NWS Grand Junction, Colorado April 2020 · 2020-05-15 · NWS Grand Junction, Colorado April 2020...
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NWS Grand Junction, Colorado April 2020 Climate Summary for Eastern Utah and Western Colorado After a quiet first day of April, the first of several unseasonably cold Pacific disturbances moved into E UT and W CO. A cold front produced generally 2 to 6 inches of snow across the N valleys on April 2nd. Mostly quiet conditions persisted until the next cold front arrived and produced generally 3 to 9 inches of snow across the NW/W-Central CO mountains. Bitterly cold, freezing temperatures were left in the wake of this front with some orchards in the Grand Valley experiencing 95% kill of apricot and peach fruit buds. Another Pacific trough moved through W CO April 14-16 and produced light to moderate snow across the N/Central mountains. The final winter storm of the month moved through the region April 22-24 with close to a foot of snow falling at some locations above 9500 feet in the Central CO mountains. The last few days of the month were dry, warm and breezy with critical fire weather conditions across portions of SW/W-Central SW CO. April was drier than normal across the region as 10 out of the 10 automated stations found at airports across E UT and W CO ended the month with below normal precipitation. April was generally warmer than normal with mean temperatures ranging 0.5 to 2 degrees above normal. 1 Produced by Megan Stackhouse, Meteorologist NWS Grand Junction (Credit: NWS)
Transcript of NWS Grand Junction, Colorado April 2020 · 2020-05-15 · NWS Grand Junction, Colorado April 2020...
NWS Grand Junction, ColoradoApril 2020
Climate Summary for Eastern Utah and Western Colorado
After a quiet first day of April, the first of several unseasonably cold Pacific disturbances moved into E UT and W CO. A cold front produced generally 2 to 6 inches of snow across the N valleys on April
2nd. Mostly quiet conditions persisted until the next cold front arrived and produced generally 3 to 9 inches of snow across the NW/W-Central CO mountains. Bitterly cold, freezing temperatures were
left in the wake of this front with some orchards in the Grand Valley experiencing 95% kill of apricot and peach fruit buds. Another Pacific trough moved through W CO April 14-16 and produced light to
moderate snow across the N/Central mountains. The final winter storm of the month moved through the region April 22-24 with close to a foot of snow falling at some locations above 9500 feet in the Central CO mountains. The last few days of the month were dry, warm and breezy with critical
fire weather conditions across portions of SW/W-Central SW CO.
April was drier than normal across the region as 10 out of the 10 automated stations found at airports across E UT and W CO ended the month with below normal precipitation. April was
generally warmer than normal with mean temperatures ranging 0.5 to 2 degrees above normal.
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Produced by Megan Stackhouse, Meteorologist
NWS Grand Junction(Credit: NWS)
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Page Number Page Title
1 Cover 2 Table of Contents3 Story of the Month4 Temperatures5 Precipitation6 Monthly Percent Precipitation7 Monthly Precipitation Departure from Normal8 Daily Record Reports9 Drought Conditions10 Next Month Outlook
Please note that all data mentioned is collected from our automated observing stations from 10 different airports across eastern Utah and western Colorado. Some of our cooperative observers in
more remote areas may have measured warmer or colder temperatures, or more or less precipitation than what was mentioned in this summary.
Table of Contents
Story of the Month26 APRIL SERPENTINE ECHO
A narrow band of reflectivity on radar developed on the afternoon of April 26th and moved along I-70. This is often referred to as a “serpentine echo” due to its thin and wavy characteristic and is
often associated with gusty winds at the surface. A peak wind gust of 59 and 58 MPH occurred at the Rifle and Grand Junction Airports, respectively. The Eagle and Aspen Airports gusted to 45 and
40 MPH, respectively.
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LocationAverage Temp (°F)(Versus Normal)
Warmest Temp (°F) Coldest Temp (°F)
Aspen, CO 41.3 (+1.5) 75 on 4/30 9 on 4/14
Cortez, CO 48.0 (+1.0) 82 on 4/29-30 14 on 4/15
Craig, CO 42.4 (-0.1) 81 on 4/30 7 on 4/17
Durango, CO 46.6 (+1.8) 81 on 4/30 15 on 4/15
Grand Junction, CO 52.5 (+0.8) 89 on 4/30 19 on 4/14
Meeker, CO 41.9 (-0.4) 81 on 4/30 2 on 4/3
Montrose, CO 50.3 (+1.3) 85 on 4/30 17 on 4/14
Rifle, CO 48.6 (+0.7) 87 on 4/30 13 on 4/14
Canyonlands Airport, UT 54.0 (+1.5) 89 on 4/30 22 on 4/14
Vernal, UT 47.0 (+0.3) 85 on 4/30 13 on 4/14
April 2020 Temperatures
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LocationTotal Precipitation
(in.)Departure from Normal
(in.)
Aspen, CO 1.15 -0.69
Cortez, CO 0.10 -1.04
Craig, CO 0.96 -0.70
Durango, CO 0.08 -1.02
Grand Junction, CO 0.20 -0.71
Meeker, CO 0.80 -0.72
Montrose, CO 0.15 -0.82
Rifle, CO 0.13 -1.01
Canyonlands Airport, UT Trace -0.69
Vernal, UT 0.40 -0.42
April 2020 Precipitation
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Monthly Percent Precipitation
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Monthly Precipitation Departure from Normal
April Daily Record Reports
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A total of 4 daily records were set across the primary climate sites. T stands for tied.
Site Date Record Type New Record Previous Record
Grand Junction, CO April 3rd Record Low Temperature
21° 22° in 2015
Grand Junction, CO April 14th Record Low Temperature
19° 21° in 1933
Grand Junction, CO April 15th Record Low Temperature
24° - T 24° in 1893
Grand Junction, CO April 30th High Max Temperature
89° - T 89° in 1992
High Max Low Max Precip High Min Low Min
Key
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The state of the drought worsened as Extreme (D3) drought conditions developed over portions of southwest Colorado. Additionally, the Severe (D2) drought expanded further
north. Elsewhere, Abnormally Dry (D0) to Moderate (D1) conditions persisted across the majority of the region.
Source:http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu
Drought Conditions
For May, the latest outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) shows oddsfavoring above normal temperatures across eastern Utah and western Colorado. As faras precipitation goes, below normal precipitation is favored across much of the region.
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Precipitation
Temperatures
May Outlook
