Winter Storm in Colorado, March 13 to 14, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Colorado, March 13 to 14, 2002
Start: 2002-03-13T14:00
End: 2002-03-14T16:00
Location: Colorado

March 13 to 14, 2002 · NWS GJT · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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 cold Pacific airmass and strong cold front pushed south through western Colorado, generally producing 8 to 14 inches of snow in the mountains. Steamboat Springs and Snowmass Ski Areas both reported 18 inches of snow, with 15 inches at Aspen Mountain Ski Area. At lower elevations, four to eight inches of snow were common. However, 12 inches fell at Maybell in the Northwest Plateau. Winds of 40 to 60 mph created widespread blowing and drifting snow over the higher elevations. The highest wind gusts reported were 75 mph at Snowmass Ski Area, 72 mph at Aspen Highlands Ski Area, 66 mph at Telluride Ski Area and 64 mph at Crested Butte Ski Area.

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 Mar 13, 2:00 PM MST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 2:00 PM MST, 0 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
200 PM MST WED MAR 13 2002

THE SHORT RANGE MODELS HAVE THE BEST HANDLE ON DETAILS INTO THURSDAY
SO WILL RUN WITH THE RUC/MESO ETA EARLY AND THEN BROAD BRUSH WITH
THE AVN. CURRENT FORECAST IN FAIR SHAPE BUT WILL MAKE MINOR
ADJUSTMENTS TO WORDING AND SNOW AMOUNTS.

WE WILL CONTINUE THE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY. EXCEPT FOR NE UTAH PRECIP HAS BEEN A FEW HOURS BEHIND
GETTING STARTED. RAIN EARLY WILL AID IN KEEPING SNOW FALL OUT OF
WARNING CRITERIA. MANILA REPORTED 6 INCHES...BUT LOOKS LIKE IT
WILL END THERE THIS EVENING SO STAYING IN THE HIGH END ADVISORY
RANGE. ADDED TS FOR INSTABILITY WITH THE COLD FRONT AND TO BE
CONSISTENT WITH SPC GUIDANCE. UPPER TROUGH HANGS OVER AREA THROUGH
FRIDAY WHILE SFC FRONT PUSHES ON SOUTH OVER NIGHT. THIS MEANS COOLER
UNSETTLED WEATHER INTO FRIDAY. PREFRONTAL WARMING TODAY AND PASSAGE
OF COLD FRONT TONIGHT WILL SEE HIGH TEMPS ABOUT 20 DEGREES COOLER ON
THURSDAY THAN TODAY.

EXTENDED (SAT-WED)...AS IN PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...MRF AND ECMWF
SOLUTIONS HAVE CONVERGED...BOTH CUTTING OFF DEEP LOW OVER THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST FRIDAY. BOTH MODELS DROP THE LOW ALONG THE COAST
INTO MONDAY WITH ECMWF NOT QUITE AS DEEP AND A BIT MORE PROGRESSIVE
BY TUESDAY MORNING. MOIST SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW THROUGH THE WEEKEND
POINTS TO PRECIPITATION CHANCE AND CLOUDS INTO THE MID-PART OF THE
COMING WEEK. BOTH EC AND MRF HAVE LOW BEGINNING TO KICK OUT FROM
TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY POINTING TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SIGNIFICANT
MOUNTAIN SNOWS. CURRENT FORECAST HANDLES THIS WELL...SO WILL NOT
MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. NL

.GJT...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT AND THURSDAY
       FOR UTAH ZONES 023-025 AND COLORADO ZONES 003-004-009-
       010-012-013

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.532, -108.196 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Elkhead and Park Mountains

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 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)

Winter Storm, Grand and Battlement Mesas

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 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)

Winter Storm, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 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)

Winter Storm, West Elk and Sawatch Mountains

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 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)

Winter Storm, Flattop Mountains

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 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)

Winter Storm, Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.488, -108.155 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwestern San Juan Mountains

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Northwestern San Juan Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.210, -107.755 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lower Yampa River Basin

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Lower Yampa River Basin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.066, -108.109 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Central Yampa River Basin

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 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)

Winter Storm, Grand Valley

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Grand Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.308, -108.185 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Debeque to Silt Corridor

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Debeque to Silt Corridor forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.308, -108.185 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Central Colorado River Basin

When: March 13, 2:00 PM MST to March 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Central Colorado River Basin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.481, -107.172 (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: 5285039, 5285040, 5285041, 5285042, 5285043, 5285044, 5285045, 5285046, 5285047, 5285048, 5285049, 5285050, 5285051.