A strong Pacific storm system brought heavy snow and high winds to the La Sal and Abajo mountains in extreme southeast Utah. Snowfall accumulations varied from 8 to 12 inches.
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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.
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
A strong Pacific storm system brought heavy snow and high winds to the La Sal and Abajo mountains in extreme southeast Utah. Snowfall accumulations varied from 8 to 12 inches.
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 22, 2:35 PM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
235 PM MST THU NOV 22 2001
MOIST UNSETTLED FLOW CONTINUES WITH MOST HILIGHTS ON TRACK FOR TODAY.
WILL LET THE ADVISORY FOR THE LOWER AREAS OF SOUTHWEST COLORADO
EXPIRE. DRYING AND STABILITY INCREASE AFTER GOOD VORT MAX M0VES
ACROSS THE 4-CORNERS INTO NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AROUND THE BASE OF
THE 500 MB TROUGH BEFORE 18Z. ACCUMULATIONS ARE STILL EXPECTED OVER
OTHER HILIGHT AREAS BEFORE ACTIVITY TAPERS OFF LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. OROGRAPHICS WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PLAYER TODAY AS
NORTHWEST FLOW INCREASES AGAIN AS THE JET ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE
EXITING TROUGH APPROACHES. HOWEVER...UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE AND
INSTABILITY ON THE WANE SO HEAVIEST SNOWFALLS HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY
OCCURRED. ACTIVITY WILL DECREASE TO SCATTERED OVER THE REMAINING
PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA EARLY...THEN PRETTY MUCH END THIS
EVENING. THE DRYING WILL BE MOST PRONOUNCED OVER THE SOUTH. A DIRTY
SHORTWAVE RIDGE WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA ON SATURDAY FOR A BIT OF A
BREAK BEFORE THE NEXT SYSTEM ON SUNDAY. HEFFERNAN
EXTENDED (SUN-THU)...OPERATIONAL MRF STILL ON TRACK IN THE EXTENDED
PERIOD WITH ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT STORM TO AFFECT THE FORECAST AREA
SUNDAY. DEEPENING TROF PUSHING ON TO THE WEST COAST SATURDAY TO
SWEEP RAPIDLY ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN SUNDAY BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND
OF SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS WITH A GOOD CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS
FOR THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. DEEP TROF POINTS TO CONTINUED COOL
TEMPERATURES CWFA WIDE. NORTHWEST FLOW ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE
SYSTEM ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY WILL PROBABLY KEEP SOME SNOW GOING OVER
THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...BUT TOO FAR OUT TO REASONABLY FORECAST AREAL
EXTENT SO WILL MENTION CHANCE NORTH. FLOW BECOMES ZONAL AT MIDWEEK
WITH MOIST PACIFIC TAP. NO STRONG DISTURBANCES INDICATED SO WILL
CONTINUE WITH SLIGHT CHANCE ACROSS THE CWFA AS IN GOING FORECAST. NL
WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD MAINTAIN
A HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF WEATHER AWARENESS TODAY DUE TO CONTINUED SNOW
OVER MOUNTAIN AREAS WITH SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING IN THE PASSES.
.GJT...WINTER STORM WARNING CO ZONES 4/9/10/12/13/17/18/19 AND UT
ZONE 28 FOR TODAY.
SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY CO ZONES 3 AND 8 AND UT ZONES
23 AND 25 FOR TODAY.
SNOW ADVISORY FOR CO ZONES 2 AND 5 FOR TODAY.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, November 2001
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: 5274797.