A lightning strike ignited a wildfire about 19 miles southeast of Steamboat Springs.
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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.
A lightning strike ignited a wildfire about 19 miles southeast of Steamboat Springs.
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 Jul 19, 10:38 AM MST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 1138 AM MDT Thu Jul 19 2018 .SHORT TERM...(Today through Friday) Issued at 225 AM MDT Thu Jul 19 2018 Convective debris from Wednesday's thunderstorm activity remains present over much of the Four Corners early this Thursday morning. Mid and upper-level clouds are moving generally to the east over eastern Utah and western Colorado, as high pressure continues to sit south and west of the region. The position of this high pressure will allow for another day of mostly dry weather across the western slope with only a few isolated showers and thunderstorms in the San Juan mountains, where a bit of suppressed moisture remains. Overall, Thursday will be the hottest day of the week...if not the year over much of the lower elevations thanks to less cloud cover and drier air area-wide. At GJT in particular, all guidance is over the century mark with the ECMWF ensemble leading the pack at 103 degrees. The record high for GJT today is 105 degrees...a degree shy of the all-time high of 106...however it looks like we should remain just below both of these notable extremes. High pressure scoots to the east of the Four Corners on Friday, allowing for an increase in southerly flow and monsoonal moisture during the day. As a result, an uptick in shower and thunderstorm coverage is expected, especially in the south. Temperatures will fall back from the extremes on Thursday. Will have to watch the particularly sensitive burn scar and fire areas on Friday afternoon and evening for potential Flash Flooding issues. .LONG TERM...(Friday night through Wednesday) Issued at 225 AM MDT Thu Jul 19 2018 Embedded shortwaves look to move through the southwest flow Friday night, potentially leading to the continuation of scattered showers and thunderstorms through Saturday morning. Moisture will increase even more so on Saturday and Sunday as the high pressure ridge axis remains anchored to the east of our CWA over eastern Texas, allowing for a more direct tap into the sub-tropical moisture sitting over Arizona. Precipitable water (PW) values will be greater than an inch, up to 1.25 inches in some spots, across much of the CWA Saturday through Monday. Embedded shortwave disturbances will move through the flow, keeping convection more widespread and ongoing through the overnight hours both Saturday night and Sunday night as well. The high pressure ridge will retreat westward starting Monday into early next week, with enough moisture still in place on Monday to generate thunderstorms favoring the high terrain before spreading into valleys late in the day as PW values remain above an inch. Potential for heavy rain will exist with storms this weekend into Monday. Temperatures over the weekend will still be warm but not as hot (meaning below triple digit heat) given the increase in clouds and showers which will allow for a reprieve from the hot conditions we are currently experiencing. As the high pressure moves west of our CWA into the Great Basin, this will allow drier air to work in from the north-northwest Tuesday and especially by Wednesday, as the deeper moisture gets pushed back southward and PW values drop below 0.75 inches across much of western Colorado. The exception to this is southwest Colorado and eastern Utah, where moisture hangs on a bit longer where thunderstorms will be possible with some brief heavy rain in the stronger cells. Tuesday and Wednesday appear overall to be quieter days compared to the weekend preceding it. This makes sense given the proximity of the high and the north-northwest upper level flow, which tends to cut off our monsoonal moisture tap. Eastern Utah and southwest Colorado will stand the best chances of storm activity as mentioned earlier as they are on the edge or gradient between drier air and deeper moisture. Due to the drier air moving in for Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures will bounce back above normal towards the very warm to hot end of the spectrum. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Friday afternoon) Issued at 1138 AM MDT Thu Jul 19 2018 High pressure will remain overhead today resulting in VFR conditions for all TAF sites over the next 24 hours. Apart from some gusts to 20-25 knots this afternoon, winds will remain light and terrain driven. Isolated storms will be possible across the higher terrain of SE UT/SW CO from 18Z-03Z. Moisture increases from the south on Friday with clouds and the chance for showers and storms increasing after 15Z Friday. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...MAC LONG TERM...MDA AVIATION...MMS
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 221 AM MDT Thu Jul 19 2018 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-200830- 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- 221 AM MDT Thu Jul 19 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible in the San Juan Mountains. While coverage will be less than in prior days, some lightning and heavy downpours will still be possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday Monsoon moisture will increase on Friday and coverage of afternoon showers and thunderstorms will increase. There will be a better chance of heavy downpours and strong, gusty winds on Friday and Saturday. Flash Flooding may affect sensitive drainage basins near recent fires and burn scars. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Silver Creek Fire began due to lightning ignition about 19 miles southeast of Steamboat Springs and grew to 20,120 acres before it was contained in late October.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, July 2018
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: 782990.