A strong and unseasonably cold Pacific trough produced significant snowfall to most mountain areas of eastern Utah.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 strong and unseasonably cold Pacific trough produced significant snowfall to most mountain areas of eastern 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 Oct 10, 3:41 AM MST, 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
441 AM MDT THU OCT 10 2013
.SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY)
ISSUED AT 439 AM MDT THU OCT 10 2013
TODAY...A FAIRLY DEEP CLOSED LOW WILL MOVE FROM SOUTHERN CA THIS
MORNING ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN AND THROUGH WESTERN CO BY EARLY
THIS EVENING. ITS COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS EASTERN UT AND
WESTERN CO FROM 15Z AND 21Z...TRAVELING FROM SW TO NE. THE MINUS
24 DEGREE 500MB COLD POCKET WILL TRAVEL OVER THE FOUR CORNERS
JUST AFTER 21Z...SO THE BULK OF THE COLD AIR WILL BEGIN PUSHING
INTO THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THE 700MB
TEMPS LOWER THROUGHOUT THE DAY...WITH NEGATIVE TEMPS SPREADING
ACROSS THE AREA BY 00Z...ARRIVING OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS JUST
AFTER BETWEEN 21Z AND 00Z ACCORDING TO THE NAM12. SNOW LEVELS WILL
FALL TO AROUND 7000 FEET TONIGHT.
HAVE UPGRADED THE WINTER STORM WATCH OVER ZONE 4 AND 10 TO A
WINTER STORM WARNING BEGINNING AT 18Z. CONTEMPLATED PUSHING IT
BACK TO 21Z OR LATER...BUT BELIEVE ACTIVE CONVECTION WILL LOWER
THE FREEZING LEVEL AND ALLOW SOME SNOWFALL THIS AFTERNOON. STILL
WITH SUB-ZERO TEMPS NOT ARRIVING TIL LATE AND THE COLDEST TEMPS
OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. THIS SHOULD HOLD DOWN INITIAL
SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...BUT THESE AREAS WILL GET MORE SNOWFALL LATER
THAN THE OTHER ZONES WHEN THE MOUNTAINTOP FLOW SHIFTS TO THE
NORTHWEST AND SNOWFALL SHOULD ALSO PERSIST LONGER AS THE STORM
WANES ELSEWHERE.
TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...THE CLOSED LOW WILL MOVE OVER
SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING BY EARLY THURSDAY EVENING WITH COLDER AIR
BEHIND THE FRONT SWEEPING ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. 700 MB
TEMPERATURES WILL DROP TO -4C OVER MOST AREAS BY THE EVENING HOURS
DROPPING SNOW LEVELS TO 7000 FEET ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE
FORECAST AREA. THE BEST FOCUS DURING THE EVENING HOURS WILL SHIFT
ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AS THE SNOW BEGINS TO
DIMINISH ACROSS THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS. THE MAIN SYSTEM WILL MOVE
INTO THE HIGH PLAINS OF SOUTH DAKOTA ON FRIDAY BUT WRAPAROUND
NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE PERIODS OF SNOW ACROSS MOST MOUNTAIN
LOCATIONS INTO FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH LIGHT TO MODERATE
ACCUMULATING SNOW CONTINUING ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
MOUNTAINS WITH SNOW LEVELS RISING TO 8000 FEET BY LATE ON FRIDAY.
.LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)
ISSUED AT 439 AM MDT THU OCT 10 2013
CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE FRIDAY EVENING AS DRIER NORTHWEST FLOW
MOVES ACROSS THE AREA BY LATE EVENING. THE AIRMASS BEHIND THIS SYSTEM
SHOULD MODERATE ENOUGH TO KEEP LOW TEMPERATURES ABOVE FREEZING IN
AREAS WHICH HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A FREEZE SO FOR THIS SEASON. A
SHORTWAVE RIDGE WILL BRING MOSTLY SUNNY AND SEASONABLY COOL
TEMPERATURES ON SATURDAY.
SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL
INCREASE SAT NGT THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS THE NEXT STORM DEEPENS AND
DIGS INTO THE WESTERN GREAT BASIN. THE STORM IS PROJECTED TO TURN
EAST SUNDAY MORNING AND ITS 500MB CENTER WILL TRAVEL OVER SE IDAHO
THEN INTO WYOMING. FROM THERE THE STORM FORMS AN ODD SPLIT TROUGH
WITH THE NORTHERN ENERGY MOVING OFF TO THE NORTHERN PLAINS...AND
THE SOUTHERN PORTION FORMING A CLOSED LOW OVER THE ID/UT/WY
JUNCTION...WHERE IS STALLS THROUGH TUESDAY. THIS ASPECT OF THE
TROUGH IS MOST PERSISTENT IN THE EC. THE GFS SHOWS ONLY A HINT OF
THIS SPLIT AND KEEPS THIS TROUGH AS A PROGRESSIVE OPEN WAVE AS IT
MOVES THROUGH WY SUN NIGHT AND MON. HAVE KEPT SOME POPS IN THE
NORTHERN MTS THROUGH WED...BUT HAVE LEANED MORE STRONGLY TOWARD
THE DRIER GFS.
&&
.AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY MORNING)
ISSUED AT 439 AM MDT THU OCT 10 2013
WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION TODAY AS A PACIFIC STORM MOVES THROUGH. A
COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA AFTER 18Z...WITH STEADILY
LOWER TEMPS AND LOWERING SNOW LEVEL THEREAFTER. THE HEAVIEST
SNOWFALL TODAY THROUGH FRI MORNING WILL BE OVER THE SAN JUAN MTS
...WHERE MVFR CIGS AND VSBYS AND AREAS IF IFR CIGS AND VSBYS WILL
PREVAIL. ACROSS THE REST OF THE VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITH
PERIODS OF MVFR CIGS AND VSBYS EXPANDING AS COLDER AIR MOVES IN
AND RAIN CHANGES TO SNOW LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ABOVE
7000 FEET.
&&
.GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CO...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT FRIDAY FOR COZ009-012-013.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT TONIGHT FOR COZ017.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR COZ018-019.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT FRIDAY FOR
COZ004-010.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT FRIDAY FOR
COZ003.
UT...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM MDT FRIDAY FOR UTZ023.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR UTZ028.
&&
SHORT TERM...CC/MPM
LONG TERM...MPM/CC
AVIATION...CCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
105 AM MDT THU OCT 10 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1224 AM TSTM WND GST 3 NNE GRAND JUNCTION 39.12N 108.53W
10/10/2013 M51 MPH MESA CO ASOS
PEAK WIND GUST FROM CONVECTIVE SHOWER...NO LIGHTNING
OBSERVED.
&&
EVENT NUMBER GJT1301683
MALEKSAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
123 AM MDT THU OCT 10 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0857 PM TSTM WND GST 4 SW CORTEZ 37.30N 108.63W
10/09/2013 M55 MPH MONTEZUMA CO ASOS
&&
EVENT NUMBER GJT1301684
MALEKSAThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall totals of 3 to 9 inches were measured above the 8000 foot level. Wind gusts of 25 to 40 mph produced areas of blowing snow.
Snowfall totals of 4 to 10 inches were measured above the 8000 foot level. Wind gusts of 30 to 45 mph produced extensive blowing snow. Even stronger winds of 50 to 65 mph were measured at ridgetop level.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, October 2013
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: 499111, 499200.