National Weather Service: NWS History and Service Evolution

Observations for the Grand Junction area have been ongoing since the early 1880s, though official records did not begin until 1893. The office was first opened on January 1, 1899 and, after several moves, finally ended up at 2844 Aviators Way in June 1995. Follow the journey with the interactive map below!

The Grand Junction WFO is responsible for providing quality weather, water, and climate forecasts for all of eastern Utah and western Colorado. Our forecasters utilize and analyze satellite imagery, Doppler radar, observations and other weather and hydrological data to provide these forecasts. In addition to public forecasts, the Grand Junction office also provides aviation forecasts for 11 airports across the area, as well as fire weather forecasts.

The NWS is a Federal agency under NOAA which is an agency of the  Department of Commerce (DOC) .

The NWS is composed of six regions supporting 122 forecast offices nationwide. WFOs serving Colorado include the Grand Junction, Boulder/Denver, and Pueblo offices. The two WFOs serving Utah are Grand Junction and Salt Lake City. Within each region there are also RFCs who provide hydrologic forecasts and Center Weather Service Units (CWSUs) who monitor and provide aviation forecasts to Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Learn more about the NWS structure  here .

The staff of each WFO consists of about 25 employees who support the daily operations of the office. A breakdown of the various positions can be found below.

[NWS support] has revolutionized the emergency management community - from a reactive posture to proactive mitigation of impending extreme events.

• Eric Waage, Hennepin County (MN) Emergency Manager

 NOAA's Climate Service  encompasses a core set of longstanding NOAA capabilities with proven success. The climate research, observations, modeling, predictions, and assessments generated by NOAA’s top scientists provides the scientific foundation for climate services that respond to daily requests for data and other information.

The  National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)  collects many forms of weather data including radar and satellite images, forecasts and observations from airports and upper air balloons, as well as summarized reports of all storm events impacting the United States. NCEI is the world's largest active archive of weather data. NCEI supports a three tier national climate services support program - the partners include: NCEI,  Regional Climate Centers , and State Climatologists. Volunteer Cooperative Observer (COOP) data, which consists of daily temperatures and/or precipitation amounts, is also archived by NCEI.

The NWS provides climate data for thousands of locations nationwide, as well as seasonal climate forecasts, El Niño and La Niña data, and drought information. Climate information is available on the following websites:

•  WFO Grand Junction Climate Website 
•  SC-ACIS , or the Applied Climate Information System
•  Climate Prediction Center 
•  National Drought Monitor Center