2021 NWS Grand Junction Shareholders Report
Highlighting specific activities your local National Weather Service office in Grand Junction was engaged in during 2021
From the Desk of the MIC
Benjamin Moyer, Meteorologist In Charge
Welcome to the 6th edition of National Weather Service Grand Junction's Shareholder's Report. The purpose of this report is to showcase work your local National Weather Service office employees completed this past year that served you and your communities. The fiscal year 2021 national budget for the National Weather Service was 1.2 billion dollars, which amounts to an investment of $3.60 in tax dollars per person. Weather impacts everyone's daily life and has many implications on the decisions you and your organizations make. The National Weather Service always values its relationship with its core partners and the communities it serves, and we want to continue to enhance our products and services to meet your needs.
The current pandemic has caused us to alter some of our outreach efforts, but we still remain committed to serving you. Much of our forecast information is seen via our website (www.weather.gov/gjt), social media, and specific partner decision support briefings. However, a lot more goes on behind the scenes and through our personal interactions with partners, the media and local communities. This report will highlight specific activities your local National Weather Service office was engaged in during 2021 as a part of our core mission and desire to provide high quality weather information and education. These activities also helped save lives and property, improve decision-making, and benefit organizational budget and resource planning.
In 2021, we hired a new meteorologist, Lucas Boyer. Lucas came from the Kansas City area, but spent time working for the NWS in Alaska during the last 10 years. He is an outdoor enthusiast and avid runner. He brings a passion for providing weather information, forecasts and warnings to core partners and the public alike. We are very pleased to have Lucas as a part of our team.
We also saw the retirement of Chris Kornkven, our Electronics Systems Analyst (electronics division supervisor). Chris completed 34 years and 2 months of federal service, including time serving in the Army during the 1st Gulf War. He worked at our office in Grand Junction from 2011 to 2021. Chris was a very dependable and resourceful person who took great pride in his electronics, IT, facilities, and customer service. He supervised a large electronics program with unique challenges that included remote, mountain-top and back-country equipment. Chris led his team through excellent maintenance of our 10,000 ft MSL WSR-88D which can only be reached via snowcat or snowmobiles during half the year. His experience and professionalism will be missed!
In 2022, our office’s top priorities are:
- To provide meteorologists safely on-site at your large outdoor event public safety command centers in the post-COVID-19 era and/or improve our remote support capabilities
- Improve relationships and communications with you all through the Weather Ready Nation Ambassador program
- Hold an Integrated Warning Team workshop focusing on an overview and service review of the burn scars with a focus on the Southwest Summer Monsoon and Grizzly Creek wildfire burn scar
- Improve our understanding of microclimates and develop better ways to show the variability in our forecast products
Please contact our office if you would like to schedule a tour (virtual tours can be given, if necessary), need specific decision support services, have ideas on how we can better serve you, or would like us to be involved in any of your activities.
A big thank you to our staff’s contributions to this report, and to Matthew Aleksa for compiling this report and delivering it to you. I appreciate his effort to solicit input from our staff and arrange it in a meaningful way.
Sincerely,
Ben
NWS Grand Junction 2021 Impact-Based Decision Support Services and DSS Packets
Megan Stackhouse, Meteorologist
As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the world in 2021, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Grand Junction was a consistent provider of Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) to our core partners across eastern Utah and western Colorado. 2021 saw an abundance of impactful weather arrive to the Western Slope with numerous wildfires and winter storms, as well as an incredibly active monsoon season. This led to frequent and unfailing support for our partners, but especially to the Colorado Department of Transportation, as the Grizzly Creek Burn Scar in Glenwood Canyon along I-70 experienced an unprecedented number of debris flows as a result of the monsoon moisture.
