A Pacific storm system moved into the Great Basin and spread another round of snowfall across the region. The heaviest snowfall favored the higher elevations of southern Colorado and southeast Utah.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
A Pacific storm system moved into the Great Basin and spread another round of snowfall across the region. The heaviest snowfall favored the higher elevations of southern Colorado and southeast Utah.
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 26, 3:34 AM MST, 4 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 334 AM MST TUE JAN 26 2010 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT... FIRST OF TWO LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS HAS MOVED ONSHORE AND IS MOVING INTO NV AND SOUTHERN OR. THE LOW IS PROGGED TO STALL OVER THE INTER MOUNTAIN WEST AS THE SECOND LOW MOVES INLAND FARTHER SOUTH OVER SOUTHERN CA AND BAJA. THE FIRST LOW OR WHATS LEFT OF THE FIRST LOW PHASES WITH THE SECOND TROUGH AXIS AND MOVES OVER NORTHERN UT AND SOUTHERN ID TONIGHT AND THEN OVER NORTHEASTERN UT AND NORTHWESTERN CO WEDNESDAY. THE MODELS CONTINUE TO SLOW THIS SYSTEM THEREFORE MADE SOME REDUCTIONS IN PRECIPITATION CHANCES TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE GFS CONTINUES TO SHOW A WEAK DISTURBANCE AHEAD OF THE LOW MOVING OVER THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA THEREFORE LEFT SOME SLIGHT CHANCE POPS MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING. THE SECOND LOW TRACKS EAST NEAR THE SOUTHERN US BORDER WEDNESDAY ALLOWING THE FIRST LOW TO SLIDE SLIGHTLY SOUTH REDEVELOP OVER THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE CWA. A DEFORMATION ZONE FORMS OVERHEAD AND SHOULD HELP WITH INCREASING WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION WEDNESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE NAM IS THE DEEPEST WITH THE LOW AND MOST AMBITIOUS WITH THE PRECIPITATION PROBABILITY AND AMOUNTS. WILL BLEND POPS/QPF BETWEEN THE NAM AND GFS. INCREASED POPS QUITE A BIT ESPECIALLY FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY WITH PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS...ESPECIALLY IN WESTERN VALLEY LOCATIONS...SO WILL HAVE TO MONITOR THIS SITUATION CAREFULLY. KEPT THE FORECAST TREND IN CLOUD COVER AND TEMPERATURES WITH ONLY MINOR TWEAKS. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY... MODELS WERE LARGELY CONSISTENT WITH THE POSITIONING OF THE CLOSED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE PANHANDLE REGION ON THURSDAY. NAM WAS THE OUTLIER...DEPICTING A DECIDEDLY SLOWER PROGRESSION OF THE LOW. FAVORED THE CONSENSUS SOLUTION WHICH MATCHED WELL WITH THE PREVIOUS FORECAST. THESE SOLUTIONS INDICATED WRAP-AROUND MOISTURE IN NORTHEAST FLOW WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO BRING SNOW TO THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT WITH SHOWERS DIMINISHING IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS FRIDAY. SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL BRING A PERIOD OF DRY CONDITIONS FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. RELATIVELY MILD OVERNIGHT LOWS WEDNESDAY NIGHT COMBINED WITH WEAK WAA WILL BRING NEAR NORMAL AFTERNOON HIGHS WEDNESDAY. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WEDNESDAY NIGHT FAVORS STRONG RADIATIONAL COOLING LEADING TO COLD OVERNIGHT LOWS WHICH WILL INHIBIT HIGHS SOMEWHAT THURSDAY. THE RIDGE FLATTENS ON FRIDAY SO EXPECT LITTLE CHANGE FROM THURSDAY. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO DROP OUT OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LATE SAT NIGHT...AND APPROACH THE FORECAST AREA ON SUNDAY. THE RESULTING SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL BRING INCREASED MOISTURE AND THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT AND POSSIBLY INTO MON. THE LATEST MODEL RUNS INDICATE THAT THIS FAST MOVING WAVE WILL BE EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BY MON. HOWEVER TIMING REMAINS SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN...BUT DID TREND POPS DOWNWARDS ON MONDAY. && .AVIATION... HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING VFR CONDITIONS TO THE ENTIRE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...NONE. && SHORT TERM...AS LONG TERM....NL/EH AVIATION.....NL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MST TUE JAN 26 2010 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-271300- 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- 545 AM MST TUE JAN 26 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EXPECT ONLY LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS. EXPECT SHOWERS TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY ANOTHER STORM WILL BRING WIDESPREAD MOUNTAIN SNOW AND LOWER VALLEY RAIN TO THE REGION WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THEN ANOTHER BREAK FROM THE RAIN AND SNOW WILL ARRIVE TO CLOSE OUT THE WEEK...BEFORE ANOTHER STORM MOVES IN ON SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 4 to 6 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 8 to 15 inches occurred above the 8,000 foot level with about 4 to 8 inches below.
About 3 inches of snow fell across northern portions of the area.
Snowfall of 3 to 5 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 10 inches occurred.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 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: 210011, 210009, 210012, 210013, 210010.