Winter Storm in Colorado, November 25 to 26, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Colorado, November 25 to 26, 2001
Start: 2001-11-25T18:00
End: 2001-11-26T09:00
Location: Colorado

November 25 to 26, 2001 · NWS GLD · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong winter storm brought 6 to 10 inches of snow to parts of Yuma County. The snow was accompanied by brisk north winds which resulted in snow drifts of 4 to 6 feet and restricted visibilities.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 GLD wrote it up.

A strong winter storm brought 6 to 10 inches of snow to parts of Yuma County. The snow was accompanied by brisk north winds which resulted in snow drifts of 4 to 6 feet and restricted visibilities. County roads were closed and Interstate 70 was impacted across Kit Carson County. Several accidents occurred due to the snow and black ice on the roads. Up to 4 inches of snow fell in the northern sections of the county with blowing and drifting.

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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 25, 1:40 PM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 25, 1:40 PM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
140 PM MST SUN NOV 25 2001

FORECAST CONCERNS ARE SNOW AMOUNTS/WINDS AND DEALING WITH THE COLDEST
AIR OF THE WINTER SEASON.

STRONG CYCLOGENESIS WILL OCCUR EAST OF THE ROCKIES EARLY THIS EVENING
AS AN INTENSE LOW PRESSURE AREA MOVES FROM SOUTHEAST COLORADO
NORTHEAST THROUGH THE NORTHWEST TRI-STATE AREA AND INTO SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA BY MORNING. THE AVN IS THE MOST CONSISTENT WHEN COMPARED TO
ITS PREVIOUS RUN AS WELL AS THE LATEST RUCII FROM FSL AT 6Z THIS
EVENING WITH REGARD TO THE POSITION OF THE SURFACE LOW.

GIVEN THE TRACK OF THE AVN...INSTABILITY PROGS SUGGEST SOME ELEVATED
TRW EARLY TONIGHT OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA...PRIMARILY
NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70. DRYSLOT WORKS INTO THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF
THE AREA KEEPING PRECIP CHANCES ON THE LOW SIDE. OTHERWISE...EXPECT
SOME SNOW OVER THE NORTHWEST CWA BY 6Z...SPREADING SOUTH AND WEST
ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE INTENSIFYING LOW. EXPECT VERY WINDY CONDITIONS
ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW WITH WARMER TEMPS OVER THE EAST AND SOUTH
AND COLDER TEMPS NORTH AND WEST. AS FAR AS ANY ACCUMULATIONS...MORE
CONFIDENCE IN COLDER AIR WITH THIS SYSTEM THAN THE LAST...WILL
MENTION 1-3 INCHES OVER NORTHERN YUMA COUNTY WITH AN INCH OR LESS
OVER ALL BUT THE FAR SOUTHERN AND EASTERN CWA WHERE NO ACCUMULATION
IS EXPECTED.

SURFACE LOW CONTINUES NORTHEAST ON MONDAY WITH SNOWFALL SPREADING
FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. IT WILL BE VERY WINDY AND MUCH COLDER.
WILL GO CHANCE POPS WITH NO ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION. SUBSIDENCE AND
SURFACE HIGH NOSE INTO THE AREA BRINGING AN END TO THE PRECIP BUT
ALLOWING VERY COLD AIR TO CONTINUE POURING IN. ELONGATED TROUGH OVER
THE CENTRAL US KEEPING INFLUENCE OF COLD HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE AREA
THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY BEFORE SURFACE TROUGH DEVELOPS ALONG THE
FRONT RANGE. LESS COLD WOULD BE THE BEST TERM FOR WEDNESDAYS HIGHS.

EXTENDED...LESS COLD CONTINUES THURSDAY AND EARLY FRIDAY.
DISTURBANCE TO MOVE THROUGH FRIDAY CONTINUES TO SHOW SIGNS OF
MATERIALIZING BASED ON COMPARISON OF PREVIOUS AND CURRENT RUNS OF
MRF AND ECMWF. THEN COLD AIR AGAIN FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY.
COULD SEE SOME PRECIP FRIDAY LATE. SUNDAY LOOKS LIKE AN AVERAGE DAY
RIGHT NOW. TEMPS NEAR NORMAL ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...THEN DROP A
BIT BELOW NORMAL FOR SATURDAY AND BACK TO NEAR NORMAL FOR SUNDAY.

.GLD...WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT WEST OF A LINE FROM RED WILLOW COUNTY
       NEBRASKA TO GOVE COUNTY KANSAS.
       WIND ADVISORY MONDAY FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY WARNING AREA.

THEDE/DORN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Yuma County

When: November 25, 6:00 PM MST to November 26, 9:00 AM MST
Where: Yuma County forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.003, -102.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kit Carson County

When: November 25, 6:00 PM MST to November 26, 9:00 AM MST
Where: Kit Carson County forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.305, -102.603 (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, November 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: 5269292, 5269293.