Utah, 2019

Dense Fog in Utah, January 1, 2019

January 1, 2019 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Low level moisture from melting snow, combined with clear skies, lead to areas of dense fog in the lower valleys of east-central Utah.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.

Low level moisture from melting snow, combined with clear skies, lead to areas of dense fog in the lower valleys of east-central Utah.

What forecasters said that day

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 Jan 1, 3:02 AM MST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 3:02 AM MST, 1 hour 43 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 1, 2:40 AM MST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 31, 11:25 PM MST, 5 hours 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
1125 PM MST MON DEC 31 2018

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1042 PM     SNOW             MOAB 4SE                38.53N 109.50W
12/31/2018  M2.5 INCH        GRAND              UT   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

NL
Local storm report, Jan 1, 12:48 AM MST, 3 hours 57 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 1, 1:18 AM MST, 3 hours 27 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Grand Flat and Arches

When
January 1, 4:45 AM MST to 11:45 AM MST
Where
Grand Flat and Arches forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
38.982, -109.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog was observed at the Canyonlands Field Airport in Moab and along Interstate 70 between the Colorado State Line and Green River, Utah. Visibility was reduced to less than one quarter of a mile for several hours.

What these are

Dense Fog
Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Utah in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2019

Sources

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: 792201.