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Shaded-relief map of Blanding, Utah: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
UTAH · SAN JUAN COUNTY

Blanding

3,216 people, 6,100 ft above sea level in San Juan County.

6,100 ftElevation, city center
3,216People, 2024 estimate
13 sq miLand area
Sunny 47°
Sunny now Dew point 42° · SW 9 mph · high 48°
City of Blanding River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Blanding plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Blanding

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM MST
RIGHT NOW Blanding Municipal Airport (KBDG) · 4:35 PM
Sunny
47° Sunny Feels like 43° · high of 48° near 4 PM
WindSW 9 mphno gusts
Humidity83%rising to 96% by morning
Pressure29.92 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 42° · Dry33° by Sunday: drier air arrives
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly cloudy
Tuesday, around noonin about 67 hours · 54% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT0.4–1 inmost likely 0.6; 1 in 10 over 1.4
LAST RAIN—none in 31 days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for San Juan County
NWS Grand Junction and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:56 AM5:08 PM ↓
10 h 11 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
31
GOODAir quality index · ozone
Tomorrow: None, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
4p
7p
10p
1a
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partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
rain
TEMPERATURE °F
48°
34°
50°
37°
52°
41°
CHANCE OF RAIN
54% · 0.04 in Tuesday afternoon 50%
WIND, MPH
3
7
5
5
3
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16
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 33 to 42°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 52° / 31°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
48° 34°
0% rain — SW 3 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
51° 36°
0% rain — S 3 A
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
53° 40°
0% rain — SSE 4 A
TUE Nov. 17 Showers likely Showers likely
52° 38°
90% rain 0.4–1.0″ SSW 16, gusts 32 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
48° 35°
10% rain — SSE 3 C
THU Nov. 19 Chance of showers Chance of showers
50° 37°
60% rain up to 0.4″ SE 8 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
45° 29°
60% rain up to 0.5″ W 6 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Blanding about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the central Plains three days ago, and over the southern Rockies a day ago, about 790 miles back along its path. It came down from about 10,800 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Blanding stands on

Blanding’s center stands about 6,100 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 5,750 ft to 6,480 ft, a difference of 730 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Abajo Peak, about 11,320 ft, 15 miles north.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Eolian deposits (sand), from the Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old.

The section below crosses 3 rock units mapped at the surface.

Blanding, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
6,000 ft8,000 ft BLANDING6,100 ftLow point5,050 ftMurphy Point5,680 ftPinenut Knoll6,400 ftHigh point of the line9,350 ft ← S · White MesaN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 4×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Eolian deposits

Sand. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 11 mi of the line.

Morrison Formation (Brushy Basin and Salt Wash Members)

Sandstone-mudstone. Age: Late Jurassic, 145 to 164 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Dakota Ss and Cedar Mtn. or Burro Canyon Formations

Sandstone. Age: Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, 94 to 125 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.
MILE3
THE WATER

Where Blanding’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Blanding reaches the Gulf of California by way of Westwater Creek, Cottonwood Creek, the San Juan and the Colorado: about 1,030 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Blanding≈ 1,030 mi · the Gulf of California
FROM THE CENTER OF BLANDING ≈ 1,030 mi to the Gulf of California Westwater Creek → Cottonwood Creek → San Juan → Colorado

Lakes on the way: Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Lake Mohave and Lake Havasu.

290 miles of the trip are on the Colorado.

Seldom reaches the sea. Dams and canals now take nearly all of the Colorado before its old delta in Mexico.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Blanding; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Blanding on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Farmington NM · 95 MI 95 miles southeast Grand Junction CO · 113 MI 113 miles northeast Cedar City UT · 196 MI 196 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of Blanding, Utah. Explore the plate
UTAH · SAN JUAN

Blanding

3,216 people, 6,100 ft above sea level in San Juan County.

6,100 ftElevation
3,216People
13 sq miLand
Sunny 47°
SunnyDew point 42°
1

Today in Blanding

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy day 48° 0%
7p mostly clear night 42° 1%
10p mostly clear night 39° 1%
1a mostly clear night 38° 0%
4a partly cloudy night 36° 0%
7a partly cloudy day 34° 0%
Mostly cloudy
NEXT RAINTuesday around noon · 54%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
34
48
A
Sun0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
36
51
A
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
40
53
A
Tue90%
Showers likely Showers likely
38
52
B
Wed10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
35
48
C
Thu60%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
37
50
C
Fri60%
Showers likely Showers likely
29
45
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Blanding stands on

Blanding’s center stands about 6,100 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 5,750 ft to 6,480 ft, a difference of 730 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Abajo Peak, about 11,320 ft, 15 miles north.

Blanding, south to north Blanding6,100 ftMurphy Point5,680 ftPinenut Knoll6,400 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 9×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center6,100 ft
Within 3 miles5,750 to 6,480 ft
Lie of the landHilly (730 ft of relief)
High point nearbyAbajo Peak, 11,320 ft, 15 mi north
Rock at the surfaceEolian deposits
Its ageQuaternary, less than 2.6 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,030 mito the Gulf of CaliforniaWestwater Creek → Cottonwood Creek → San Juan → Colorado

A raindrop that lands in Blanding reaches the Gulf of California by way of Westwater Creek, Cottonwood Creek, the San Juan and the Colorado: about 1,030 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Lake Mohave and Lake Havasu.

290 miles of the trip are on the Colorado.

Seldom reaches the sea. Dams and canals now take nearly all of the Colorado before its old delta in Mexico.