Winter Storm in Colorado, March 1, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Colorado, March 1, 2002
Start: 2002-03-01T04:00
End: 2002-03-01T16:00
Location: Colorado

March 1, 2002 · NWS GLD · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong winter storm provided eastern Colorado with 2 to 5 inches of snow. which created areas of blowing and drifting snow.

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

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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.

A strong winter storm provided eastern Colorado with 2 to 5 inches of snow. The storm produced north winds of 25 to 35 mph...which created areas of blowing and drifting snow. Visibility was reduced below one mile, creating hazardous driving conditions along Interstate 70. The strong winds combined with temperatures in the single digits, produced wind chill readings between 15 and 25 degrees below zero.

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 Mar 1, 2:10 AM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 2:10 AM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
210 AM MST FRI MAR 1 2002

CONCERN WILL BE WITH SNOW AMOUNTS AND WINDS TODAY...AND TEMPERATURES
INTO THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEKEND.

MODEL ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT ALL MODELS WERE TOO COOL AT THE LOWER
LEVELS. WITH THIS IN MIND...FEEL THE ATMOSPHERE CONTAINS MORE
MOISTURE THAN MODELS INDICATE AND APPEARS TO UNDER ESTIMATE THE
STRENGTH OF THE INCOMING STORM SYSTEM. WITH THIS IN MIND...I WILL
USE THE BETTER AVN FOR SNOW AMOUNTS BUT FEEL THE AVN TMPS ESPECIALLY
FOR SATURDAYS HIGHS MAY BE TOO COLD AND WILL LEAN TOWARD THE ETA/NGM
FOR THIS.

SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS ALREADY OCCURRING OVER THE NW FA...IN YUMA
COUNTY...WHERE THE ARCTIC COLD FRONT IS. THE FRONT AND LIGHT SNOW
WILL DRIFT SOUTH ACROSS MOST OF THE FA BY SUNRISE. AN INTENSE 5H/VORT
MAX OVER THE FOUR CORNERS AREA THIS MORNING WILL MOVE RAPIDLY NE AND
ACROSS THE CWA TODAY AND HELP EXPAND THE SNOW COVERAGE OVER THE FA.
THE COMBINATION OF THE VORT MAX...ARCTIC FRONT...AND NORTH WINDS
BETWEEN 25-35 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 45 MPH WILL PRODUCE CONSIDERABLE
BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW TODAY. USING THE PWAT METHOD AND AVN
SNOW AMOUNTS...NORTH OF I-70 SNOW TOTALS SHOULD RANGE BETWEEN 4-6
INCHES WHERE I WILL HAVE A WSWARNING FOR TODAY. ALONG AND SOUTH OF
I-70 SNOW TOTALS WILL RANGE FROM 2-4 INCHES WHERE A SNOW AND BLOWING
SNOW ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT. I HAVE INCREASED SNOW AMOUNTS
SLIGHTLY IN THE FORECAST BECAUSE THE MODELS APPARENTLY ARE UNDER
ESTIMATING THE AMOUNT OF MOISTURE.

LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS ESPECIALLY OVER THE EASTERN FA WILL PERSIST
TONITE BEFORE THE STORM SYSTEM MOVES AWAY FROM THE CWA. BITTER COLD
AIR WILL ENTRENCH THE TRI STATE AREA TONITE AND ALL DAY SATURDAY.
850/TMPS REMAIN IN THE MINUS TEENS AND AFTERNOON HIGHS SHUD
STRUGGLE TO REACH THE 20S WITH A MIXTURE OF SUN...CLOUDS AND BREEZY
NORTH WINDS.

BY SUNDAY AFTN HIGHS SHUD TRY AND RECOVER OVER THE WESTERN FA BUT
THE EASTERN CWA WILL REMAIN IN VERY COLD AIR. ANOTHER SYSTEM MOVES
THRU THE FA LATE SUNDAY BUT PCPN CHANCES SHUD BE MINIMAL.

FINALLY...5H/HGHTS INCREASE ALONG WITH 850/TMPS MONDAY AND HIGHS FOR
THE FIRST TIME IN A FEW DAYS WILL RISE ABOVE FREEZING ACROSS ALL
THE FA WITH EVEN HIER TMPS EXPECTED FOR TUESDAY.

A WEAK BUT DRY COLD FRONT WILL DIP INTO THE CWA DURING THE MIDDLE OF
THE WEEK AND AFTN HIGHS SHUD FALL SEVERAL DEGREES BUT STILL REMAIN
NEAR NORMAL.

.GLD...WSWARNING NORTH OF I-70 THAT INCLUDES THE COUNTIES OF YUMA...
DUNDY...HITCHCOCK...RED WILLOW...CHEYENNE KANSAS...RAWLINS...
DECATUR...NORTON. A SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT
FOR KIT CARSON...SHERMAN...THOMAS...SHERIDAN...GRAHAM...CHEYENNE...
WALLACE...LOGAN...GOVE...GREELEY...WICHITA FOR TODAY.

VP

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: March 1, 4:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Cheyenne County forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.828, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kit Carson County

When: March 1, 4:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Kit Carson County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.305, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Yuma County

When: March 1, 4:00 AM MST to 4:00 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, 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: 5281375, 5281376, 5281377.