Colorado, 1997

Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 20 to 21, 1997

February 20 to 21, 1997 · NWS PUB · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A storm system moved across southern Colorado, producing widespread snowfall starting at noon on the 20th and carrying over into the morning of the 21st. Custer and eastern Fremont counties, including the Wet Mountains, reported amounts of 1 to 2 feet and more.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
9

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 storm system moved across southern Colorado, producing widespread snowfall starting at noon on the 20th and carrying over into the morning of the 21st. Custer and eastern Fremont counties, including the Wet Mountains, reported amounts of 1 to 2 feet and more. Chaffee and Teller counties, along with portions of the San Luis Valley, received 6 to 8 inches. The southern foothills reported around 4 inches of new snow, while much of the rest of south central and southeast Colorado reported 2 inches or less. Aspen Acres received 34 inches of new snow, and Canon City reported between 16 and 22 inches of new snow.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
38.747, -106.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Chaffee County / Western Mosquito Range Above 9000 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Eastern Chaffee County / Western Mosquito Range Above 9000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
38.747, -106.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 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 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 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, Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Del Norte Vicinity / Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Del Norte Vicinity / Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.832, -106.332 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.867, -105.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 & 11000 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 & 11000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Ft

When
February 20, 12:00 PM MST to February 21, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Ft forecast zone
Coordinates
37.426, -104.809 (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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 1997

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5590173, 5590174, 5590175, 5590176, 5590177, 5590178, 5590179, 5590180, 5590181.