Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 22 to 23, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 22 to 23, 2002
Start: 2002-01-22T10:00
End: 2002-01-23T04:00
Location: Colorado

January 22 to 23, 2002 · NWS GJT · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A Pacific trough produced 6 to 12 inches of snow in the northern and central mountains of western Colorado. The highest reported amount was 15 inches on Schofield Pass, followed by Steamboat Springs Ski Area with 14 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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.

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 Jan 22, 2:34 AM MST, 7 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 2:34 AM MST, 7 hours 26 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
234 AM MST TUE JAN 22 2002

SPLITTING SYSTEM MOVING EAST EARLY THIS MORNING WITH PIECES OF
ENERGY MOVING ACROSS THE AREA TODAY THROUGH WED.  NORTHERN BRANCH
MOVING ACROSS IDAHO WITH ASSOCIATED TRAILING COLD FRONT INTO
NORTHWEST UT EARLY THIS MORNING. IMPULSES WILL DIG ALONG THE BACKSIDE
OF THE TROUGH WITH THE SOUTHERN BRANCH FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH AZ
WED...DRAGGING THE TROUGH AXIS PAST OUR AREA. A CUT-OFF LOW
EVENTUALLY DEVELOPS AT THE BASE OF THE TROUGH WED NIGHT OVER NM.

THE ETA AND AVN LOOK REASONABLE ON POSITION OF THE COLD FRONT EARLY
THIS MORNING. THEY BRING THE FRONT INTO NORTHWEST CO BY 18Z AND
INTO THE 4-CORNERS AREA BY 06Z WED. GOOD UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT BY
THIS AFTERNOON WITH 100 KT JET IN FAVORABLE POSITION AT 00Z. WILL
ADJUST FORECAST FOR SLOWER TIMING AS AFTERNOON TO EVENING LOOKS LIKE
BEST PERIOD. OROGRAPHICS WILL BE THERE TO HELP TODAY FOR SOUTHWEST
FACING SLOPES. WINDS DIMINISH AND BECOME WESTERLY EARLY THIS EVENING
IN THE NORTH...AND BY AROUND MIDNIGHT OVER THE FAR SOUTH. MOISTURE
REMAINS QUESTIONABLE AND WILL LEAN TOWARDS THE DRIER ETA AFTER
LOOKING AT UPSTREAM SOUNDINGS.

THIS STORM LOOKS A LITTLE STRONGER THAN THOSE OF THE RECENT PAST...
HOWEVER IT REMAINS SOMEWHAT DISORGANIZED.  WILL NOT HOIST ANY
HILITES AT THIS TIME.  OROGRAPHIC SNOW MODEL KEEPS AMOUNTS JUST BELOW
CRITERIA FOR AN 18 HOUR PERIOD...WHICH IS PROBABLY PUSHING IT FOR
DURATION AT ANY GIVEN LOCATION.

ACTIVITY WINDS DOWN QUICKLY AS NORTHWEST FLOW MOVES IN AFTER TROUGH
PASSAGE LATE WED.  RIDGE BUILDS FOR THU.  HEFFERNAN

EXTENDED (FRI-MON): MRF APPEARS ODD MODEL OUT THIS MORNING. BROAD
RIDGING ACROSS SW U.S. FRI AND SAT FOR DRY WEATHER AS TROF DEVELOPS
ALONG WEST COAST. MRF INDICATES WINDY AT TIMES ACROSS THE NRN MTNS.
BY SUN MIDRANGE MODELS BEGIN TO DIFFER MORE. MRF BRINGS MOIST W-SW
FLOW INTO INTERMTN WEST WITH WK SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH FLOW.
CANADIAN AND NOGAPS ALL SHOW DRY RIDGING CONTINUING THROUGH MON AS
ENERGY IS CARRIED NORTH OF THE CWA. WITH STRONG RIDGE BEHIND SYSTEM
TO AFFECT AREA IN THE FIRST 48 HRS...WILL EXPECT MORE THAN TRANSIENT
ONE OR TWO DAY SHORTWAVE RIDGE OVER CWA DURING THE EXTENDED. THUS...
WILL CONTINUE CURRENT FORECASTS PERSISTENT DRY CONDITIONS AND NOT
LATCH ONTO PCPN THE MRF DEVELOPS SAT NIGHT THROUGH MON.  CUOCO

A MODERATE STORM WILL MOVE FROM THE NORTHWEST TO THE SOUTHEAST OVER
THE AREA TODAY.  HOWEVER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN
BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA.  WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH EMERGENCY
MANAGERS SHOULD MAINTAIN A HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF WEATHER AWARENESS
TODAY.

.GJT...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Elkhead and Park Mountains

When: January 22, 10:00 AM MST to January 23, 4:00 AM 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, Grand and Battlement Mesas

When: January 22, 10:00 AM MST to January 23, 4:00 AM 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, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys

When: January 22, 10:00 AM MST to January 23, 4:00 AM 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, West Elk and Sawatch Mountains

When: January 22, 10:00 AM MST to January 23, 4:00 AM MST
Where: West Elk and Sawatch Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.643, -107.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Flattop Mountains

When: January 22, 10:00 AM MST to January 23, 4:00 AM 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

Every storm in Colorado in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, January 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: 5278796, 5278797, 5278850, 5278851, 5278852.