textproduct: Grand Junction

KEY MESSAGES

- Shower activity is less widespread Sunday, but another round of strong winds impact the area Sunday afternoon with gusts 30-40 mph expected, including higher around favored terrain.

- A cold front arrives Monday, bringing mountain snow and colder temperatures to start the work week, with impacts to mountain roads Monday night.

- Cooler and unsettled conditions look to stick around through much of the coming week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 944 PM MDT Sat Apr 11 2026

Strong Winds Return Sunday

A brief shot of drier air works through the region tonight and Sunday ahead of a stronger area of low pressure coming ashore in NORCAL. A substantial jet max rounds the base of this feature Sunday and blasts the West Slope with a round of strong surface winds. The strongest winds look to favor southwesterly aspects and areas north of the Colorado River. Went ahead and issued Wind Advisories for the Central and Lower Yampa Basins, as winds will gust to around 50 mph in places up there Sunday afternoon. Another shot of moisture works in too, but less concentrated than today. This should be enough for some additional mountain showers. We saw measurable rainfall in areas of northwest Colorado Saturday afternoon. I suspect a few showers will get a hand from remnant moisture. Cloud cover from showers could pose some impediment to stronger winds too. Nonetheless, I think we will see some gusty outflows from storms, in addition to the gradient winds working through Sunday.

Wetter, Cooler Start to Week

A series of shortwaves will work through Sunday into Monday ahead of the main system that hangs up a bit in the Great Basin. This buys time for a fetch of Pacific moisture to work northward ahead of the cold front. Monday looks to be another rather active day. The persistent jet streak overhead will undoubtedly produce anther round of strong winds at the surface. Frontal forcing will likely come into play too. PWATs remain somewhat restrained, as much of the moisture plume tracks to our south. Monday night will see the frontal boundary working through, with cold air and moisture working in concert to produce some measurable snowfall for the mountains. Amounts are still showing some spread, especially where warmer surface conditions will impact accumulations. Tuesday morning travel will likely see some impacts on the mountain passes. Cold and wet conditions continue on Tuesday behind the front, with temperatures trending 10 degrees below average. Light snow will likely continue across the mountains with accumulations slowing under warming daytime conditions. Low valleys will likely see some scattered rain making it to the surface too.

Mid to late week:

Another transient ridge is expected to move through Wednesday into Thursday, bringing a brief return to warmer and drier conditions. Models are indicating the potential for another trough to drop down out of the Pacific Northwest to round out the workweek, potentially resulting in another cool down to below normal temperatures with another round of precipitation.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z MONDAY/

Issued at 455 AM MDT Sun Apr 12 2026

Strong southerly winds aloft are leading to areas of LLWS this morning before these winds mix down as gusts in the 30 to 50 mph range. Otherwise VFR conditions are expected with passing mid to high clouds at times. There will be showers developing late in the forecast but confidence low in impacts to TAF sites due to the limited coverage.

GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CO...Wind Advisory from noon today to 8 PM MDT this evening for COZ001-002. UT...None.