Utah, 2026

Dense Fog in Utah, January 1 to 2, 2026

January 1 to 2, 2026 · NWS GJT · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A deep Pacific trough brought moist southwesterly flow to much of the western CONUS on January 1. A weak upper-level jet streak arrived in coincidence with the surge of moisture, prompting widespread precipitation in eastern Utah throughout the morning of the 1st.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 deep Pacific trough brought moist southwesterly flow to much of the western CONUS on January 1. A weak upper-level jet streak arrived in coincidence with the surge of moisture, prompting widespread precipitation in eastern Utah throughout the morning of the 1st. Strong cold air advection behind the storms rapidly saturated valleys, and areas of dense fog developed during the afternoon and lasting through the morning of January 2.

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, 10:53 AM MST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 10:53 AM MST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 1, 3:17 AM MST, 10 hours 28 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 1, 1:17 PM MST, 28 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 1, 1:20 PM MST, 25 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 1, 1:39 PM MST, 6 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

2 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, La Sal & Abajo Mountains

When
January 1, 1:45 PM MST to 10:45 PM MST
Where
La Sal & Abajo Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
38.304, -109.687 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread dense fog developed near the Abajo mountains during the afternoon and evening of January 1. The KU64 AWOS at the Monticello Airport reported several hours of 1/4-mile visibility due to dense fog. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received.

Dense Fog, Eastern Uinta Basin

When
January 2, 3:15 AM MST to 10:15 AM MST
Where
Eastern Uinta Basin forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
40.125, -109.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed in the Uinta Basin throughout the morning of January 2. The KVEL ASOS at the Vernal Regional Airport reported multiple periods of reduced visibility due to freezing during the morning. Patchy dense fog developed early in the morning, reducing visibility to 1/4 mile for about an hour before weakening. Visibilities dropped below 1/4 mile after sunrise, lasting about two hours before fog dissipated entirely. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received.

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 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2026

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1309210, 1309211.