From the Junior College World Series to the Garfield County Fair, or the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival to Country Jam, NWS Grand Junction supported 16 large outdoor events during the calendar year, in addition to the frequent fire weather, HAZMAT, search and rescue, hydrologic, and general weather support NWS Grand Junction provided on a daily basis. Support was provided in the form of daily weather briefings, slide decks, conference calls, and on-site operations at Incident Command Posts. The summer months were the busiest with 11 events supported from June to August. Many of these events were large public outdoor events with some exceeding a daily attendance of 10,000 or more people. As is the case with any event support, our meteorologists always remained vigilant back at the forecast office and frequently provided impromptu weather briefings to the Incident Management Team whenever hazardous weather approached the venue.
If you are an Emergency Manager or Public Safety Official and have an interest in our free support, you may fill out our DSS request form . We look forward to partnering with you and providing the best weather support we can!
The NWS in Grand Junction provided 136 total days of iDSS to our partners. This consisted of 190 total briefings, slide decks, conference calls, and more. Additionally, 32 DSS Packets (formerly known as Situation Reports) were issued throughout the year, most of which focused on an impending winter storm, critical fire weather conditions or flash flooding concerns during a push of monsoonal moisture. Since 2018, this product has been used across NWS Central Region offices to better communicate iDSS information to core partners, as well as the public. The DSS Packet can serve as a “tap on the shoulder” to prompt core partners of critical weather several days in advance. This product is intended to be clear, concise and consistent to best relay important weather information. You can view the latest DSS Packet by visiting our website at www.weather.gov/media/gjt/DssPacket.pdf .
Example DSS Packet from a Monsoon Flooding Event
2021 Fire Weather Season in Review
Scott Stearns, Meteorologist
A below normal snowpack across much of eastern Utah and western Colorado brought an early start to the fire weather season with a couple of fast moving, low-elevation fires in March and April. Significant drying and subsequent dry lightning events resulted in nearly 45 days of critical fire weather conditions by the end of June. Dozens of wildfires were reported across the region, several of which grew to type 1 and 2 incidents within hours of being reported. A fairly wet monsoon season quickly quelled fire activity along and south of I-70 by early July. Left out of the best monsoonal flow, northern portions of the forecast area continued to see periodic fire activity into the fall. Similar to 2020, overall spot forecast numbers were down in part due to IMET deployments into the forecast area (relieving us of incident forecasting duties) and also fewer outdoor events due to COVID-19.
The total acreage burned within our forecast area was lower compared to 2020, although the number of fire starts was slightly higher. Most large fires in our area were active within a two to three week window from mid to late June, before the beneficial monsoonal moisture began in earnest by early July. On June 2nd, portions of our forecast area were placed under an extremely critical fire weather outlook, which was the first time in nearly a decade for our office, and the first time in nearly two decades for the affected area.
Our two IMETs (Incident Meteorologists) were dispatched four times during the 2021 wildfire season. Two of those assignments were for prescribed burn (San Juan Mountains) and wildfire (Pack Creek Fire) support within our jurisdiction, while the other two were 14+ day deployments to Idaho and Montana. Several IMETs were also dispatched to our forecast area covering the Oil Springs, Pack Creek, Morgan Creek, Muddy Slide, Sylvan, and West Fires.
The photo to the left shows the Pack Creek Fire, which began June 9, 2021 and burned 8,952 acres. The Pack Creek Fire was located in the La Sal mountains, about 14 miles southeast of Moab, Utah.
If you have any questions or comments about our fire weather program, please feel free to contact: cr.gjt-fire@noaa.gov
2021 Grizzly Creek Burn Area Hydrological Decision Support Services
Aldis Strautins, Service Hydrologist
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Grand Junction (GJT) provided Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) for the Grizzly Creek Burn area. In 2020, the Grizzly Creek Fire burned 32,631 acres within steep Glenwood Canyon, where a major transportation corridor goes through.
