The potential for heavy snow at higher elevations in the western U.S. will continue for many spots through the weekend. In the meantime, the eastern half of the continental U.S. will transition to above normal temperatures ahead of a pair of cold fronts next week that will bring readings back to closer to normal as we approach Thanksgiving Day. Read More >
June 2019 Climate Summary for Eastern Utah and Western Colorado
June 2019, though it had its prolonged periods of warm, dry weather, will probably always be remembered as the month where over two feet of snow fell in the western Colorado mountains. An unseasonably moist and cold Pacific disturbance and associated cold front impacted the northern tier of eastern Utah and western Colorado from June 21-23. The stalling and eventual progression of the front across the region resulted in anomalous snowfall for elevations above 9000 feet, though snow levels dropped to near 6500 feet with an inch of snow falling in the town of Hayden. Otherwise, much of the rest of the month was typical June-like weather with warmer temperatures resulting in accelerated snowmelt which led to the continued cold and fast running of rivers across the region, as well as some minor flooding.
Overall, June ended up being drier than normal across the southern tier of the region, while locations further north tended to be wetter. 6 out of the 10 automated stations at airports across eastern Utah and western Colorado ended the month with below normal precipitation. The most precipitation fell at the Meeker Airport where 2.87 inches fell...1.63 inches above normal for June. June was cooler than normal for most of the region with mean temperatures ranging anywhere from 0 to 3 degrees below normal. The warmest June temperature of 99 degrees occurred at the Canyonlands Field Airport in Moab, Utah on the 29th. The coldest temperature of 26 degrees F occurred at the Craig Airport on June 10th.
Grand Junction had an average monthly temperature of 70.6 degrees which was 1.4 degrees below normal. The highest temperature was 97 degrees on June 28th and the lowest was 41 degrees on the 23rd. 0.76 inches of precipitation fell throughout the month which was 0.30 inches above normal. 0.0 inches of snow fell which was normal.
Taking a quick look ahead to July, the official forecast from the Climate Prediction Center (https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/lead14/) shows odds of wetter than normal conditions across eastern Utah and western Colorado with no clear indication of warmer or cooler than normal temperatures for much of the region, though cooler than normal temperatures are favored for far northwest Colorado.
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).
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