A much drier airmass was working in across eastern Utah and western Colorado on the afternoon of June 12th. This allowed for drier air to infiltrate surface levels, while enough moisture remained aloft to produce showers and thunderstorms.
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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 much drier airmass was working in across eastern Utah and western Colorado on the afternoon of June 12th. This allowed for drier air to infiltrate surface levels, while enough moisture remained aloft to produce showers and thunderstorms. These two factors combined to create strong and efficient outflow winds that were capable of producing severe gusts in excess of 58 mph.
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 12, 4:19 PM MST, 24 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 519 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will arrive with a drier weather pattern Friday and beyond. - Temperatures remain 5 to 15 degrees above normal through the seven-day forecast. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 345 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025 A dry airmass has moved into eastern Utah and is making eastward progress across western Colorado this afternoon with high pressure moving in overhead. This will lead to a noticably drier stretch of weather through Monday with unseasonably warm temperatures 5 to 15 degrees above normal for mid-June. The main weather-related concern this weekend will be elevated to critical fire weather conditions where fuels are deemed critical, especially north of I-70. An upper-level jet moves in on Monday resulting in afternoon wind gusts upwards of 20-35 mph. These gusty winds will pair with the unseasonably warm and dry conditions leading to critical fire weather concerns area wide. Red Flag Warnings will likely be needed where fuels are at critical thresholds. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 345 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025 The global ensembles are beginning to come into better agreement for the passage of a shortwave trough on Tuesday. Usually this means an uptick in precipitation chances with synoptic lift overhead, but this system doesn't look to contain enough moisture to produce much, if any, precipitation. It's most noticeable impact will be a five-ish degree drop in temperatures. Overall, expect warm and dry conditions to continue for the foreseeable future. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 517 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025 Drier air moving in from the west will be pushing any shower or storm activity to the divide or east over the next few hours. Minimal impacts to TAF sites are expected and VFR prevails in the forecast. Winds pick up tomorrow with afternoon breezes likely bringing gusts in the 20 to 30 mph at most TAF sites by the peak heating hours. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...KAA LONG TERM...KAA AVIATION...GJT
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 344 AM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-131300- 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- 344 AM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northwest Colorado, southwest Colorado, west central Colorado, east central Utah, northeast Utah and southeast Utah. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Dry air moves in today but enough residual moisture will allow some showers and thunderstorms to fire along the Divide and surrounding mountains. The main concern will be gusty outflow winds. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Hot, dry, and windy conditions move in Friday onwards causing an increase in fire weather concerns. The next chance for any precip looks to be Wednesday but coverage looks limited at the moment. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO
247 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025
COZ007>010-013-122115-
Central Colorado River Basin CO-Flat Tops CO-
Grand and Battlement Mesas CO-Debeque to Silt Corridor CO-
Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys CO-
247 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT SOUTHEASTERN GARFIELD COUNTY
THROUGH 315 PM MDT...
At 247 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Rifle, or 21 miles west of Glenwood Springs, moving northeast at 30
mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Rifle, New Castle, and Silt.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3944 10777 3951 10785 3972 10759 3958 10742
TIME...MOT...LOC 2047Z 229DEG 27KT 3953 10773
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH
15Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO
332 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0251 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 SE Rifle 39.51N 107.75W
06/12/2025 M52 MPH Garfield CO Mesonet
Mesonet station RFEC2 Rifle 2SE.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO
530 PM MDT Thu Jun 12 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0504 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 NW Aspen 39.23N 106.87W
06/12/2025 M47 MPH Pitkin CO AWOS
AWOS station KASE 3 S Woody Creek.
&&The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 191 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:44 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Great Divide 2N RAWS recorded a wind gust to 60 mph at approximately 5:46 PM MDT on June 12th. This gust was associated with a passing band of showers and thunderstorms. No reports of damages, injuries, or fatalities were recorded.
The Dinosaur NM 19N RAWS recorded a gust to 62 mph at approximately 8:22 PM MDT on June 12th. This gust was associated with a small thunderstorm that had formed over the Dinosaur National Monument area. This was the only gust recorded in the area, and no reports of damages, injuries, or fatalities were received associated with it.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, June 2025
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: 1275577, 1275576.