Low level moisture trapped under an inversion resulted in areas of dense fog.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
Low level moisture trapped under an inversion resulted in areas of dense fog.
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 18, 10:08 PM MST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 1008 PM MST SUN JAN 18 2015 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 838 PM MST SUN JAN 18 2015 UPDATED TO HOIST A DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THE EASTERN UINTA BASIN AGAIN TONIGHT. AN NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTED DENSE FOG FROM ROUGHLY 10 MILES SOUTH OF KVEL TO NEAR THE CO/UT BORDER ALONG HIGHWAY 45. EXPECT FOG WILL PERSIST IN STABLE AND STAGNANT AIR THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT BEFORE DISSIPATING LATE MONDAY MORNING. && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 240 PM MST SUN JAN 18 2015 TWO WEAK SHORT WAVES WILL DRAG ACROSS THE NORTHERN AREAS IN THE SHORT TERM PERIOD...THE FIRST BEING LATE TONIGHT WITH THE SECOND OCCURRING MONDAY EVENING. NEITHER OF THESE WAVES WILL GENERATE MUCH SNOWFALL BUT THE SECOND WAVE HAS THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR 1-3 INCH MOUNTAIN ACCUMULATION. THE SHORT WAVE MISSES THE SRN HALF AND NO SNOW IS EXPECTED FOR THE SRN MOUNTAINS. THE STRATUS LAYER OVER THE SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN AND MONUMENT VALLEY ERODED AWAY EARLY THIS MORNING. TEMP AND DEW POINT SPREAD SHOWS THAT SOME DRYING HAS OCCURRED. WITH PERIODIC HIGH CLOUDS STREAMING OVERHEAD...THE LIKELIHOOD FOR FOG DEVELOPING ONCE AGAIN HAS BEEN REDUCED. STRATUS LAYER COVERING THE UINTA BASIN IS A BIT TOUGHER AS SOME EROSION HAS OCCURRED WITH VERNAL ON THE FRINGE. THIS NEEDS TO BE MONITORED FOR DENSE FOG ONCE AGAIN...BUT WILL HOLD OFF HOISTING AN ADVISORY FOR NOW. .LONG TERM...(TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 240 PM MST SUN JAN 18 2015 A SHORT WAVE MANAGES TO MOVE ACROSS THE LONG WAVE RIDGE AXIS AND FORMS A CLOSED LOW CIRCULATION OVER THE CALIFORNIA COAST. MODELS INDICATE THAT A DEFORMATION BAND FORMS ALONG THE COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO BORDER AND GENERATES PRECIPITATION ON WEDNESDAY. THE ECMWF MODEL PLACES THIS BAND SOUTH OF THE COLORADO BORDER...BUT THE GFS AND NAM IS FARTHER NORTH AND SW COLORADO WOULD GET SOME LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATION. THE BEST FORECAST FOR NOW IS TO SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW FOR SW COLORADO. IF IT DOES NOT...ONLY LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED WITH THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS IN THE 1-4 INCH RANGE. THE REST OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD LOOK UNEVENTFUL AT THIS TIME. MODELS ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE DETAILS OF THE SPLIT FLOW OVER THE COUNTRY...BUT SO WHAT. A SHORT WAVE MAY DIG INTO WRN COLORADO ON SATURDAY...BUT WITH MOISTURE ALREADY WRUNG OUT WHEN IT ARRIVES. THE TEMPERATURES DO COOL DOWN TO NEAR SEASONAL VALUES BY THURSDAY AS COLDER AIR ARRIVES FROM THE NORTH...BUT NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1007 PM MST SUN JAN 18 2015 WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL BRUSH NE UT AND NW CO OVER THE NEXT 24 HRS BRINGING AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW AND MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION AT TIMES TO THE NRN CO MOUNTAINS AROUND K3MW TO VAIL. FOG DEVELOPED AGAIN IN THE EASTERN UINTA BASIN AND WILL IMPACT KVEL THROUGH 17Z MONDAY. SATELLITE IMAGES INDICATED LOW STRATUS/FOG OVER EXTREME SOUTHEAST UT AND AROUND THE FOUR CORNERS. WILL CARRY VCFG AT KDRO UNTIL 16Z MONDAY BUT NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO MENTION DIRECTLY. OTHERWISE... VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT TAF SITES. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM MST MONDAY FOR UTZ024. && UPDATE...NL SHORT TERM...PF LONG TERM...PF AVIATION...JAD
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
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
840 PM MST SUN JAN 18 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0835 PM DENSE FOG 10 S VERNAL 40.31N 109.53W
01/18/2015 E0.25 MILE UINTAH UT NWS EMPLOYEE
DENSE FOG FROM 10S TO AROUND 37 SOUTH OF VERNAL.
&&
EVENT NUMBER GJT1500115
NLThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Dense fog occurred in some lower elevation areas of Uintah County. Visibilities occasionally dropped down to a quarter mile at the Vernal Regional Airport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2015
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: 607128.