Winter Storm in Colorado, May 3 to 4, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Colorado, May 3 to 4, 2001
Start: 2001-05-03T01:00
End: 2001-05-04T23:00
Location: Colorado

May 3 to 4, 2001 · NWS PUB · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

4 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $150,000
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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 2, 1:20 PM MST, 11 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 1:20 PM MST, 11 hours 40 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO COLORADO
220 PM MDT WED MAY 2 2001

WEATHER ISSUE IS COMPLEX WEATHER PATTERN NEXT FEW PERIODS.  AS
ADVERTISED MAJORITY OF CWA MUCH COOLER AND CLOUDIER THIS AFTERNOON AS
COMPARED TO TUESDAY AFTERNOON THANKS TO PASSAGE OF FRONT EARLIER
THIS MORNING.

LATEST ETA AND MM5 STILL INDICATING SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EVENT
SHAPING UP LATER TONIGHT AND LASTING INTO FRIDAY MORNING WHILE AVN
MUCH LESS FAVORABLE IN THE PRECIPITATION DEPARTMENT.

ETA INDICATES THAT UPPER LOW SHOULD BE IN THE VICINITY OF
SOUTH-CENTRAL UTAH BY 06Z THURSDAY AND THEN MOVE INTO THE FOUR
CORNERS REGION BY 06Z FRIDAY.

THIS UPPER SYSTEM IS THEN PROJECTED TO PUSH ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL
COLORADO BY 00Z SATURDAY.  LARGE SCALE LIFT WITH THIS SYSTEM HOLDS
OFF UNTIL AROUND MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AND THEN MAJORITY OF CWFA SHOULD
EXPERIENCE FAVORABLE LIFT WITH MAXIMUM LIFT NOTED FROM THURSDAY NIGHT
INTO AT LEAST FRIDAY MORNING.

IN ADDITION TO THE LARGE SCALE LIFT...ETA/MM5 INDICATES UPSLOPE FLOW
TONIGHT INTO AT LEAST FRIDAY MORNING WITH A MORE NORTHERLY FLOW
TAKING SHAPE BY LATE FRIDAY.

RATHER IMPRESSIVE NORTHEAST 700 MB WINDS OF 30 KNOTS BY FRIDAY
MORNING SHOULD COMBINE WITH IMPRESSIVE LARGE SCALE LIFT TO GENERATE
SOME HEAVY SNOW OVER THE WET MOUNTAINS AND NORTHEAST FACING AREAS
THURSDAY NIGHT INTO AT LEAST FRIDAY MORNING.  WILL ISSUE WINTER STORM
WATCH BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES 58/59
AND 65-75.

INHERITED EXTENDED FORECAST FOR: (SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...
ACCEPTED AND WILL CONTINUE.

THANKS DEN AND GJT FOR COORDINATION.

.PUB...WIZNTER STORM WATCH LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT ZONES
58/59/65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74 AND 75.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, La Garita Mountains / W Sanguache

When: May 3, 1:00 AM MST to May 4, 7:00 PM MST
Where: La Garita Mountains / W Sanguache forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.677, -106.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A strong, slow moving storm system produced prodigious snow amounts for so late in the season, including some record snow totals. Some snow totals for this impressive storm include...in Mineral county...9 inches at Santa Maria Reservoir...in Custer county...12 to 20 inches with the heaviest west of Westcliffe...in Fremont county...8 to 20 inches occurred around Texas Creek...while 20 to 40 inches of snow covered western locales...and in Chaffee county...12 inches of snow was measured at Nathrop...19 inches of snow accumulated at Buena Vista and an amazing 50 inches of snow paralyzed Salida. In Salida the roof on the hot springs pool partially collapsed and had to be removed. U.S. Highway 50 from Texas Creek to Parkdale had to be closed for a week to remove rocks and mud from the road and to blast away loose rocks from the cliffs.

Winter Storm, Eastern San Juan Mountains / Mineral / W Rio Grande / W Conejos

When: May 3, 1:00 AM MST to May 4, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Eastern San Juan Mountains / Mineral / W Rio Grande / W Conejos forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.747, -106.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Fremont and Northern Custer Counties

When: May 3, 1:00 AM MST to May 4, 11:00 PM MST
Where: Western Fremont and Northern Custer Counties forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Upper Arkansas River Valley/Salida and Vicinity / E Chaffee

When: May 3, 1:00 AM MST to May 4, 11:00 PM MST
Where: Upper Arkansas River Valley/Salida and Vicinity / E Chaffee forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.832, -106.332 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Colorado in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, May 2001

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: 5250431, 5250432, 5250433, 5250434.