Colorado, 1996

Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 1 to 2, 1996

February 1 to 2, 1996 · NWS PUB · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A strong and moist airflow from the west brought heavy snow to the San Juan and La Garita Mountains. The snow began on the 31st and lingered into midmorning of the 1st.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.

A strong and moist airflow from the west brought heavy snow to the San Juan and La Garita Mountains. The snow began on the 31st and lingered into midmorning of the 1st. Wolf Creek Pass received about 17 inches of new snow from the storm and another 11 inches by the morning of the 2nd. As the storm system moved east...a general 4 to 10 inch snowfall occurred in the Sangre De Cristos...Wet Mountains and Rampart Range. Cuchara received nearly 11 inches by the afternoon of the 2nd. In the southeast plains 1 to 4 inches of snow fell.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Ft

When
February 1, 12:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
38.677, -106.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Chaffee County Between 9000 & 11000 Ft

When
February 1, 12:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Western Chaffee County Between 9000 & 11000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
38.747, -106.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Saguache County East of Continental Divide Below 10000 Ft

When
February 1, 4:00 PM MST to February 2, 3:30 AM MST
Where
Saguache County East of Continental Divide Below 10000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.832, -106.332 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Ft

When
February 1, 4:00 PM MST to February 2, 3:30 AM MST
Where
La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.778, -106.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Upper Rio Grande Valley / Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Ft

When
February 1, 4:00 PM MST to February 2, 3:30 AM MST
Where
Upper Rio Grande Valley / Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Alamosa Vicinity / Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft

When
February 1, 4:00 PM MST to February 2, 3:30 AM MST
Where
Alamosa Vicinity / Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.578, -106.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5542657, 5542658, 5542659, 5542660, 5542661, 5542662.