Colorado, 1998

Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 18, 1998

February 18, 1998 · NWS PUB · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

An upper level disturbance brought a blast of snow from the Palmer Divide north of Colorado Springs to the southeast mountains and foothills. Total snow accumulations ranged from 2 to 5 inches in western El Paso county, 6 inches in Canon City in western Fremont county, 8 inches across the Wet mountains including Rye and Beulah, and 13 inches in Walsenburg in Huerfano county.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

An upper level disturbance brought a blast of snow from the Palmer Divide north of Colorado Springs to the southeast mountains and foothills. Total snow accumulations ranged from 2 to 5 inches in western El Paso county, 6 inches in Canon City in western Fremont county, 8 inches across the Wet mountains including Rye and Beulah, and 13 inches in Walsenburg in Huerfano county. The snow caused numerous accidents along Interstate 25, including a 3 car pile up that injured 4 and caused 1 fatality on Monument Hill.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Wet Mountains

When
February 18, 6:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Wet Mountains forecast zone
Coordinates
37.578, -106.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity

When
February 18, 6:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
37.240, -105.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity

When
February 18, 6:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates
37.867, -105.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity

When
February 18, 6:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates
37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Heavy Snow, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity1998-02-1856MaleVehicle/Towed TrailerDirect

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 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 1998

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: 5634825, 5634826, 5634827, 5634828.