January 2020 Climate Summary for Eastern Utah and Western Colorado

*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.*

Unsettled weather kicked off the new year as numerous upper level disturbances passed over the Intermountain West the first few days of January. This resulted in a prolonged period of unsettled northwesterly flow which produced moderate to heavy snow over the northern and central Colorado mountains as well as some valleys. Weak high pressure set up in the wake of this system but fresh snowfall allowed strong inversions to set up in some of the lower valleys which led to well below normal temperatures and persistent low stratus and fog. The western Colorado mountains continued to receive snow throughout the early part of the month as several disturbances moved through the region. The most notable was the January 11-13 winter storm which produced over 2 feet of snow across portions of the Elkhead and Park Mountains. Additionally, strong wind gusts of at least 50 MPH led to reduced visibility in blowing snow. The later half of January was relatively quiet apart from some mountain snow, though strong inversions continued to plague the Eastern Uinta Basin as well as the Grand Flat and into the Grand Valley.

Even though numerous disturbances moved across the area during the month of January, 8 out of the 10 automated stations found at airports across eastern Utah and western Colorado ended the month with below normal precipitation. The most precipitation fell at the Meeker Airport where 1.35 inches fell...0.48 inches above normal for January. The Vernal Airport saw the least amount of precipitation with only 0.14 inches...0.36 inches below normal. January was generally cooler than normal for most of the region with mean temperatures ranging anywhere from 0 to 4 degrees below normal. The warmest January temperature of 52 degrees F occurred at the Cortez Municipal Airport on the 15th. The coldest temperature of -15 degrees F occurred at the Craig-Moffat Airport on January 10th.

Grand Junction had an average monthly temperature of 26.6 degrees which was 0.8 degrees below normal. The highest temperature was 44 degrees on January 26th and the lowest was 7 degrees on the 7th. 0.51 inches of precipitation fell throughout the month which was 0.07 inches below normal. 5.4 inches of snow fell which was 0.5 inches above normal.

Taking a quick look ahead to February, the official forecast from the Climate Prediction Center (https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/lead14/) shows odds of above normal precipitation across northwest Colorado. At this time, no real guidance favors either above or below normal temperatures across the region.

For more climate information from other sites, please visit our climate page on our website at http://w2.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=gjt (select the NOWDATA tab for even more sites). You can also follow us on Facebook (@NWSGrandJunction) or Twitter (@NWSGJT).