Urban Heat Island Mapping Project

About the Project

The City of Grand Junction was selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to participate in their initiative to map urban heat islands (UHI). The City is working with NOAA and Climate, Adaptation, Planning, and Analytics (CAPA) Strategies to conduct the Heat Watch mapping event over a period of one day in the summer of 2024.

Community Scientist Volunteers Needed!

The City needs volunteers interested in becoming community scientists to help during the mapping process on the day of the Heat Watch mapping. The mapping day is scheduled for Saturday, July 20, with July 27 and August 3 as backup dates. Since we are estimating when the hottest time of the summer will be, the mapping day may change if there is too much wind, cloud cover, or precipitation forecasted on the anticipated date. As the summer draws closer, we will release a tentative date for the event.

There will be three shifts during the day when volunteers will drive pre-determined routes around Grand Junction with the sensors attached to their car windows. A Driver and Navigator are required for each route. All volunteers will be required to attend a training session on Tuesday, July 9 or Wednesday, July 10 at 5:30 p.m. Logistics and information about equipment will be explained at the training session. If you are interested in helping, please fill out the UHI Volunteer Interest Form to receive more information. English Application, Spanish Application. The deadline to sign up as a volunteer is Monday, July 8, 2024.

What Volunteers Will Be Doing

Community scientist volunteers will hit the streets of Grand Junction to collect data about the distribution of heat using specially designed sensors mounted on moving vehicles. The community scientist volunteers will be driving prescribed routes to record ambient temperatures and humidity during three specific times during the day. As heat waves increase in frequency, duration, and magnitude, engaging with our community in collaborative science efforts like this will help connect them with proactive actions. About 8 weeks after the mapping day, CAPA and NOAA will send the City a report that contains the results of their analysis of our data. We will share the results with the public and other organizations in the community who are working to mitigate the effects of extreme heat in Grand Junction. Review the Volunteer Packet in the right-side column of this page for more information.

*If more volunteers sign up than are needed to fill the spots, we will give preference to those who can work multiple shifts on the event day. We will keep a list of back-up volunteers in case the date changes or volunteers drop out.

What are Urban Heat Islands (UHI)?

Urban heat islands are developed areas that experience higher temperatures than their surroundings. Buildings, roadways, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun's When these man-made structures are highly concentrated and there is limited greenery, pockets of heat form to create the heat island effect. In these "islands," temperatures can be up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than surrounding areas. Cooling down our city can involve a variety of actions, such as adding more trees for shade; creating water-wise green spaces; opening more public air-conditioned spaces; removing or whitewashing large areas of black asphalt or dark roof surfaces (low albedo surfaces); and engaging in urban design to increase natural airflow through hot neighborhoods. For more information on how other community scientists have engaged in mapping urban heat islands and cooling down their cities, visit CAPA Heat Watch.

The map below shows the locations that were chosen for NOAA's 2024 Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaigns.