Montrose, Colorado 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

461
FXUS65 KGJT 232100
AFDGJT

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO
200 PM MST Tue Dec 23 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Light rain and snow is expected to begin as soon as Wednesday
  morning expanding northward through the day. Precipitation
  will continue into the weekend with lulls from time to time.

- Snow levels will be around 9,000 to 10,000 ft Thursday, but
  will drop Friday and Saturday which may bring snow to some
  valleys.

- Confidence remains low with regards to snow amounts on Friday
  and Saturday so keep checking the latest forecast for those
  details.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/...
Issued at 148 PM MST Tue Dec 23 2025

Precipitation returns to the forecast tomorrow as moisture from
the West Coast Atmospheric Rivers moves into eastern Utah and
Western Colorado. The initial push of moisture arrives tomorrow
morning with precipitation chances picking up late Wednesday
into Thursday. The southwesterly AR feed will favor the Uinta
and San Juan mountains, but all area mountain ranges are
anticipated to receive a dose of light rain and snow as this
system passes through. Warm temperatures will limit snow
production below 9,000-10,000 feet with a bulk of the winter
travel impacts expected above 10,000 feet. The Uintas will be
the exception as winds up to 50 mph combine with 6 to 10 inches
of snow above 9,000 feet. A Winter Weather Advisory is in
effect for the eastern Uintas as a result. Light rain and snow
continues through the forecast period, but snowfall and rain
rates will slow as Thursday wears on.

Overall, expect a warm, wet, and cloudy Christmas Day with
slippery to hazardous travel over mountain passes.

&&

.LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/...
Issued at 148 PM MST Tue Dec 23 2025

A bit of a lull in precipitation rates is expected Thursday
night into Friday as we will be in between systems but light
mountain snowfall and valley rain looks to still continue
periodically with little in the way of accumulation. The next
push of moisture comes Friday evening with better dynamic
forcing Friday night into Saturday as a deep trough moves
through the Great Basin and across our area. We will see strong
jet dynamics as a 150 kt jet streak moves across southeast Utah
into northwest Colorado. We are going to see more influence from
the northern trough moving across the northern Rockies, while
the southern piece of the trough tries to split on Saturday and
form a cut off low over SoCal by Sunday. Even though
temperatures stay relatively mild during the afternoon, some
cooler air will advect in across the north Saturday with H7
temps dropping to -4C and to around -8C by Sunday morning. Snow
levels are forecast to drop to around 5kft up north and between
6kft and 7kft along and south of I-70. With better dynamics and
forcing, we have been noticing an increase in snowfall
accumulations for the northern and central mountains with a
decrease across the southern mountains. Snowfall at this time
looks limited in the valleys with the lower valleys seeing rain
or a rain/snow mix, probably due to some uncertainty with
temperatures and snow levels. Post-holiday travel is likely to
be impacted with the expected snow potential this weekend so
stay up to date with the latest forecast as we iron out some of
these details in the next couple days. There is still a bit of
uncertainty with regards to how this trough evolves which would
impact what locations are more favored as well as snowfall
ratios and amounts in the mountains.

Models have been more consistent with timing so it appears like
snow should come to an end or at least rates drop off to light
by late Sunday morning into the afternoon with drier air moving
in behind the trough. We will see cooler temperatures into early
next week compared to our current highs...dropping to 5 to 10
degrees above normal versus 20 to 25 degrees above normal.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 1017 AM MST Tue Dec 23 2025

Mid to high level clouds will move across the area today
bringing scattered to broken skies. Generally light winds are
expected though the higher terrain will see occasional gusts
this afternoon. Despite the clouds, VFR conditions will remain
in place. Clouds will start to thicken and lower towards the end
of the TAF period.

&&

.GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

CO...None.
UT...Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM Wednesday to noon MST
     Thursday for UTZ023.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...KAA
LONG TERM...MDA
AVIATION...TGJT