Thunderstorm outflow winds were enhanced by gradient winds in the Whitewater area.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Thunderstorm outflow winds were enhanced by gradient winds in the Whitewater area.
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 30, 2:40 AM MST, 8 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 340 AM MDT MON AUG 30 2010 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT... SHORT WAVE IN THE BASE OF NEGATIVE TILT TROUGH EJECTS NORTHEAST THIS MORNING BEFORE MOVING INTO WYOMING THIS AFTERNOON. MID LEVEL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO STREAM INTO THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING... PRODUCING NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCAL STRONG STORMS TOWARD THE WYOMING BORDER WHERE WIND SHEAR IS HIGHER. MOISTURE STREAM SHIFTS EAST THIS AFTERNOON ONCE THE EJECTING SHORT WAVE BEGINS TO CROSS WYOMING. MUCH DRIER AIR OVER SRN UTAH WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE WESTERN SLOPE THIS AFTERNOON. THE BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS WITH A FEW STORMS OCCURS THIS MORNING...THE DRYING TREND STARTS ACROSS ERN UTAH AND SPREADS EAST. BY THIS EVENING...STABLE CONDITIONS WILL HAVE SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA WITH CLEARING SKIES FROM THE WEST. TROUGH AXIS POSITIONED OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST REMAINS NEARLY STATIONARY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT...BUT BECOMES LESS AMPLIFIED WITH TIME. FLOW ALOFT BECOMES INCREASINGLY WESTERLY...KEEPING DRY STABLE AIR OVER UTAH AND COLORADO. SURFACE FRONT OVER NRN UTAH SPILLS INTO THE UINTA BASIN AND EXTREME NW COLORADO CORNER THIS AFTERNOON AND BECOMES NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH THE SHORT TERM FORECAST PERIOD. COMBINED WITH SOUTHWEST TO WEST GRADIENT FLOW AND OVERHEAD JET... WINDY CONDITIONS WILL EXIST THIS AFTERNOON WITH WIND GUSTS REACHING 30 TO 35 MPH...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE SURFACE BOUNDARY. WINDS TAPER OFF FOR TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE JET ALOFT SHIFTS NORTHEAST OF COLORADO. .LONG-TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... MOSTLY DRY WEATHER EXPECTED. LITTLE CHANGE TO THE CURRENT FORECAST. A BROAD TROUGH EXPECTED TO BE CENTERED OVER MT/WY ON WEDNESDAY. SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THE TROUGH REACHES NE UT AND NW CO WHERE A LITTLE TIGHTER GRADIENT SHOULD RESULT IN SOME BREEZY SOUTHWEST WINDS. THIS TROUGH MOVES TO THE GREAT LAKES BY FRI AS AN UPPER RIDGE BECOMES THE DOMINANT WEATHER FEATURE ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST USA AND FOUR CORNERS. SOME MOISTURE MAY LINGER AT MIDWEEK WITH THE PRESENCE OF THAT TROUGH...AND MODELS INDICATE THAT A LIMITED AMOUNT OF MOISTURE TRIES TO SNEAK NORTHWARD UNDERNEATH THE RIDGE WITH TIME. WILL KEEP THE MENTION OF ISOLATED MAINLY MTN THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON WED- SUN...WITH DAYTIME HEATING THE PRIMARY TRIGGER. MAX TEMPS WARM AS THE RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE SOUTHWEST. MIN TEMPS RUN SLIGHTLY COOL WITH EFFICIENT RADIATIONAL COOLING EXPECTED UNDER MOSTLY CLEAR NIGHTTIME SKIES. && .AVIATION... SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED TODAY...BUT TAPERING OFF THIS AFTERNOON. LOCAL STORMS WILL BE STRONG WITH SMALL HAIL...GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS AND MVFR CIGS WILL OCCUR. MECHANICAL TURBULENCE WILL BE COMMON...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTH WHERE WIND GUSTS TO 30 TO 35 KNOTS WILL BE COMMON. WINDS WILL SUBSIDE THIS EVENING WITH CLEARING CONDITIONS FROM THE WEST. WIDESPREAD VFR WILL EXIST TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...NONE. SHORT TERM.....PF LONG TERM......JAD AVIATION.......PF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 600 AM MDT MON AUG 30 2010 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-311200- 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- 600 AM MDT MON AUG 30 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS...A FEW OF THESE WILL BE STRONG WITH SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS...WILL OCCUR THIS MORNING. SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL TAPER OFF FROM THE WEST THIS AFTERNOON. NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER IS EXPECTED TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE SOUTH ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...OTHERWISE DRY WEATHER CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 739 AM MDT MON AUG 30 2010 COC067-083-301415- LA PLATA CO-MONTEZUMA CO- 739 AM MDT MON AUG 30 2010 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN LA PLATA AND NORTHEASTERN MONTEZUMA COUNTIES UNTIL 815 AM MDT... AT 733 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES EAST OF MANCOS...OR 15 MILES WEST OF DURANGO...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. HEAVY RAIN...WHICH MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES...IS ALSO LIKELY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ON A FLOODED ROADWAY. AS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
749 AM MDT MON AUG 30 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0724 AM TSTM WND GST CRAIG 40.52N 107.55W
08/30/2010 M58 MPH MOFFAT CO ASOS
&&
EVENT NUMBER GJT1000672
CCThe Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:58 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong thunderstorm winds that were enhanced by gradient winds blew a construction worker off a scaffolding near Whitewater. The strong winds also blew the unfinished house off of its foundation.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, August 2010
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: 253486.