textproduct: Grand Junction

KEY MESSAGES

- Widespread rain and mountain snow through early Monday as a Pacific system works across the Rockies.

- Winter Weather Advisories are in effect from midnight tonight through midnight Sunday night for some mountain areas above 9,000 feet. Travel over mountain passes may become difficult during the nighttime hours.

- Unsettled conditions pause briefly mid-week, but another stronger system works across the Southwest with potential impacts late week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1201 PM MDT Sun Apr 26 2026

Unsettled Weather Continues

A digging upper level trough continues to send Pacific moisture across the Great Basin this afternoon. Area rain gauges have already picked up measurable rain across the region, as well as some more snow for the mountains above 9000 feet. Enough instability in the air mass exists for a few thunderstorms too. Snow will continue across the Flat Tops, Central Mountains and the San Juans this afternoon and evening, with Winter Weather Advisories continuing for 6-12 inches of total snow accumulation.Given the potential for convective snow showers, went ahead and added COZ010 to the Winter Weather Advisories. Vail Pass will bear the brunt of these impacts this afternoon and overnight, as poor visibility and slick roads impact travel there. Breaks in the cloud cover this afternoon will likely enhance these storms. Broad cyclonic flow across the West continues tonight and tomorrow, with a zonal jet streak anchored over the Southwest keeping things unsettled. The cold air pool in this trough remains seasonally consistent and temperatures hover around the normal mark the next couple of days. Cooler air aloft should keep showers and thunderstorms in the picture too.

Moisture reserves start drying around the Four Corners and across the San Juans Tuesday thanks to southwesterly flow driving heights up and drying things back out. However up north, remnant moisture within the trough will keep some light precipitation going for the northern half of the CWA through Tuesday, as a series of waves ripple through. Additional snow can be expected across the Flat Tops and the Park Range, with lesser amounts glancing the Central Mountains. At the present, 3 to 5 inches of new snow for the Flat Tops and Park Range looks good through Tuesday night. Ridging bumps the jet northward on Wednesday and another low works ashore in SOCAL Wednesday night, this will quiet things down a bit.

Late Week Outlook

Deterministic models are continuing to sell a bowling ball low working across the Southwest late this week. Ensembles are keeping a rich pool of moisture to our south. It looks like we get some benefits of that in our southern counties on Thursday and Friday, likely working up the Divide too. Temperatures at the moment make this look like a night time snow producer for the mountains and likely rain/snow mix through the day. Moisture does look impressive with this system. The track of the low is going to have some strong influence on impacts though. Looks like a good one to keep an eye on in the coming days.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/

Issued at 1147 AM MDT Sun Apr 26 2026

Widespread showers are ongoing around the region. A few storms have produced lightning. Thunderstorm activity is expected to increase this afternoon, although coverage of precipitation should decrease. Scattered rain and mountain snow showers are possible overnight. Gusty winds are expected this afternoon, especially around showers, but winds will become light tonight. Showers are expected to lead to brief periods of MVFR to LIFR conditions, and drops below ILS breakpoints.

GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CO...Winter Weather Advisory until midnight MDT tonight for COZ009- 012-013-019. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM MDT Monday for COZ010. UT...None.