Colorado, 2001

Heavy Snow in Colorado, November 26, 2001

November 26, 2001 · NWS GJT · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A Pacific storm moved into western Colorado and brought another round of heavy snow to the mountains of northwest Colorado. Snowfall accumulations ranged from 1 to 2 feet over the mountains, with the heaviest amounts reported near the Continental Divide.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
3

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 GJT wrote it up.

A Pacific storm moved into western Colorado and brought another round of heavy snow to the mountains of northwest Colorado. Snowfall accumulations ranged from 1 to 2 feet over the mountains, with the heaviest amounts reported near the Continental Divide. Some of the higher reported amounts include 24 inches over Rabbit Ears Pass and 21 inches at Vail Ski Area.

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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 25, 1:00 PM MST, 11 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 25, 1:00 PM MST, 11 hours before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Elkhead and Park Mountains

When
November 26, 12:00 AM MST to 3:30 PM MST
Where
Elkhead and Park Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
40.552, -107.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys

When
November 26, 2:00 AM MST to 3:30 PM MST
Where
Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.481, -107.172 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Flattop Mountains

When
November 26, 2:00 AM MST to 3:30 PM MST
Where
Flattop Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.062, -107.603 (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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5274805, 5274806, 5274807.