Colorado, 2018

Dense Fog in Colorado, December 3, 2018

December 3, 2018 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Low level moisture condensed to form dense fog in some valley areas in La Plata County.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.

Low level moisture condensed to form dense fog in some valley areas in La Plata County.

What forecasters said that day

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 Dec 2, 2:30 PM MST, 13 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 2, 2:30 PM MST, 13 hours 30 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 2, 4:46 AM MST, 23 hours 14 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Animas River Basin

When
December 3, 4:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where
Animas River Basin forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
37.287, -107.843 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog in some areas, including the Durango-La Plata County Airport, reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

What these are

Dense Fog
Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2018

Sources

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 789189.