Utah, 2026

Dense Fog in Utah, January 3, 2026

January 3, 2026 · NWS GJT · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Potent surface moisture lingered within Utah valleys on the morning of January 3 resulting from widespread rain and snow over the prior two days. A deep upper-level ridge moving overhead made way for clear skies though.

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.

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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.

Potent surface moisture lingered within Utah valleys on the morning of January 3 resulting from widespread rain and snow over the prior two days. A deep upper-level ridge moving overhead made way for clear skies though. With the resulting radiational cooling, morning and early afternoon surface conditions became saturated and supported widespread dense fog development.

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 3, 5:37 AM MST, 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 5:37 AM MST, 23 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 3:02 AM MST, 2 hours 58 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 3, 1:15 AM MST, 4 hours 45 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, Grand Flat and Arches

When
January 3, 6:00 AM MST to 12:15 PM 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)

Widespread dense fog developed within the Utah Grand Flat on the morning of January 3. The KCNY ASOS at the Canyonlands Regional Airport reported a brief period of 1/4-mile visibility from freezing fog shortly before sunrise. Reduced visibility due to mist and fog remained before a prolonged period of less than 1/4 mile visibility due to dense fog developed a couple hours after sunrise and lasted about three hours. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received.

Dense Fog, Eastern Uinta Basin

When
January 3, 8:45 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern Uinta Basin forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
40.125, -109.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Areas of dense fog developed within the Uinta Basin on the morning of January 3. The KVEL ASOS at the Vernal Regional Airport reported two periods of 1/4 mile visibility or less, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, from freezing fog. 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1309246, 1309247.