESTERLY FLOW. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR ZONE 6 UNTIL NOON MONDAY. .UT...DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR ZONE 27 UNTIL NOON MONDAY. && CC/EH
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 11, 5:21 AM MST, 12 hours 39 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 521 AM MST SUN JAN 11 2004 COZ006-UTZ027-121200- ARCHES/GRAND FLAT-GRAND VALLEY- 521 AM MST SUN JAN 11 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE LOWER CENTRAL VALLEYS OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... FOG WILL LOWER VISIBILITY TO 1/4 MILE AT TIMES THROUGH THE MORNING. A DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON. AFTER SOME LIFTING THIS AFTERNOON...PATCHY DENSE FOG IS EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. COZ007-008-011-014-UTZ024-029-121200- CANYONLANDS/NATURAL BRIDGES-CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN- CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN- DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR-EASTERN UINTA BASIN- UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY- 521 AM MST SUN JAN 11 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SEVERAL OF THE VALLEYS OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... PATCHY FOG WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. LOCAL AREAS WILL HAVE VISIBILITY DOWN TO 1/4 MILE. THE FOG WILL LIFT AND DISSIPATE THIS AFTERNOON...BUT IS EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. COZ001>005-009-010-012-013-017>023-UTZ022-023-025-028-121200- ANIMAS RIVER BASIN-CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER 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- 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 YAMPA RIVER BASIN- WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS- 521 AM MST SUN JAN 11 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MOST OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COLORADO MOUNTAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. JOE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
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
More
Every storm in Utah in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5383509.