Although a series of winter storms brought much needed precipitation to western Colorado and eastern Utah, replenishing the mountain snow pack and soil moisture, the drought conditions through the month remained relatively unchanged. Abnormally dry conditions persisted across central portions of the state, with moderate drought over far southeastern portions, and severe drought over extreme…
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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.
Although a series of winter storms brought much needed precipitation to western Colorado and eastern Utah, replenishing the mountain snow pack and soil moisture, the drought conditions through the month remained relatively unchanged. Abnormally dry conditions persisted across central portions of the state, with moderate drought over far southeastern portions, and severe drought over extreme southern San Juan county.
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 Nov 30, 3:42 PM MST, 8 hours 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 342 PM MST MON NOV 30 2009 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY... DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER 24 HOURS AS UPPER LEVEL FLOW TRANSITIONS TO A MORE NORTHWESTERLY COMPONENT. THIS WILL EVENTUALLY OPEN THE GATES FOR SHORTWAVE ENERGY OVER WESTERN CANADA TO DIVE SOUTH ALONG THE SPINE OF THE ROCKIES ON TUESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE DRAGGING A STRONG SFC FRONT WITH IT...WHICH WILL PASS THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. H7 TEMPS WILL DROP A GOOD 5 TO 10 DEGREES ACROSS THE BOARD...WITH READINGS BOTTOMING OUT AROUND -15C OVER THE CENTRAL PORTIONS OF OUR FORECAST AREA. WILL BE INCREASING POPS ALONG THE DIVIDE...GENERALLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AS THE STRONG CAA KICKS IN. OROGRAPHICS ARE NOT ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE AT THIS POINT AND MOISTURE WILL BE LIMITED...BUT STRENGTH OF THE CAA AND FORCING ALONG THE FRONT WILL BE ENOUGH TO GET SOME LIGHT SNOW GOING ALONG THE DIVIDE. AT THIS TIME WILL KEEP AMOUNTS UNDER 3 INCHES FROM VAIL PASS NORTH TO THE PARK RANGE FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THIS PERIOD...ALTHOUGH ACCUMULATIONS WILL NOT BE WIDESPREAD. LITTLE CHANGE IN TEMPS EXPECTED ON TUESDAY WITH PERSISTENCE A GOOD CHOICE. HOWEVER...THAT CHANGES TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...WITH DAYTIME HIGHS ON WEDNESDAY EXPECTED TO RUN 10 DEGREES COOLER IN MANY AREAS...WITH THE COLDEST AIR IMPACTING OUR EASTERN ZONES...FROM CRAIG SOUTH TO ASPEN. .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY... ...COLD AND GENERALLY DRY THIS WEEK... ...NEXT POTENTIAL WINTER STORM NOW TIMED TO START SUNDAY NIGHT... A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE...EXTENDING TO THE SW FROM HUDSON BAY... WILL DEEPEN THROUGH THURSDAY. THE TROUGH SHIFTS EAST ON FRIDAY AND ALLOWS TRANSIENT HIGH PRESSURE TO BUILD IN FROM THE WEST. THIS WEEKEND THE PACIFIC RELOADS WITH THE FAVORED EC/CANADIAN KEEPING MOST OF THIS ENERGY IN THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. FINALLY SUNDAY NIGHT- MONDAY A TROUGH DIGS DOWN THE WEST COAST AND CLOSES. THIS IS CURRENTLY PROGGED TO TAP SOME MOISTURE FROM THE SW...WITH AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PASSING LATE MONDAY. WEDNESDAY NIGHT-THURSDAY NIGHT: THE GFS IS COLDER BUT BOTH MODELS ARE KEEPING THE -36C COLD CORE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE DIVIDE. STILL COLD ADVECTION IS IMPRESSIVE IN OUR EASTERN CWA WITH 700 TEMPS DROPPING TO -18 OR EVEN -20C THURSDAY NIGHT. LOWERED TEMPERATURES FOR THESE PERIODS WITH THE EASTERN MTNS AND VALLEYS POSSIBLY DROPPING BELOW ZERO F THURSDAY NIGHT. MOISTURE COMES FROM THE NW WITH THIS SYSTEM SO IT IS QUITE MOISTURE STARVED. SNOW SHOWERS WILL FAVOR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND LOOK TO BE LIGHT. FRIDAY-SUNDAY: LOWERED POPS TO ZERO FOR FRIDAY UNDER THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE. SATURDAY...THE FAVORED EC/CANADIAN DIGS A LOW TO JUST OFF THE OREGON COAST WITH A DEFORMATION ZONE STRETCHED DUE EAST ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. THIS KEEPS OUR FORECAST AREA SOUTH OF THE MOISTURE AND FORCING. IN DEFERENCE TO THE DEEPER GFS...HAVE KEPT ISOLATED POPS IN THE NORTHERN MTNS. SUNDAY NIGHT-MONDAY: MODELS COME BACK INTO AGREEMENT FOR THE DEEPENING AND THEN PROGRESSIVE PACIFIC LOW. THE GFS...THAT SEEMS OVER-COLD IN THE SHORT TERM...IS PUSHING A -30C COLD CORE TO CENTRAL UTAH ON MONDAY WITH THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT INTO THE NORTHERN CWA MONDAY AFTERNOON. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH TUESDAY WITH DRY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT IN PLACE. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JDC LONG TERM....JOE AVIATION.....JDC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 618 AM MST MON NOV 30 2009 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-011318- 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- 618 AM MST MON NOV 30 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THERE IS A CHANCE FOR RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE REGION EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. MINOR ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED. ANOTHER CHANCE PRESENTS ITSELF SATURDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. TGR
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Abnormally dry conditions persisted across southern portions of the area.
Abnormally dry conditions persisted across the area.
Abnormally dry conditions persisted across the area, with moderate drought present over far southern Grand county.
Moderate drought persisted across most of the area.
Moderate drought persisted across most of the area.
Moderate drought persisted across most of the area, with severe drought persisting over far southern San Juan county.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, December 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: 201192, 201193, 201194, 201195, 201196, 201197.