5 miles south-southwest of Rangely.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 was ignited, most likely by a lightning strike, 5.5 miles south-southwest of Rangely.
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 11, 4:32 PM MST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 532 PM MDT Thu Jul 11 2019 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Friday night) Issued at 259 PM MDT Thu Jul 11 2019 High pressure will remain in control over the central and southern Rockies through the short-term forecast period. Counter-clockwise flow around this area of high pressure will transport moisture northward along the western periphery of the circulation. As PWAT and low-level RH values rise, so will the threat of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Friday will favor initial convective development in the higher terrain across all of the central and southern mountains of eastern Utah and western Colorado. Later in the afternoon, showers and storms may survive a bit longer off the higher terrain compared with today, given the slight increase in moisture profiles. Expect high temperatures to run around or perhaps a degree or two cooler than they were on Thursday given slightly earlier convective initiation and afternoon cloud cover. Overnight lows have run slightly lower than guidance over the past few days. The favored trend in this forecast package was the lower end of guidance, even with the expected increase in lingering evening cloud cover. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 259 PM MDT Thu Jul 11 2019 Saturday and Sunday will likely see the greatest shower and thunderstorm coverage across the western slope over the remainder of the forecast period. High pressure will remain firmly entrenched to the east of the Rockies, resulting in continued south to southwesterly flow over the Four Corners region throughout the weekend. PWAT values peak early on Sunday, ahead of a weak wave of energy expected to pass well north of the Wyoming border later that day. A slight increase in wind speeds aloft will mean slightly more organized convection on Sunday as the wave passes. This wave will force the persistent area of high pressure eastward by Monday and Tuesday. The result will be a more suppressed convective setup early next week, with storms favored along the divide and in southwest Colorado only. By the middle of next week, differences in forecast guidance emerge with the ECMWF favoring a drier pattern, and the GFS attempting to reinvigorate more moist southwest flow over the Four Corners. Overall, afternoon high temperatures will run a degree or two above above average through the long term. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday evening) Issued at 530 PM MDT Thu Jul 11 2019 VFR conditions will prevail for the next 24 hours with isolated to widely scattered showers and thunderstorms over the higher terrain until 03Z this evening and again Friday afternoon. Gusty outflow winds will be the primary concern near storms, otherwise expect terrain-driven winds to continue. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...MAC LONG TERM...MAC AVIATION...TGJT
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 309 AM MDT Thu Jul 11 2019 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-120915- 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- 309 AM MDT Thu Jul 11 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Isolated thunderstorms will develop over the high terrain this afternoon with gusty outflow winds and lightning the primary concerns. Valleys should remain dry and hot. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday Thunderstorm chances and coverage increase Friday through Monday with locally heavy rain, hail, frequent lightning and gusty winds possible. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
703 PM MDT THU JUL 11 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0638 PM TSTM WND GST 17 NW MOAB 38.77N 109.75W
07/11/2019 M46 MPH GRAND UT ASOS
ASOS STATION KCNY CANYONLANDS FIELD AIRPORT.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Park Fire began in mid July, most likely due to lightning, about 5.5 miles south-southwest of Rangely. It grew to 157 acres before it was contained a couple of days later.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, July 2019
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: 835027.