Colorado, 2023

Dense Fog in Colorado, December 2, 2023

December 2, 2023 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A period of clearing during a winter storm event allowed low level moisture trapped in the Grand Valley of western Colorado to condense into dense fog during the morning hours.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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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.

A period of clearing during a winter storm event allowed low level moisture trapped in the Grand Valley of western Colorado to condense into dense fog during the morning hours.

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 Dec 2, 4:50 AM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 2, 4:50 AM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 2, 5:05 AM MST, 55 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 Valley

When
December 2, 6:00 AM MST to 9:00 AM MST
Where
Grand Valley forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
39.308, -108.185 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog was observed within the Grand Valley, including at Grand Junction Regional Airport where visibility was reduced to less than a quarter of a mile.

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 Colorado in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2023

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1149262.