Colorado, 1997

Heavy Snow in Colorado, May 1, 1997

May 1, 1997 · NWS PUB · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A weather disturbance quickly moved across southern Colorado, bringing heavy snow above 9000 feet to the eastern San Juan and La Garita Mountains. Four to eight inches of snow fell across the higher terrain.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
2

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 weather disturbance quickly moved across southern Colorado, bringing heavy snow above 9000 feet to the eastern San Juan and La Garita Mountains. Four to eight inches of snow fell across the higher terrain.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Eastern San Juan Mountains / Mineral / W Rio Grande / W Conejos

When
May 1, 1:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern San Juan Mountains / Mineral / W Rio Grande / W Conejos forecast zone
Coordinates
38.747, -106.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, La Garita Mountains / W Sanguache

When
May 1, 1:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where
La Garita Mountains / W Sanguache forecast zone
Coordinates
38.677, -106.274 (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, May 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: 5597935, 5597936.