A lightning strike ignited a wildfire about 22 miles west of Blanding in the Dark Canyon Wilderness area of the Manti-La Sal National Forest.
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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 22 miles west of Blanding in the Dark Canyon Wilderness area of the Manti-La Sal National Forest.
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 31, 10:05 PM MST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 1105 PM MDT Wed Jul 31 2019 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Thursday night) Issued at 247 PM MDT Wed Jul 31 2019 Satellite imagery and surrounding radar sites indicate ongoing showers with embedded heavy rainfall across southern and central Utah and Arizona. The high pressure system responsible for this monsoonal flow of moisture into the southwest is expected to move eastward. As such, this moisture will move into our forecast area by late tonight/Thursday contributing to more widespread showers and storms as the flow moves north while sliding further eastward around the high. This abundant moisture (precipitable water values near 1.25 inch in southern portions of the forecast area with 0.75 inch in central Colorado) will combine with limited instability (due to persistent cloud cover) to produce heavy rainfall over portions of eastern Utah and northwestern Colorado overnight. Thursday's potentially heavy rainfall will favor the San Juans and central Colorado as the moisture plume progresses further east. Temperatures will dip to below normal Thursday as increased cloud cover keeps surface conditions cool. .LONG TERM...(Friday through Wednesday) Issued at 247 PM MDT Wed Jul 31 2019 Dry air flows in from the northwest as the the high slides back west over our forecast area on Friday. However, high elevation, diurnally-driven showers and storms will continue in the high elevations. On Monday, models show the high sliding to the south/east slightly, allowing mositure to wrap around into our forecast area again. This will keep precipitable water values elevated...but less so than the current monsoonal push. This flow should continue through Tuesday before models diverge on the placement of the high's center. Again, temperatures are expected to be near to above normal unless blanketed by cloud cover...as is expected at times early next week. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Thursday night) Issued at 1100 PM MDT Wed Jul 31 2019 Monsoon moisture will continue to bring widespread cloud cover and light precipitation, with pockets of heavier rain. VFR conditions should prevail at the TAF sites for the next 24 hours, with CIGS at KRIL, KEGE, and KASE having the best chance of dropping below ILS breakpoints. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...SS LONG TERM...SS AVIATION...CC
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 325 AM MDT Wed Jul 31 2019 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-010930- 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- 325 AM MDT Wed Jul 31 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Monsoonal moisture will surge back over eastern Utah and western Colorado today and tonight. Showers and thunderstorms will return with locally heavy rainfall possible. Occasional lightning will be accompanied by possible rainfall rates in excess of inch per hour, mainly over eastern Utah and northwest Colorado. Local flooding and debris flows are possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday The monsoon-related rain storms will continue Thursday through Thursday evening, with locally heavy rain possible, especially across central and northern Colorado. Fewer storms are expected Friday and Saturday, focusing in the southwest Colorado mountains and along the Continental Divide. Another surge of monsoonal moisture and associated showers and thunderstorms is expected Sunday through Tuesday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... There is a slight possibility that spotters may need to be activated over east-central and northeast Utah and extreme northwest Colorado early this evening and overnight. Even if there is no activation, spotters are encouraged to relay rainfall amounts or any observed flooding to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Peavine Canyon Fire began in mid July due to lightning about 22 miles west of Blanding and grew to 3,904 acres before it was contained in mid August.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, August 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: 843546.