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 20, 5:22 PM MST, 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 522 PM MST TUE JAN 20 2015 .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 242 PM MST TUE JAN 20 2015 AREAL WEB CAMS IN UINTAH COUNTY SHOW A SUNNY VERNAL...BUT THE STRATUS CLOUD IS LURKING NEARBY. EXPECT THE FOG TO EXPAND QUICKLY THIS EVENING (PERHAPS SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET) WITH POOR VISIBILITY. WILL ISSUE ANOTHER DENSE FOG ADVISORY THROUGH NOON WEDNESDAY. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT A NORTHEAST LIGHT BREEZE DEVELOPS BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND THIS MAY GET RID OF THE TRAPPED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. LEAF CLOUD STREAMING INLAND EXTENDS FROM SRN CALIF TO THE GRAND CANYON...THIS FEATURE BECOMES A PLAYER FOR OUR FORECAST AREA BY LATE TONIGHT. ISENTROPIC FIELDS SHOW NICE STRUCTURE WITH UPGLIDE REACHING THE FAR SRN PORTION OF SW COLORADO. THE BAROCLINIC ZONE OR DEFORMATION AXIS STAYS MOSTLY OVER NW NEW MEXICO...SO THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS AND THE FOOTHILLS DO NOT GET THE FULL BRUNT OF THIS FEATURE. NRN STREAM SHORT WAVE CARVES OUT A SHARP TROUGH AXIS OVER NE UTAH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...THEN CONTINUES TO DIVE INTO NE ARIZONA. THIS CAUSES POTENTIAL FOR FAIR AMOUNT OF SNOW NEAR PAGOSA SPRINGS AND EASTWARD. SNOW AMOUNTS MAY REACH 2 TO 6 INCHES ACROSS ARCHULETA COUNTY...BUT CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO HOIST A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. LATER SHIFTS NEED TO MONITOR SHORT TERM GUIDANCE AND WATCH THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA...THE CHANCE OF SNOW EXTENDS NORTHWARD ALONG THE SAWATCH RANGE AND GORE MOUNTAINS. THE SNOW CHANCES DECREASES FARTHER WEST. NORTHEAST FLOW USHERS IN COLDER AIR...BUT DOES NOT TAP INTO ANY ARCTIC SOURCE (THE COOLING TREND WILL NOT BE DRASTIC). DRIER AIR AND RADIATIONAL COOLING WILL RESULT IN A COLDER WEDNESDAY NIGHT. .LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 242 PM MST TUE JAN 20 2015 MID LEVEL TEMPERATURES DROP TO THEIR COLDEST READINGS THURSDAY MORNING AS THE BACK OF THE UPPER TROUGH PASSES OVERHEAD. THESE TEMPERATURES BEGIN A GRADUAL AND CONTINUOUS CLIMB INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE MAIN CHALLENGE IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST LIES WITH SNOW COVER...STRATUS AND FOG INHIBITING AFTERNOON WARMING...WHILE PROMOTING FOG AND STRATUS DEVELOPMENT. ATTM PERSISTENCE SUGGESTS THE GUNNISON AND UINTA BASINS ARE PRIME FOR THIS AND WILL TREND TEMPERATURES DOWN IN THIS AREAS. OTHER PROBLEMATIC AREAS INCLUDE THE YAMPA RIVER VALLEY...AND THE 4 CORNERS VALLEYS AND FOOTHILLS. CONFIDENCE NOT AS HIGH HERE. SEEING TEMPERATURES AS THE MAIN CHALLENGE SHOULD BE A HINT OF A DRY FORECAST...AND THIS IS THE CASE FROM THURSDAY ONWARD. THE PERSISTENTLY STRONG LEFT COAST RIDGE THIS WINTER WILL RE-EMERGE BY LATE WEEK WITH A REX TYPE BLOCK SETTING UP NEAR THE BAJA REGION. THIS LEAVES US IN A DRY NORTHWEST FLOW PATTERN WITH PASSING WAVES AND MOISTURE BRINING HIGH CLOUDINESS ACROSS OUR EASTERN CWA AND NOT MUCH ELSE. THE RIDGE GETS A PUSH EASTWARD NEXT WEEK WHEN TEMPERATURES SHOULD PUSH WELL ABOVE NORMAL. THIS WILL BE DUE TO LOW PRESSURE FILLING UP THE EASTERN PACIFIC BASIN. COULD THIS BE A PATTERN CHANGE THAT WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR PRODUCING PRECIPITATION IN WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH...STAY TUNED. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z WEDNESDAY EVENING) ISSUED AT 516 PM MST TUE JAN 20 2015 STRATUS AND FOG WILL ROLL BACK INTO THE UINTA BASIN AGAIN THIS EVENING...IMPACTING KVEL WITH IFR AND LIFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE NIGHT. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL PASS SOUTH OF THE FOUR CORNERS WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THE NORTH SIDE OF IT. THIS WILL BRING SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS TO THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT SOUTHWEST VALLEYS. KDRO AND KPSO WILL BE IMPACTED BY THIS EVENT WITH AREAS OF IFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH SNOW SHOWERS MOVING THROUGH. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL NOON MST WEDNESDAY FOR UTZ024. && SHORT TERM...PF LONG TERM...15 AVIATION...JDC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 612 AM MST TUE JAN 20 2015 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-211315- 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- 612 AM MST TUE JAN 20 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW OVER VAIL PASS AND FOG IN THE VERNAL AND GUNNISON AREAS WILL CAUSE SOME TRAVEL SLOWDOWNS THIS MORNING. SNOW AND FOG DIMINISH BY MIDDAY. PATCHY FOG IS POSSIBLE IN THE EASTERN UINTA BASIN TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY WEDNESDAY...THERE WILL BE CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW OVER THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE FOUR CORNERS IN SOUTHEAST UTAH AND SOUTHWEST COLORADO...WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE SAN JUAN AND ABAJO MOUNTAINS. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE FRIDAY NIGHT AND AGAIN SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THOUGH SNOWFALL AMOUNTS LOOK TO BE ON THE LOW SIDE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
152 PM MST TUE JAN 20 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1001 AM SNOW 3 N KEBLER PASS 38.89N 107.10W
01/20/2015 M5.5 INCH GUNNISON CO SKI AREA
STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL AT IRWIN SKI LODGE. WATER 0.45
INCHES
&&
EVENT NUMBER GJT1500122
DCThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Dense fog occurred in the Vernal area. Visibility at the Vernal Regional Airport dropped down to a quarter mile at times, and webcams confirmed areas of dense fog within the city limits.
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: 607399.