A wildfire started from unknown causes 5 miles southwest of Parachute.
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The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
A wildfire started from unknown causes 5 miles southwest of Parachute.
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 Jun 24, 1:52 PM MST, 35 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 252 PM MDT Sat Jun 24 2023 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Sunday night) Issued at 249 PM MDT Sat Jun 24 2023 Satellite imagery this afternoon shows sunny skies across the forecast area. The only clouds appear to be near the Wyoming border where slightly more moisture resides. There are a few high level clouds streaming in from the southwest as well. Meteorological radar returns are all but non-existent today. With the influence of the last lowp ressure system now gone, persistent southwest flow is the story through the short term. Between disturbances, the ridge axis (currently through Texas) nudges westward slightly tomorrow. This will allow for slightly deeper mixing and a few locations will tap into gusty afternoon winds tomorrow. However, they don't appear at this time to reach widespread critical thresholds. Isolated areas may meet criteria for a few hours, but that should be the exception, not the rule, in many areas. That will change signficantly beyond Sunday. More on that in the long term section. Temperatures will climb around 5 degrees or so tomorrow afternoon. However, that will leave many areas within a degree or two of normal highs. Overnight lows will follow a very similar trend. .LONG TERM...(Monday through Saturday) Issued at 249 PM MDT Sat Jun 24 2023 By Monday, a low pressure system over the Pacific Northwest will begin to gradually lift out over the Northern Rockies. This places our area under a tightening pressure gradient, and therefore winds increase. Also, the atmosphere will remain rather dry in this regime so do not expect much precipitation. In fact, minimum RH values drop into the single digits and teens. Fire weather products will likely be needed for the lower elevations where fuels are critical. On Tuesday the wave passes to our north, but the associated jet spreads overhead. Tuesday afternoon is shaping up to be fairly windy for most locations and fire weather concerns continue. Taking a look at the big picture by Wednesday a high will remain situated over the Southern Plains while additional energy reinforces the trough over the Pacific Northwest. This will allow the dry and windy pattern to persist across our area. The models continue to show that by Thursday the low finally leaves the Pacific Northwest. This opens the opportunity for moisture to advect in from the north, but how much is the question. As of now the best chances for any precip will be close to the WY state line and perhaps along the Divide. This could change depending on the quality of moisture, how far south it pushes and the instability. Temperatures as we near the end of June will be within a few degrees of normal with slight variations each day. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Sunday afternoon) Issued at 1116 AM MDT Sat Jun 24 2023 VFR conditions and terrain-driven winds are expected through the taf period. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 249 PM MDT Sat Jun 24 2023 The hot, dry, and occasionally windy southwest flow pattern continues for the forseeable future. Where fuels are cured across low elevations of the forecast area, near-critical fire weather conditions will exist on Sunday. As mentioned above, the winds appear to be borderline across a couple centrally-located zones. Monday afternoon, winds increase as another disturbance brushes across the area. Tuesday will be another quite windy day (similar to yesterday) across the region with gusts near 50 mph possible across the southern half of the forecast area. Beyond that, daily afternoon winds remain elevated through Thursday. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...SS LONG TERM...KJS AVIATION...TGJT FIRE WEATHER...SS
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 343 AM MDT Sat Jun 24 2023 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-251300- 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- 343 AM MDT Sat Jun 24 2023 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday Southwest flow will continue to bring dry air into the region. An approaching disturbance will also cause some gusty winds Sunday onwards and create near critical fire weather conditions. These conditions look possible through the start of the new work week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Spring Creek Fire started in late June 5 miles southwest of Parachute, and grew to 3286 acres before it was finally contained in early September. The cause of the fire is unknown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, June 2023
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: 1119389.