National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Excessive Heat for the East; Excessive Rainfall for the Southwest; Severe Weather for the Center of the Nation

Extreme HeatRisk impacts will expand from the Midwest into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast today. This level of HeatRisk is known for being rare and/or long duration with little to no overnight relief, and affects anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration. Severe weather potential continues from the Great Lakes to the Central Plains today. Heavy rainfall for Southwest on Tuesday. Read More >

Overview

A potent disturbance embedded in southwest flow aloft produced strong thunderstorms which moved across eastern Utah and western Colorado on Thursday, October 4th. The unsettled weather began during the early morning hours when a storm produced quarter-sized hail in Palisade, Colorado around 3:30 AM MDT. Winds associated with thunderstorms throughout the day were very strong and even exceeded Category 1 hurricane strength at times. The peak wind gust on October 4th was 82 MPH which was recorded at the Rifle Garfield County Airport at 10:39 AM MDT. This resulted in some damaging winds with a single engine Cessna aircraft being tipped sideways onto a wing as well as onto its nose. Twenty minutes later, five trees, including two cottonwoods, were knocked down just northwest of Carbondale in Garfield County.

 

The wild weather that day also allowed the Grand Mesa to see its first snowfall of the season with some light accumulations on Highway 65.

View of Shelf Cloud from NWS GJT
Shelf Cloud Approaches NWS Grand Junction (Credit: Mike Charnick)
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