Strong thunderstorm outflow winds struck a section of Clifton within the Grand Valley.
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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.
Strong thunderstorm outflow winds struck a section of Clifton within the Grand Valley.
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 May 28, 2:37 PM MST, 3 hours 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 337 PM MDT THU MAY 28 2009 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY... SCATTERED CONVECTION CONTINUES ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON WITH HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED TO OUR WEST. STORMS GENERALLY DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH AND WEST...IMPACTED BY LARGE SCALE FLOW AROUND THE CENTER OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. DIURNAL NATURE TO CONVECTION WILL RESULT IN A QUICK DECREASE IN ACTIVITY THIS EVENING...WITH CLEARING SKIES AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW PRESSURE OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA SENDS A STRONGER WAVE NORTHEAST INTO THE FOUR CORNERS ON FRIDAY. THIS WILL DRAW DEEPER MOISTURE BACK NORTH INTO THE FORECAST AREA...LEADING TO MORE WIDESPREAD CONVECTION FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES CLIMB BACK TO AROUND THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH THROUGH THIS PERIOD...SO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WOULD BE EXPECTED WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. TEMPS COOL SLIGHTLY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...ALTHOUGH READINGS WILL REMAIN NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... MOISTURE WILL LINGER AND RECYCLE WITH DIURNAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. A WEAK SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT AND EXIT LATER SUNDAY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT AS THE WAVE MOVES OVERHEAD. A LARGER TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN USA. THIS LARGER SCALE LOW TRACKS NORTHEAST AND OVER NORTHEASTERN UT AND NORTHWESTERN CO. FOCUS SHIFTS NORTHWARD ALONG THE NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES FOR MONDAY. SHORTWAVE RIDGE MOVES IN RIGHT AFTER THE TROUGH AND CUTTING BACK THE LARGE SCALE DYNAMICS. RIDGE BUILDS OVER WESTERN TX AND EASTERN NM PUSHING NORTH INTO SOUTHERN CO LATE WEDNESDAY. AN UPPER LOW SPINS OFF THE CA COAST HELPING TO AMPLIFY THE RIDGE AND BRING SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF OUR FORECAST AREA. THE RIDGE SLOWLY SHIFTS EAST AND ALLOWS THE LOW TO EJECT NORTHEAST TOWARD THE GREAT BASIN LATE IN THE WEEK. && .AVIATION... ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE VALLEYS WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS WILL LINGER THROUGH 03Z. EXPECT GUSTY WINDS TO NEAR 30 MPH...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. IN ADDITION...CIGS AND VSBYS WL DIP INTO THE MVFR CATEGORY NEAR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THUNDERSTORMS REDEVELOP OVER WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH AFTER 16Z FRIDAY MORNING...WITH THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING THROUGH SATURDAY. && .HYDROLOGY... AS A RESULT OF HIGH INFLOWS INTO THE BLUE MESA RESERVOIR...RELEASES FROM THE ASPINALL UNIT WILL INCREASE BY 200 CFS ON FRIDAY. AFTER THIS CHANGE FLOWS IN THE BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON AS WELL AS THE GUNNISON GORGE WILL BE NEAR 2100 CFS. FUTURE RELEASE INCREASES MAY BE NECESSARY...AND INFLOW AND HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS ARE BEING CLOSELY MONITORED. THE SNOWPACK IN THE ELKHEAD...GORE...AND PARK MOUNTAINS HAS BEEN LARGELY DEPLETED. THE CURRENT AVERAGE SNOWPACK IN THE YAMPA/WHITE RIVER BASIN IS 39% OF NORMAL...IN THE UPPER COLORADO BASIN...44% OF NORMAL...IN THE GUNNISON BASIN...19% OF NORMAL...AND IN THE SAN MIGUEL/DOLORES/ANIMAS/SAN JUAN BASIN...18% OF NORMAL. AS A RESULT OF THE DWINDLING SNOWPACK...RIVER AND STREAM LEVELS WILL GRADUALLY LOWER THIS WEEKEND THROUGH NEXT WEEK. SOME RIVERS AND STREAMS MAY RISE FROM LOCALIZED THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN BUT THESE RISES SHOULD BE MINOR AND BRIEF. THE SPRING RUNOFF HAS BEEN VERY BENEFICIAL FOR RESERVOIRS AND WATER SUPPLY. SEVERAL RESERVOIRS IN WESTERN COLORADO ARE EITHER FULL OR CLOSE TO BEING FULL. THE TAYLOR...PAONIA...RIDGWAY...RIFLE...SILVER JACK...AND MORROW POINT RESERVOIRS ARE WITHIN 5% OF BEING FULL...AND THE RIDGWAY AND SILVER JACK DAMS ARE CURRENTLY PROCEEDING WITH CONTROLLED AND CLOSELY MONITORED SPILLS. WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS THE MELT RATE OF THE REMAINING SNOWPACK WILL NOT BE EXCESSIVE. THE PEAK FLOWS ARE OVER FOR MOST OF THE RIVERS AND STREAMS IN THE FORECAST AREA. FULL RESERVOIRS SHOULD ENSURE GOOD FLOWS FOR BOTH CONSUMPTIVE AND NON-CONSUMPTIVE WATER USES THIS SUMMER. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...FLOOD ADVISORY EAGLE RIVER AT GYPSUM THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING. .UT...NONE. SHORT TERM.....JDC LONG TERM......AS AVIATION.......JDC HYDROLOGY......BAL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 442 AM MDT THU MAY 28 2009 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-291100- 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- 442 AM MDT THU MAY 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... EXPECT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE VALLEYS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS...MOST NUMEROUS OVER THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE FROM THE STRONGER STORMS. RIVERS AND STREAMS ACROSS WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH WILL CONTINUE TO RUN HIGH FROM SNOW MELT AND RAINFALL. FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/GJT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE EACH DAY...ESPECIALLY IN THE MOUNTAIN AREAS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. HOWEVER...REPORTS OF SIGNIFICANT WEATHER SENT TO THE GRAND JUNCTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE WILL BE APPRECIATED. CJC
The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:58 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A microburst from a dry thunderstorm blew a trampoline about a hundred feet and knocked over some cottonwood trees. Other unsecured objects were blown away.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, May 2009
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: 187232.