A lightning strike most likely ignited a wildfire about 8 miles west of Craig.
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 lightning strike most likely ignited a wildfire about 8 miles west of Craig.
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 Sep 17, 10:42 AM MST, 48 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 1142 AM MDT Tue Sep 17 2019 .SHORT TERM...(Today through Wednesday) Issued at 240 AM MDT Tue Sep 17 2019 Moisture will continue to be drawn north ahead of a 500 mb trough moving through the Great Basin this morning. Showers present on satellite and radar over the western San Juan mountains early this morning will spread north. About Noon the Pacific trough will be over northwest Colorado and precipitation areas associated directly with it will phase with the precipitation over CO. These storms should be fast-moving producing significant wind gusts over northwest CO. Dry air quickly moves into eastern UT this afternoon and western CO this evening. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday night through Monday) Issued at 240 AM MDT Tue Sep 17 2019 The active pattern with progressive moderately strong troughs passing through ever few days will continue the rest of this week and through the weekend. Wednesday and Wednesday night will be dry with increasing southwest flow aloft and the next trough strengthens over the Pacific Northwest. Thursday will see moisture being drawn north and into the area and the next trough moves into the western Great Basin. Precipitation should increase Thursday night and Friday morning as the trough moves through the area from west to east. Dry air moves in quickly behind the trough Friday night and Saturday. The drier weather will continue through Monday, through southwest winds will increase Monday as the next Pacific trough moves into the western Great Basin. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Wednesday afternoon) Issued at 1139 AM MDT Tue Sep 17 2019 Scattered showers and thunderstorms will impact central and northern Colorado terminals this afternoon. Expect a front with gusty west winds to pass through the US40 and I-70 corridors today from noon through 5pm. Expect VFR conditions most of the day however both ceiling and visibility may drop to MVFR at times during the heaviest rain. Conditions will improve this evening as the front moves east of the divide. Expect clearing and dry weather overnight into Wednesday morning. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...CC LONG TERM...CC AVIATION...MAC
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 232 AM MDT Tue Sep 17 2019 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-180845- 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- 232 AM MDT Tue Sep 17 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Showers and thunderstorms will increase in coverage today and tonight as an upper trough sweeps through the area from west to east. Hazards expected with these storms include gusty winds, locally heavy rain and lightning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Drier conditions are expected Wednesday then showers and thunderstorms will return Thursday and Friday. Hazards expected with these storms include gusty winds, locally heavy rain and lightning. Expect dry and warmer weather this weekend. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
1105 AM MDT TUE SEP 17 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1034 AM TSTM WND GST 2 ESE CRAIG 40.50N 107.52W
09/17/2019 M45 MPH MOFFAT CO ASOS
ASOS STATION KCAG CRAIG-MOFFAT COUNTY
AIRPORT.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
1120 AM MDT TUE SEP 17 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0812 AM HAIL DELTA 2E 38.74N 108.03W
09/17/2019 E0.70 INCH DELTA CO TRAINED SPOTTER
HAIL FELL LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
1206 PM MDT TUE SEP 17 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1136 AM TSTM WND GST MEEKER 40.05N 107.88W
09/17/2019 M45 MPH RIO BLANCO CO ASOS
ASOS STATION KEEO MEEKER AIRPORT.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Sand Spring Fire began in mid September, most likely due to lightning, about 8 miles west of Craig. High winds allowed the fire to quickly grow to 303 acres before it was contained the next day.
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, September 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: 846967.