textproduct: Grand Junction

KEY MESSAGES

- High pressure builds in through the weekend bringing dry conditions and warming temperatures Sunday onwards.

- Precipitation chances increase midweek though the finer details still need to be worked out.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/

Issued at 958 PM MST Sat Feb 21 2026

Quiet weather is the story of the short term forecast period. Ridging aloft is driving this quiet, calm weather, in addition to a gradual warming of temperatures. Overnight tonight cold temperatures are anticipated, especially in the cold pool areas south of I-70 where guidance is showing less cloud cover, but temperatures should be higher than last night's. Tomorrow high clouds will cover most of the CWA, but this will do little to impede the expected warming of high temperatures, which are forecasted to increase by 5 to 10 degrees when compared to today's. On Monday temperatures increase again, leading to above normal temperatures for most of the region, a trend that will continue into the long term period.

LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/

Issued at 958 PM MST Sat Feb 21 2026

Just when we made a small bump upward in statewide snowpack...forecasts of ensemble anomaly show temperatures are heading back to well above normal and drier than normal over the next 7 to 10 days. The brief exception will be during the mid- week period when a passing system pulls a decent batch of atmospheric mositure through. This will drop high elevation snow across the central and northern high country. The Park Range as usual looks to be favored for the best outcome where there is a fairly high probability (around 60%) of over an half of an inch of precipitation. The impacts are not as certain as the airmass looks to be mild with temperatures and therefore snow levels higher than normal. Stay tuned for the finer details over the next few days. Otherwise it looks to be a test run at early Spring to end out the week into the weekend. Highs look to reach 10 to 15 degrees above normal in most areas with mid to upper 60s possible in many of the lower valleys.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/

Issued at 958 PM MST Sat Feb 21 2026

High cloudiness will be drifting through the area over the next 24 hours leaving VFR conditions in place. Slightly warmer and drier conditions compared to 24 hours ago also looks to limit the stratus and fog coverage tonight. However there remains a low probability of KGUC and KEGE to see patchy fog or a low cloud layer in the vicinity of the airfield. However confidence too low to put in forecast.

GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CO...None. UT...None.