October 2012 continued the string of below normal precipitation months across many of the climate stations in Western Colorado. 50 in deficit.
Every event with a place to put it; 21 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.
October 2012 continued the string of below normal precipitation months across many of the climate stations in Western Colorado. The valley locations were short of normal of monthly normal precipitation by 0.75 to 1.25 over the majority of the locations while mountain stations were around 0.50 in deficit. For the most part severe to extreme drought persisted across the region with only a temporary improvement to moderate drought conditions over the central Colorado mountains at the end of the month.
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 Sep 30, 8:47 PM MST, 3 hours 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 947 PM MDT SUN SEP 30 2012 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 230 PM MDT SUN SEP 30 2012 THIS EVENING... UNDER A NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT...STILL A FAIR AMOUNT OF MID LEVEL MOISTURE MAINLY ACROSS THE EASTERN QUARTER OF OUR CWA THAT COULD PRODUCE A FEW SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS SHOULD BEGIN DECREASING AROUND SUNSET. CLEAR SKIES PREVAILING ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF OUR CWA. TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT... MODELS STILL INDICATING THE NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT TO BE TURNING MORE NORTHWEST BY LATE MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. EXPECT THE MAIN EFFECT OF THIS WILL BE LESS MID LEVEL MOISTURE FOR THE EASTERN PART OF OUR CWA ON MONDAY AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING. OTHERWISE... DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL ACROSS OUR CWA...WITH ABUNDANT SUNSHINE. STILL EXPECT SOME CLOUD DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATED WITH DAYTIME HEATING MONDAY AFTERNOON...BUT LESS EXTENSIVE THAN TODAY. LITTLE CHANGE IN TEMPERATURES EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH UNSEASONABLY MILD MAX TEMPERATURES 5-10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AND MIN TEMPERATURES GENERALLY JUST A FEW DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. .LONG TERM...(TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 230 PM MDT SUN SEP 30 2012 NO BIG CHANGES ARE SEEN TUESDAY IN THE SENSIBLE WX PATTERN... ALTHOUGH WEST WINDS WILL BEGIN TO PICK UP ACROSS THE NRN ZONES DURING THE AFTERNOON. THIS WILL BE THE RESULT OF AN APPROACHING STRONG TROF OF LOW PRESSURE DROPPING SWRD OUT OF CANADA INTO THE NRN ROCKIES. HEIGHTS WILL BEGIN TO FALL BY TUESDAY NIGHT AS THIS DEEP TROF SINKS SWRD. THERE MAY BE SOME INCREASE IN CLDS MAINLY ACROSS THE NRN MTNS. ELSEWHERE CLEAR COOL NIGHT CAN BE EXPECTED FOR ERN UT AND WRN CO. THE TROF AND ITS ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL DROP DOWN INTO THE NRN PART OF OUR FORECAST AREA BY MID-DAY WEDNESDAY...AND PUSH AS FAR SOUTH AS A LINE FROM MONTICELLO TO TELLURIDE BY EARLY EVENING. BRISK WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL PRECEDE THE FRONT...FOLLOWED BY MODERATE NWRLY WINDS AFTER COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE. SOME CONCERN EXISTS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WX PARAMETERS OF RH AND WIND SPEED MAY BE MET...AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT SITUATION. THERE ALSO IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHWRS OR TSTMS FAVORING THE PARK...GORE AND FLATTOP MTNS REGIONS. MUCH COOLER AIR WILL INVADE THE ENTIRE CWA WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND CURRENT GUIDANCE SUGGESTS FREEZE WARNINGS MAY BE NEEDED FOR PORTIONS OF THE NW PLATEAU AND HIGHER VALLEYS. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACCOMPANIED BY BREEZY AFTERNOON WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS...PREDOMINANTLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 945 PM MDT SUN SEP 30 2012 CUMULUS CLOUDS OVER THE MOUNTAINS WILL CONTINUE DISSIPATING. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN CO AND EASTERN UT TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE PEAKS NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WILL CAUSE LOCAL MOUNTAIN TOP OBSCURATIONS MONDAY AFTERNOON...WITH VFR CONDITIONS AT ALL TAF SITES. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JRP LONG TERM...MC AVIATION...CC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MDT SUN SEP 30 2012 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-011200- LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN- ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS-ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS- UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-GRAND VALLEY-DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR- CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN-GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS- GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS- CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN- WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS-FLATTOPS- UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY-UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE- NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-SOUTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS- PARADOX VALLEY/LOWER DOLORES RIVER- FOUR CORNERS/UPPER DOLORES RIVER-ANIMAS RIVER BASIN- SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN-SOUTHEAST UTAH-EASTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS- EASTERN UINTA BASIN-TAVAPUTS PLATEAU-ARCHES/GRAND FLAT- LA SAL AND ABAJO MOUNTAINS-CANYONLANDS/NATURAL BRIDGES- 545 AM MDT SUN SEP 30 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE DURING THE AFTERNOON...CONTINUING INTO THE EARLY EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY GUSTY WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS COMBINED WITH LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY COULD POTENTIALLY YIELD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF NORTHWEST COLORADO AND NORTHEAST UTAH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. MEANWHILE...ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON OVER THE PARK AND GORE RANGES. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL LOWER TO THE MOUNTAIN BASES WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE. A SEASON ENDING FREEZE IS POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST COLORADO AS WELL AS THE HIGH VALLEYS OF THE EAGLE TO VAIL CORRIDOR EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. NL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
21 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the lower Yampa River basin through the month of October.
Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the central Yampa River basin through the month of October.
Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the northern Colorado high plateaus through the month of October.
Extreme to severe drought conditions remained in place across the northern Colorado mountain ranges through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place across the upper Yampa River basin through the month of October.
Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the Grand Valley through the month of October.
Extreme drought conditions remained in place along the DeBeque to Silt corridor through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions covered much of the upper Colorado River basin through the month of October. However, the extreme eastern portion of the zone did recover slightly to moderate drought levels by the last part of the month.
Severe drought conditions remained in place over the central Colorado mountain ranges through the month of October. However, the eastern portion of this zone did recover slightly to moderate drought levels by the last part of the month.
Severe drought conditions remained in place over the high mesa zone of western Colorado through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place along the Central Gunnison and Uncompahgre River basins through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place along the central Colorado mountain ranges through the month of October. However, the mountainous areas of eastern Gunnison County did improve slightly to the severe drought category by the end of the month.
Severe drought conditions remained in place over the northern Colorado mountain ranges through the month of October.
Extreme to severe drought conditions remained in place along the upper Gunnison River valley through the month of October.
Extreme to severe drought conditions remained in place along the Uncompahgre Plateau through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place over the southwest Colorado mountains through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place over the southwest Colorado mountains through the month of October.
Extreme to severe drought conditions remained in place over the Paradox Valley and lower Dolores River basin through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place over the Four Corners region and upper Dolores River basin through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place along the Animas River basin in the southern foothills of the San Juan mountains through the month of October.
Severe drought conditions remained in place along the San Juan River basin in the southern foothills of the San Juan mountains through the month of October.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, October 2012
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: 419957, 419958, 419959, 419960, 419961, 419962, 419964, 419967, 419968, 419969, 419970, 419974, 419975, 419976, 419977, 419978, 419979, 419980, 419981, 419982, 419983.