Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 1, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 1, 2002
Start: 2002-03-01T00:00
End: 2002-03-01T20:00
Location: Colorado

March 1, 2002 · NWS GJT · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

An unseasonably cold storm system produced 6 to 10 inches of snow in the northern and central mountains of western Colorado, with three to five inches at the lower elevations of the Northwest Plateau. Gusty northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph over the higher elevations produced areas of blowing and drifting snow.

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

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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 Feb 28, 2:23 PM MST, 9 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 2:23 PM MST, 9 hours 37 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
223 PM MST THU FEB 28 2002

SYSTEM APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH ALREADY BEGINNING TO SPREAD CLOUDS
ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE CWFA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. COLD
FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH NEXT STORM PASSED THROUGH RIW AROUND 18Z AND
WILL BEGIN TO FILTER INTO THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE CWFA EARLY THIS
EVENING.

MODELS SIMILAR AND CONSISTENT THROUGH THE FIRST 24 HOURS...BRINGING
COLD FRONT THROUGH THE NORTHERN ZONES THIS EVENING AND INTO THE SOUTH
LATER TONIGHT. BEST DYNAMICS CONFINED TO THE AREA ALONG THE FRONT
WHERE ENERGY FOCUSED BY POSITIVELY TILTED TROF...JET AND LOW LEVEL
CONVERGENCE. 7H FLOW WILL VEER RAPIDLY NORTH...THEN NORTHEAST AND
WILL WEAKEN IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT. AIRMASS UNSTABLE BEHIND THE
FRONT...BUT DYNAMICS AND OROGRAPHICS LIMITED. THEREFORE EXPECT
MODERATE SNOW...LOCALLY HEAVY FOR THE MOUNTAIN AREAS TONIGHT...WITH
LIGHT SNOW ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE SYSTEM. SYSTEM SPEED WILL LIMIT
ACCUMULATIONS SO OVERNIGHT TOTALS BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA. DYNAMICS
SUFFICIENT FOR LIKELY POPS LOWER ELEVATIONS ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND
CENTRAL PARTS OF THE CWFA TONIGHT.

STRONG VORT ROTATES ACROSS THE SAN JUANS TOMORROW MORNING...SO WILL
CONTINUE WITH NEAR SNOW ADVISORY AMOUNTS LATE TONIGHT INTO MIDDAY
FRIDAY. SOME UNCERTAINTY REGARDING TIMING AND MOISTURE AVAILABILITY
SOUTH...SO WILL LET LATER SHIFTS DETERMINE IF ADVISORY NECESSARY.
DEEP TROF WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA WITH MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS...SO
WILL CONTINUE HIGH POPS AND ACCUMULATIONS FOR MOST MOUNTAIN AREAS.
DYNAMICS LIMITED SO WILL KEEP POPS LOW OVER THE VALLEYS. TEMPERATURES
MUCH COLDER WITH H7 TEMPS DOWN TO -22 DEGREES C NORTH AND -16 DEGREES
C SOUTH AND GOING FORECAST SEEMS TO HAVE THIS HANDLED WELL.

LITTLE CHANGE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY AS TROF SHIFTS VERY SLOWLY
TO THE EAST. AVN INDICATES TROF AXIS FINALLY MOVES WEST SATURDAY
NIGHT WITH DRYING ON THE BACK SIDE. NL

EXTENDED (SUN-WED): MODEL AGREEMENT HAS IMPROVED THOUGH WILL CONTINUE
TO LEAN TOWARDS THE COMPROMISE UK SOLUTION. BACKSIDE OF LOW MAY KEEP
SHOWERS IN THE SOUTHERN ZONES SUNDAY...OTHERWISE TEMPERATURE RECOVERY
BEGINS. VALLEYS STAY INVERTED FOR MORE BELOW-NORMAL TEMPS.  LITTLE
CHANGE MONDAY AS BROAD DIRTY RIDGE BUILDS...THEN COLLAPSES TUESDAY
UNDER PACIFIC PROGRESSION. BETTER VALLEY MIXING AND WARMING EXPECTED
TUE. SHOWERS MAY BE DELAYED BUT WILL NOT YO-YO WITH CONFIDENCE STILL
NOT HIGH. BROAD TROF FOR THE WEST IS FAVORABLE FOR SNOW PRODUCTION
THRU MID-WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL BE LESS COLD THAN THIS WEEK AND
RAIN/SNOW LINE MAY BE A FCST CONCERN. EXPECT BREEZY/WINDY CONDITIONS
FOR THE MTNS AND POSSIBLE MIXED VALLEYS.  RAMEY

.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: March 1, 12:00 AM MST to 12:00 PM MST
Where: Elkhead and Park Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.552, -107.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Central Yampa River Basin

When: March 1, 12:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Central Yampa River Basin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.361, -107.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Grand and Battlement Mesas

When: March 1, 12:00 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, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys

When: March 1, 12:00 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)

Heavy Snow, West Elk and Sawatch Mountains

When: March 1, 12:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM 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)

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, March 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: 5284925, 5284926, 5284927, 5285025, 5285026.