A moist air mass resulted in some thunderstorms with heavy rainfall in the Rifle Gap Reservoir area.
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The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
A moist air mass resulted in some thunderstorms with heavy rainfall in the Rifle Gap Reservoir area.
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 Aug 10, 10:05 AM MST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service GRAND JUNCTION CO 1105 AM MDT Thu Aug 10 2017 Updated aviation section .SHORT TERM...(Today through Friday) Issued at 232 AM MDT Thu Aug 10 2017 Moisture will continue over eastern UT and western CO with the best moisture along the northern periphery of the ridge that sits over NM, AZ and TX. A 70kt jet will also remain parked over the northern half of CO and UT with embedded minor shortwave troughs providing local focus for convective development. One such shortwave passed through the area early this morning and the subsidence behind it will suppress cumulus development for much of today, according to the HiResW, so expect today to be slightly less active than Thursday. On Friday the ridge recedes a bit to the southeast, this allowing moisture flowing around its western side to begin moving across the four corners region. This will be the beginning of another small monsoonal surge. .LONG TERM...(Friday night through Wednesday) Issued at 232 AM MDT Thu Aug 10 2017 Monsoonal push will continue into the weekend with the upper level ridge axis parked over eastern Utah. Expect fairly active weather both Saturday and Sunday with a few waves pushing through. The 00Z GFS drives a stronger shortwave over Sunday afternoon/evening with precipitable water values jumping back up into the 1 to 1.2 inch marks. Storm motion suggest storms will be moving along a good clip, but could see localized heavy rains and many areas are water-logged from recent activity. So it will not take a ton of rain to start causing problems. Still several days away and we will be able to fine-tune the forecast as details get hammered out. Ridge axis pushes east on Monday with troughing sliding across the western U.S. This will bring southwest flow into the area with a slow drying trend expected. Temperatures look to hold near seasonal norms through the period. The latest 6 to 10 and 8 to 14 day outlooks from CPC highlight odds favoring below normal precipitation for this region, which fits current trends seen in the models. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Friday afternoon) Issued at 1105 AM MDT Thu Aug 10 2017 After the early morning thunderstorms near ASE, convection has winded down. After 18z, another round of showers and thunderstorms will develop, focused on NE Utah and NW Colorado again. ILS breakpoints could be met at times, but otherwise TAF sites are expected to remain VFR. A disturbance will pass through east central Utah and west central Colorado around or after 06z which may bring some nocturnal convection to KMTJ, KTEX, and potentially KGJT and KRIL. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...CC LONG TERM...JDC AVIATION...JAM/MMS
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service GRAND JUNCTION CO 228 AM MDT Thu Aug 10 2017 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-110830- 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-Flat Tops- 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- 228 AM MDT Thu Aug 10 2017 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected again today and tonight across eastern Utah and western Colorado, with best coverage over central and northwest Colorado and northeast Utah. Locally heavy rain, small hail and gusty winds to 40 mph are all possible with the strongest storms, and there is the possibility for local minor flooding as well. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected Friday with gusty outflow winds, small hail and locally heavy rain possible. The chance of storms will increase this weekend into the beginning of next week as monsoon moisture is expected to return. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 1248 PM MDT THU AUG 10 2017 COZ003-007-013-101930- Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus CO-Debeque to Silt Corridor CO- Flattops CO- 1248 PM MDT THU AUG 10 2017 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL GARFIELD COUNTY UNTIL 130 PM MDT... At 1248 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 13 miles northwest of Rifle, or 33 miles west of Glenwood Springs, moving east at 25 mph. Frequent cloud to ground lightning, nickel size hail and wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph will be possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... Rio Blanco. This includes Colorado 13 between mile markers 10 and 21. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Heavy rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may lead to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle. && LAT...LON 3964 10798 3977 10798 3982 10758 3961 10758 TIME...MOT...LOC 1848Z 272DEG 20KT 3971 10792 MS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rainfall resulted in a large quantity of mud and vegetation which flowed down a drainage and covered Highway 325 between mile markers 5.5 and 5.7. The highway was closed for about 30 minutes until road crews were able to clear the pavement.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, August 2017
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: 706118.