Weather alerts for the NWS Grand Junction CO forecast area

000
FXUS65 KGJT 281259
AFDGJT

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO
659 AM MDT Wed Oct 28 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Monday through Thursday is expected to be mostly dry with
  seasonable temperatures.

- Precipitation chances increase this weekend and early next
  week. Details on the rain/snow amounts and river water levels
  are uncertain at this moment.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 937 PM MDT Tue Oct 27 2026

CHILLY AND DRY WEEK:

Near-zonal flow is established across the Intermountain West, 
maintaining relatively dry conditions for our CWA. This keeps 
precipitation chances near-zero for most locations with little 
more than scattered cloud cover expected. We're sitting near- 
normal in terms of high temperatures as well, leaving valleys in
the 50's to low-60's, and mountain locations in the 40's to 
low-50's. Though we continue to dry out steadily the next few 
days, some valley locations may still experience fog around 
sunrise which may impact morning commutes.

NEXT ROUND OF PRECIPITATION THIS WEEKEND:

As flow turns southwesterly ahead of a PacNW low, moisture 
begins its return to the region. The first signs of this pattern
shift are expected on Friday as isolated storms will begin to 
pop up, though at this point QPF should be on the minimal side. 
By Sunday though, moisture will be hitting its peak in our CWA. 
As guidance stands there is little confidence in the exact 
trajectory of the broad moisture plume. If we are to lean one 
way or another, more evidence is suggesting that the strongest 
portion of the plume will pass to our south, though even in this
scenario, southwestern Colorado is in line for yet another wet 
stretch with PWAT's up to 300% of normal. Adding to the 
complexity of this event is the progression of the upper-level 
pattern. As the PacNW low propagates eastwards towards the 
northern Rockies, a second low develops at the base of the 
trough, swinging through the southwestern US before eventually 
rejoining the parent trough early in the work week. The movement
of both lows would likely have significant impacts on the 
nature of this storm system as temperatures will plummet to 
around 10 degrees below normal with their passage. This could be
enough to drop snow level 1-2 kft. The complex pattern continues
to lead to low confidence in the timing and location of any 
eventual snowfall though, and as such we cannot yet speculate on
how impacts will manifest from said snowfall. What we can say 
now though is that any notable amount of precipitation over 
southwestern Colorado locations recovering from last week's 
rainfall will have the potential to exacerbate flooding 
concerns. We are keeping a very close eye on this next round of 
precipitation as a result, and over the coming days as more 
details come into view we will begin to better gauge the risks 
Sunday into Monday morning. As such, stay tuned for additional 
information throughout this week.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY/...
Issued at 652 AM MDT Wed Oct 28 2026

Expect VFR conditions through the period with some high clouds
moving across the region. Stronger winds aloft are producing 
LLWS at most terminals overnight. Look for southwest to west 
winds after 18Z gusting to 20 kts.

&&

.GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

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

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...BW
AVIATION...DB/TGJT