Strong southwesterly winds developed across portions of southwest Colorado ahead of an approaching low pressure storm system and cold front.
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The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
Strong southwesterly winds developed across portions of southwest Colorado ahead of an approaching low pressure storm system and cold front.
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 Apr 25, 2:35 PM MST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 335 PM MDT MON APR 25 2016 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 335 PM MDT MON APR 25 2016 THE UPPER LOW WAS WORKING INTO SW UTAH THIS AFTERNOON THEN NEAR GJT BY TUESDAY MORNING. THE ASSOCIATED JET SUPPORTED COLD FRONT WILL ALSO PASSING OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON EARLY EVENING SETTING OFF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SCATTERED SHOWERS. DRY BOUNDARY LAYER WITH VIRGA WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY BRIEF VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS. TUESDAY THE SYSTEM IS VERTICALLY STACKED WITH THE SURFACE LOW AND BEST FORCING ALONG THE ROAN-TAVAPUTS-FLAT TOPS IN THE MORNING. A SECOND COLDER FRONT DROPS IN FROM THE NORTH IN THE AFTERNOON ALSO ENHANCING SNOW OVER THE NORTHERN MTNS. ACCUMULATING SNOW LEVELS ARE AROUND 7KFT NORTH IN THE AFTERNOON. BUT WARM SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND PERIODS OF SUN BETWEEN HEAVY CONVECTIVE SHOWERS WILL LIMIT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. TUESDAY NIGHT THE LOW WORKS ONTO THE NE- KS PLAINS. SHOWERS LINGER OVER THE NORTHERN MTNS THROUGH THE NIGHT. OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR NORMAL TONIGHT THEN JUST A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL TUESDAY NIGHT. TUESDAY MAX TEMPS WILL BE 5-10 DEGREES BELOW. .LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 335 PM MDT MON APR 25 2016 WEDNESDAY THE NEXT LOW DROPS DOWN THE WEST COAST. BRIEF RIDGING HERE LIMITS SHOWERS TO AFTERNOON MAINLY MTN CONVECTION. THURSDAY THE NEXT CLOSING LOW WORKS INTO WESTERN ARIZONA FAVORING THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL ZONES WITH MTN SNOW AND VALLEY RAIN. AGAIN RELATIVELY MILD TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO LIMIT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THE LOW SLOWLY WORKS EAST THROUGH SATURDAY BUT IS REINFORCED ON SUNDAY AS MORE ENERGY DIGS THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE LINGERING TROUGH. SHOWERS LINGER ACROSS THE SOUTH ON MONDAY. BY NEXT MONDAY THIS SERIES OF STORMS IS FORECAST TO PRODUCE OVER AN INCH OF LIQUID EQUIVALENT IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OVER HALF AN INCH IN THE VALLEYS...MUCH MORE THAN THAT IN THE GFS. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW NORMAL. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1144 AM MDT MON APR 25 2016 CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AND THICKEN AS A COLD FRONT AND LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACH FROM THE WEST. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED FROM 18Z ONWARDS WITH BEST COVERAGE EXPECTED AFTER 21Z. SOME SHOWERS AND STORMS MAY AFFECT TAF SITES SO INCLUDED VCTS AND VCSH TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS POSSIBILITY. FLIGHT CONDITIONS SHOULD REMAIN VFR THOUGH SOME ILS BREAKPOINTS MAY BE MET. UNSETTLED WEATHER CONTINUES THROUGH 18Z TOMORROW AS THE LOW PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS CENTRAL COLORADO. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR COZ020-021. UT...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR UTZ022. && SHORT TERM...JOE LONG TERM...JOE AVIATION...TGR
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
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were measured across the area. In Pagosa Springs, a tree split and fell on a roof causing some minor damage to the house, including a broken skylight.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2016
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: 668784.