Grizzly Creek Fire Map from Incident Management Team, current at 9:02 p.m. MDT August 15, 2020
Well prior to the summer thunder season, Service Hydrologist Aldis Strautins facilitated and provided expert advice on a rain gauge network to better support warning operations in addition to radar data from the NWS WSR-88D weather radar. Mr. Strautins analyzed the burn severity of the different basins, the weather patterns that can bring brief heavy rainfall to the area, accessibility and gauge siting to come up with the best places for the placement of the rain gauges. In cooperation with the USGS and CDOT, who did the hard work of installing the gauges, a rain gauge network was established before the monsoonal rains came to the area. The USGS and CDOT were able to place rain gauges in certain higher intensity burned basins and along Interstate 70.
USGS and CDOT rain gauge sites. (Rain gauges along I-70 not shown)
Throughout the monsoon season, WFO GJT led several conference calls with representatives from CDOT and the EM community. GJT also designed a Grizzly Creek specific weather outlook, disseminating it anytime heavy rain was a potential threat to the burn scar. The slide decks were incredibly well received by our partner agencies, especially with the utilization of probabilistic messaging tools. Flash flood watches and warnings for flash flooding and debris flows were also issued to protect life and property.
From June 26, 2021 through September 30, 2021, there were 19 days when warnings were issued for the Grizzly Creek Burn Area
Agency partners rely on the watches and warnings and take actions as needed. For example, CDOT would deploy crews to monitor the canyon and be on standby anytime a Flash Flood Watch was issued. When a Flash Flood Warning was issued, I-70 would be closed for the duration of the threat.
July 29th was one of the worst days with brief heavy rainfall producing multiple debris flows along and over Interstate 70 and the railroad.
July 29, 2021 debris flows. (Photos from CDOT arranged by Jason Kean, USGS)
The NWS Grand Junction continues to evaluate and work with our partners to find the best ways to provide decision support services.
The photos and video below show damage from various points along Glenwood Canyon taken by CDOT after the July 29th significant debris flow/flash flooding event.
Damage photos from CDOT taken along several points along I-70 in Glenwood Canyon as a result of the July 29th debris flows off the Grizzly Creek burn scar
NWS Grand Junction Hosts Part One of a Two Part Monsoon IWT Series
Megan Stackhouse, Meteorologist
After an active summer full of numerous wildfires, flash flooding, debris flows, large hail, damaging winds, and even a funnel cloud, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Grand Junction successfully held its fourth annual Integrated Warning Team (IWT) meeting virtually on October 19, 2021. The 2021 workshop was a debrief of the 2021 North American Monsoon season and its impacts across eastern Utah and western Colorado, and was held remotely via GoToWebinar. Thirty representatives from emergency management (EM), state and federal agencies attended the event as well as partners from the local and state broadcast media.
Benjamin Moyer, Grand Junction Meteorologist-in-Charge, kicked the IWT workshop off with introductions and discussed the importance of collaboration and partnership across the agencies before Andrew Knapp and Todd Blake from the Colorado Department of Transportation gave a presentation on the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar debris flows. Numerous mudslide and debris flow events occurred over the burn scar this summer as a result of heavy monsoon rains with catastrophic damage to Interstate 70.
Andrew Knapp with the Colorado Department of Transportation discusses impacts to the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar this monsoon season
Next was a presentation from Colorado State Climatologist Russ Schumacher who provided a recap of the 2021 monsoon season including how it was compared to average across the region, notable events and a quick plug for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) program and the importance of observations.
Colorado State Climatologist, Russ Schumacher, highlights how the 2021 monsoon season compared to previous years
The rest of the morning consisted of presentations by NWS team members Brianna Bealo, who discussed NWS operations during the monsoon season and the variety of wild weather recorded across eastern Utah and western Colorado, and Service Hydrologist Aldis Strautins who compared high intensity and low intensity rainfall events and their differing impacts to the Grizzly Creek and Lake Christine burn scars.
