Winter Storm in Colorado, February 9, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Colorado, February 9, 2002
Start: 2002-02-09T05:00
End: 2002-02-09T21:00
Location: Colorado

February 9, 2002 · NWS GLD · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

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 GLD wrote it up.

The combination of strong winds and one to three inches of snow created near blizzard conditions across eastern Colorado on Saturday February 9th. Winds were sustained at 40 to 50 mph with gusts to near 70 mph, which reduced visibilities below one mile in areas of blowing snow and created three to four foot snow drifts. These winds were also accompanied by temperatures in the 20s, which created wind chill readings between 10 and 15 degrees below zero. Interstate 70 was closed, along with many other county roads across the region.

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 Feb 9, 2:43 AM MST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 9, 2:43 AM MST, 2 hours 17 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
243 AM MST SAT FEB 9 2002

FORECAST CONCERNS INCLUDE HIGH WIND EVENT AND CHANCE OF SNOW TODAY.

07Z SURFACE MAP ANALYSIS SHOWED A SURFACE LOW CENTERED OVER
SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA WITH ANOTHER LOW CENTERED OVER SOUTHERN
KANSAS. A COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA
SOUTHWARD ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS. UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE CONTINUES
OVER NW CONUS VAPOR SHOWING STRONG UPPER LVL LOW PRESSURE OVER
NW CONUS. 140KT 250 MB JET SEEN ON MODELS ALONG WEST SIDE OF TROUGH
OVER PACIFIC NW. PLENTY OF MID/HI LEVEL MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THE
TROUGH. MODELS INITIALIZED FAIRLY WELL WITH REGARD TO POSITION AND
STRENGTH OF SYSTEMS. HOWEVER SEEMS LIKE AVN MODEL OVER DOING QPF
BETTER WITH POSITION OF SURFACE AND UPPER FEATURES WHILE ETA DOING
BEST JOB WITH QPF AND WITH STRENGTH OF SYSTEMS. WILL GO MORE WITH
THE ETA MODEL THIS PACKAGE CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY THE AVN.

TODAY...POTENT UPPER LVL LOW AND ASSOCIATED DISTURBANCE IN THE
WINDS ALOFT MOVES THROUGH THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS. STRONG SURFACE
LOW OVER NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS MOVES SLOWLY EASTWARD DURING THE
DAY. STRONG HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER COLORADO ROCKIES WILL MOVE
SLOWLY EASTWARD. WITH TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT EXPECT VERY STRONG
NORTHWEST WINDS TO INCREASE IN SPEED ACROSS CWA DURING MUCH OF THE
DAY. WILL CARRY HIGH WIND WARNING FOR EASTERN COLORADO AND
NORTHWEST KANSAS ZONES ALONG AND WEST OF A RED WILLOW COUNTY NEBRASKA
TO GOVE COUNTY KANSAS LINE. GOOD MID LEVEL MOISTURE SHOWN BY MODELS
IN WRAP AROUND WITH UPPER LOW. WITH GOOD DYNAMICS WILL CARRY CHANCE
FOR LIGHT SNOW EASTERN COLORADO COUNTIES WITH LIKELY POPS FOR ALL
NORTHWEST KANSAS AND SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA ZONES. EXPECT ACCUMULATIONS
OF SNOW UP TO 1 INCH WEST OF A MCCOOK TO GOVE LINE AND UP TO TWO
INCHES EAST OF THAT LINE. WITH HIGH WINDS AND POSSIBLY UP TO 2 INCHES
OF SNOW WILL CARRY A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR RED WILLOW NEBRASKA AND
DECATUR TO GOVE COUNTIES EASTWARD IN NORTHWEST KANSAS DURING THE DAY.
WILL GO CLOSE TO GUIDANCE TEMPS IN THE LOWER 30S.

FOR TONIGHT WINDS WILL BE VERY STRONG EARLY AND THEN AS THE UPPER
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES EAST AND HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE
CWA WINDS WILL DIMINISH OVERNIGHT. SUBSIDENCE WILL TAKE PLACE AND
SKIES WILL SHORTLY CLEAR. WILL GO CLOSE TO GUIDANCE TEMPS IN THE
20S.

FOR SUNDAY INTO MONDAY RIDGING STAYS OVER REGION WITH WARMING
SOUTHWEST WINDS RESULTING IN MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND TEMPS WARMING
SIGNIFICANTLY REACHING INTO THE 50S BY MONDAY.

FOR TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SEE VERY LITTLE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS MRF
AND OTHER MODEL RUNS. WILL MAKE NO CHANGES TO DAYS 4  THROUGH 7.

.GLD...HIGH WIND WARNING ALONG AND WEST OF A MCCOOK NEBRASKA TO GOVE
KANSAS LINE TODAY.
...WINTER STORM WARNING ALONG AND EAST OF A MCCOOK NEBRASKA TO GOVE
KANSAS LINE FOR TODAY.

LAMMERS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Cheyenne County

When: February 9, 5:00 AM MST to 9:00 PM MST
Where: Cheyenne County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.828, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kit Carson County

When: February 9, 5:00 AM MST to 9:00 PM MST
Where: Kit Carson County forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.305, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Yuma County

When: February 9, 5:00 AM MST to 9:00 PM MST
Where: Yuma County forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.003, -102.424 (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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5283114, 5283115, 5283116.