Heavy Snow, Grand and Battlement Mesas
- When
- February 14, 9:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Grand and Battlement Mesas forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.159, -108.078 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 14, 2002
A fast moving storm system from the north dropped 6 to 12 inches of snow over most northern and central mountains of western Colorado.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- 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 GJT wrote it up.
A fast moving storm system from the north dropped 6 to 12 inches of snow over most northern and central mountains of western Colorado.
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 Feb 14, 1:57 AM MST, 7 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 1:57 AM MST, 7 hours 3 minutes before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 157 AM MST THU FEB 14 2002 SHORT RANGE MDLS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO TIMING AND INTENSITY OF FEATURES. STRONG OPEN WAVE DROPS SOUTHWARD TODAY INTO ERN UTAH BY THIS EVENING. MEANWHILE CLOSED LOW OFF CALIFORNIA COAST IS PUMPING MAINLY MID/HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE EWRD (VERY DRY LWR LVLS ON UPSTREAM SOUNDINGS) THRU THE GREAT BASIN INTO WRN COLORADO. BELIEVE MOST OF THIS MOISTURE WILL BE SHUNTED SWRD AND EWRD BEFORE COLD FRONT AND BEST DYNAMICS ARRIVE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. TIME XSECTS DEPICT THIS SCENARIO VERY CLEARLY AND SATELLITE IMAGERY IS ALREADY DEPICTING MOISTURE BEING DISPLACED SOUTHWARD. INTERACTING JET SEGMENTS AND STRONGEST VORT ADVECTION OCCUR AROUND 18Z OVR GJT WITH CFP ESTIMATED AROUND 00Z. H7 WINDS THRU THE PERIOD FAIRLY LIGHT SO OROGRAPHIC POTENTIAL NOT THAT GREAT ESPECIALLY WHEN CONSIDERING FAIRLY LOW SPEC HUMIDITIES. PCPN SHOULD LINGER FOR A WHILE SPCLY NRN MTNS AFTER CFP DUE TO ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE AND N WINDS OF 10-15KTS ACTING ON SATURATED ATMOS. OTHER THAN A FEW FAVORED LOCATIONS...EXPECT OVERALL MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL TO BE SUB-ADVISORY. MEAN RIDGE REBOUNDS FRIDAY WITH HELP FROM CLOSED LOW OFF CNTRL CALIFORNIA...BUT CLOUDINESS SHOULD INCREASE FROM THE WEST BY AFTERNOON AS SWRLY FLOW ALOFT INTENSIFIES. SATURDAY MAY EVEN SEE A FEW LIGHT SHWRS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. MC EXTENDED /SUN-WED/...MODELS HAVE COME TO FAIR AGREEMENT ON SUNDAY- MONDAY STORM SYSTEM...THOUGH SOME UNCERTAINLY REMAINS IN TIMING THIS SPLIT-FLOW SYSTEM THROUGH THE CWA SUN AND CLEARING IT OUT ON MONDAY. MRF AND UKMET SOLNS ARE CLOSEST AS EACH CARRIES AN OPEN WAVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST SUN...WHILE EC IS SLOWER WITH A CLOSED 500 MB LOW HANGING BACK OVER SRN NV LATE SUN AFTN...WHILE STILL PRODUCING A PREFRONTAL AREA OF UPLIFT OVER THE CWA DURING THE DAY SUNDAY...THUS THESE DIFFERENCES MAY PROVE INSIGNIFICANT. COMBINED SUN/MON PERIODS IN SEVERAL MOUNTAIN ZONES AS THERE IS VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN THE FORECASTED CONDITIONS. IN MRF FLOW TRANSITIONS TUE AND WED TO MORE MOIST NORTHWESTERLIES AND RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE GREAT BASIN. THIS FORCES LOWS TO TRAVEL DOWN THE FRONT RANGE WITH A CONTINUED SLIGHT CHANCE OF WRAP-AROUND MOISTURE IN THE NORTH TUESDAY AND THE TRAILING EDGE OF A FRONTAL ZONE CLIPPING THE NORTH ON WED. WILL CONTINUE THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW FOR THOSE AREAS WHILE SOUTHERN ZONES REMAIN DRY TUE AND WED. CJC WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD MAINTAIN A NORMAL LEVEL OF WEATHER AWARENESS TODAY. .GJT...NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Elkhead and Park Mountains
- When
- February 14, 9:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Elkhead and Park Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.552, -107.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Flattop Mountains
- When
- February 14, 9:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Flattop Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.062, -107.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys
- When
- February 14, 9:00 AM MST to 8:00 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)
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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2002
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: 5282105, 5283807, 5283808, 5283809.