A wildfire began from unknown causes just over 10 miles southeast of Jensen.
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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 wildfire began from unknown causes just over 10 miles southeast of Jensen.
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 25, 10:44 AM MST, 1 hour 46 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 1144 AM MDT Wed Jul 25 2018 .SHORT TERM...(Today through Thursday) Issued at 344 AM MDT Wed Jul 25 2018 A few showers will continue moving through NW CO this morning as well as portions of central and SW CO, cause by minor embedding disturbances passing overhead. Showers from these features will be localized and light. High pressure centered over AZ and covering much of the southwestern U.S. will continue sliding to the west today and Thursday. This will also continue the shift to northwest winds aloft and the gradual drying process. This afternoon a shortwave trough will pass through WY and its trailing edge will provide a focus for shower and thunderstorm development over the extreme northern mountains and along and east of the Continental Divide north of Interstate 70. Thursday should be a drier day as the northwest flow aloft continues to bring in drier air and no noticeable shortwave troughs are projected to move across the area. .LONG TERM...(Thursday night through Tuesday) Issued at 344 AM MDT Wed Jul 25 2018 The high pressure center remains quasi-stationary, centered over northwestern Arizona and southern Nevada according to a consensus of the medium range models during the extended period. In this position moisture will slowly erode across the area as drier air to the northwest infiltrates the region and the suppressed to the south. In response, eastern Utah and western Colorado will experience a decrease in areal coverage of thunderstorms during the latter part of the week, through the weekend and into early next week. Not only will showers and thunderstorms become more scarce, they will become higher based, producing strong outflow winds but little measurable precipitation. Afternoon highs during this period will remain hot with little day to day variability, while overnight lows cool slightly as the atmosphere dries. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Thursday afternoon) Issued at 1123 AM MDT Wed Jul 25 2018 Showers and thunderstorms will develop in the higher terrain early this afternoon. Most of the activity should remain away from terminals however brief visibility lowerings to MVFR are possible during the heaviest downpours. The mid-level cloud deck along and north of I-70 will generally break apart after 1pm however convective build ups will be common, possibly obscuring higher terrain. Winds at terminals should remain light 5-10 mph however any nearby thunderstorm could produce brief gusts upwards of 30mph. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...Flash Flood Watch until 10 PM MDT this evening for COZ019-022. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...CC LONG TERM...TGJT AVIATION...MAC
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 317 AM MDT Wed Jul 25 2018 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-260930- 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- 317 AM MDT Wed Jul 25 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop over the mountains, which will drift over the valleys late in the afternoon and early evening. Expect a slight chance of locally heavy rain showers. The best chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain will be over southwest Colorado and southeast Utah. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday A slight chance of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms continues each day, decreasing Thursday through Tuesday. .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 West Raven Fire began in late July from unknown causes just over 10 miles southeast of Jensen, or 5 miles south of Utah Highway 40 on the Old Bonanza Highway. The fire grew to 317 acres before it was contained the next day.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, 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: 780913.