GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – Our storms have cleared and the winds will die down quickly tonight. Now it’s getting cooler… temporarily.
Partial lunar eclipse Tuesday night
We’re cleaning up just in time for a celestial highlight! A partial lunar eclipse will coincide with today’s full moon. Don’t get too excited about it. Only about 8% of the moon will be covered by the Earth’s shadow. It’s happening, but it’s a “barely visible eclipse.” The partial eclipse begins at 8:12 p.m. The maximum eclipse will be at 8:44 p.m. The eclipse will end at 9:15 p.m. It’s short and doesn’t have much to offer, but it’s happening.
Wind subsides quickly
Winds were a little more hesitant to die down after this morning’s rain left our area. Gusts this afternoon were in the 35-45 mph range. Some gusts even exceeded 50 mph — particularly in Meeker and Rangely, where gusts of 59 mph and 53 mph were reported, respectively. Some sustained gusts of 20-25 mph may be expected until about 7 p.m., but winds will die down quickly after about 7 p.m.
Short cooling down
Tonight and Wednesday will be a little cooler. It was 27 degrees in Grand Junction on Tuesday afternoon. Cooler temperatures between 75 and 80 degrees are expected on Wednesday. This cool down will be short-lived, however, and temperatures will be back below 70 degrees on Thursday and Friday before another cold front arrives. This next cold front will move through western Colorado on Friday night, bringing cooler temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees for this weekend.
Autumn colours are approaching their peak
The leaves are changing and many of our central and northern mountains are reaching their peak of fall color this week. The peak looks to be on the early side of the historic peak range. We expect peak coloration around the Grand Mesa, Elk Mountains, central and southern Sawatch Mountains, and the San Juans to begin around the last week of September and continue into the first week of October.
Our next 24 hours
The evening will be mostly clear. The last of the wind will die down. Temperatures will drop from 70-75 degrees at 6 p.m. to 65-60 degrees at 8 p.m. and then to 59-60 degrees by 10 p.m. The rest of the night will be clear and noticeably cooler. Morning lows will be 9 degrees at Grand Junction, 6 degrees at Montrose, 7 degrees at Delta, 4 degrees at Cortez and 9 degrees at Moab. Wednesday will be sunny and a little cooler than normal. Many of us may want to put on a light jacket on our way out of the house tomorrow morning. Temperatures will be in the 9-15 range at 8 a.m., warming to 65-60 degrees at midday and 77-75 degrees at 3 p.m. Highs will be 78 degrees around Grand Junction, 74 degrees around Montrose, 77 degrees around Delta, 73 degrees around Cortez and 80 degrees around Moab.
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