Before Grand Junction Warning Coordination Meteorologist Jeff Colton wrapped up the IWT, meteorologists Erin Walter and Megan Stackhouse led the group in an open forum discussion that sought input from the partners on what areas were prone to flooding in their counties of responsibility, if there was a better way for the NWS to receive storm reports, and how the advanced Flash Flood Watches and Warnings benefited partner operations that summer.
The 2021 IWT was incredibly beneficial for discussing the impactful monsoon season and highlighted the excellent coordination between WFO GJT and its partners throughout the summer months. The next IWT, held in spring 2022, will be part two in the monsoon series and will focus on monsoon planning and preparedness.
Outreach During 2021: Still Virtual...
Matthew Aleksa, Meteorologist
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created some challenges with performing outreach and this didn’t seem to let up in 2021. Perhaps one of our biggest outreach events of the year, the Mesa County Safety Fair, in which we usually see about 1200 students participate, had to go all virtual for the first time! This was actually a very successful endeavor as swag bags containing various handouts from participating organizations were delivered to the schools for the students and the Mesa County Safety Council’s website was revamped to accommodate the plethora of safety videos from those organizations, including the National Weather Service. A team of us created segments on weather safety topics which included lightning, flood, tornado and winter weather safety. These segments were compiled into one safety video using editing software and various graphics to create a very appealing and well received video amongst the participants, teachers and students. A 20 question and answer handout was also delivered to the teachers for the students to complete, giving the students an opportunity to test their knowledge on weather safety. This virtual option was such a big hit that it will be adapted and used in future years, even after the pandemic is in the past and we are back to an in person safety fair to give everyone an option to either be in person or virtual if they are unable to attend.
We also adapted this video concept to invent a new and more effective way to promote our awareness weeks, such as those for Severe Weather, Winter Weather, Flood and Fire Weather and Lightning Safety. We each created a video based on the daily topics for the week and posted them on our social media platforms, which were also well received. Heading deeper into the virtual realm, we continued to provide virtual spotter training sessions but decided to make a switch towards Google Meet from GoToWebinar as the main platform since we were having issues streaming videos with no sound coming through. Making the switch to Google Meet, we were able to easily stream the videos with crystal clear sound. Google Meet also made for a more interactive session as participants were able to ask questions during the training, while a second forecaster was available to help respond to questions during the training session. These were well received and we will continue to provide virtual spotter training sessions in tandem with in person spotter training once we are able as the virtual option has the ability to reach folks in the far reaches of our CWA where we are unable to travel within a day.
Our office also participated in the National Weather Service Food Drive in which our office donated 129 pounds to our local Community Food Bank, which was more than the previous two years. We hope that 2022 provides more opportunities to expand our outreach in both the virtual and in person sense for the community we serve.
2021 Electronics Report
Joshua Russell, Electronics Technician
The Grand Junction WFO Electronics Staff has continued to adapt and overcome challenges as the pandemic has continued. We are still at a maximum teleworking posture, but that doesn’t mean we are underperforming! For the entire calendar year of 2021, the electronics staff has bested the 12-day national average for service requests by more than half, driving the local average below 5.5 days. We have spearheaded over 1k+ maintenance actions, system checks, repairs, and complex modification actions on our electronics equipment. These include the dual-transmitter, doppler WSR-88D radar, 27 Upper Colorado River Project small sensor group sites, office electronic equipment, and 10 Automated Surface Observing Sites. Each of these systems are vital in providing accurate weather data for real-time predictions and logging of climatic data.
The photo to the right shows one of our electronics technicians, Bill Beagley, working on a UCRP site called Lilly alongside the Yampa river, which is by Maybell Colorado. The site had been infiltrated by rodents and our electronics technicians had to fix and clean up the site.
One of the major modifications we accomplished was installing new networking equipment for our WSR-88D radar. These critical pieces of equipment handle all communications to and from the radar, while also acting as the primary network border security.
The photo to the right shows Ben Moyer, Meteorologist in Charge, along with two of our ETs, Mike Martinez and Joshua Russell, digging their way out of the garage to do some training and troubleshooting at the radar.
Lastly, a bittersweet change has been made to our team. As of December 31st, 2021 the Grand Junction WFO Electronics Systems Analyst Chris Kornkven has retired after 34 years of military and federal service. The upcoming year will be one of our busiest yet, so I hope you will join us for our next shareholders report to find out what we have and will accomplish in 2022!
The photo to the right shows Chris Kornkven and ET Mike Martinez getting ready for a ride in the Snow Cat to our radar on the Grand Mesa.
Cooperative Observer Program
John Kyle, Data Acquisition Program Manager
The National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is the Nation's weather and climate observing network. More than 8,700 volunteers take observations from various locations nationwide. In western Colorado and eastern Utah, there are approximately 75 of these observers. The data are truly representative of where people live and work.
The Coop mission is two-fold:
- To provide observational meteorological data, usually consisting of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, snowfall, and 24-hour precipitation totals, used to define the climate of the United States
- To provide observational meteorological data in near real-time to support forecast, warning and other public service programs of the NWS
Coop observational data supports the NWS climate program and field operations. The program responsibilities are accomplished at Grand Junction by the Data Acquisition Program Manager and include:
- Selecting data sites
- Recruiting, appointing and training of observers
- Installing and maintaining equipment
- Keeping and updating station and observer documentation
- Collecting data and delivering it to users
- Maintaining data quality control
- Managing fiscal and human resources required to accomplish program objectives
A cooperative station is a site where observations are taken by volunteers. Observers generally record temperature and precipitation daily and electronically send those reports daily to the NWS and the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Some cooperative observers provide additional hydrological or meteorological data, such as evaporation. Data is transmitted via telephone, computer or by mail. Equipment used at NWS cooperative stations is usually owned and maintained by the NWS.
COOP Awards
The following map shows the locations of Cooperative Weather Observers (COOP) that received awards over the past year. These awards are for length of service and are from both 2020 (COVID delayed) and 2021. All photos courtesy of the NWS. Awards presented by NWS Grand Junction DAPM John Kyle.
Cimarron, Colorado
James Newberry of Cimarron, Colorado, receives his 40 year Length of Service Award
Mancos, Colorado
Margie Connolly and Fred Harden of Mancos, Colorado, receive their 25 year Length of Service Award
Collbran, Colorado
Dan Currier of Collbran, Colorado, receives his 20 year Length of Service Award
Orchard Mesa, Colorado
Horst Caspari (left), Doctor of Agriculture and Professor of Viticulture at Colorado State University's Orchard Mesa Agricultural Experiment Station, receives his 20 year Length of Service Award
La Sal, Utah
Steve and Maxine Deeter of La Sal, Utah, receive their 20 year Length of Service Award
Ignacio, Colorado
Charlie Liese of Ignacio, Colorado, receives his 20 year Length of Service Award
Craig, Colorado
Graham Roberts of Trapper Mine in Craig, Colorado, receives his 15 year Length of Service Award
Silverton, Colorado
Freddie Canfield of Silverton, Colorado, receives his 15 year Length of Service Award
Ouray, Colorado
Bob and Karen Risch and dog Katie of Ouray, Colorado, receive their 15 year Length of Service Award
Gunnison, Colorado
Alantha Garrison, Energy Use Advisor for Gunnison County Electric Association in Gunnison, Colorado, receives her 10 year Length of Service Award
Hesperus, Colorado
Beth LaShell, Coordinator of the Old Fort Lewis at Hesperus, Colorado, receives her 10 year Length of Service Award
Monticello, Utah
Scott and Cassie Boyle of Monticello, Utah, receive their 10 year Length of Service Award
The slideshow for the Top Ten Weather Events of 2021 is shown below. Please click the left and right arrows to advance the slides in order to view the Top Ten Weather Events of 2021.
