Strong northwest winds howled behind a cold front in the southwest corner of Colorado. A large sprinkler irrigation system on a farm just east of Cahone was destroyed when it was slammed against utility poles, a fence, and into a barrow pit.
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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.
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
Strong northwest winds howled behind a cold front in the southwest corner of Colorado. A large sprinkler irrigation system on a farm just east of Cahone was destroyed when it was slammed against utility poles, a fence, and into a barrow pit.
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 Apr 23, 10:15 AM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
1115 AM MDT WED APR 23 2003
ADDITIONAL WESTERN COLORADO ZONES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY...AS MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED
TO CONTINUE IN THE ADDED ZONE AREAS. MAIN AREAS RECEIVING SNOW AT
THIS TIME CONTINUE TO BE THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MOUNTAIN AREAS OF
WESTERN COLORADO WHICH ARE UNDER AN AREA OF PRONOUNCED DIFLUENT FLOW
ABV H5. EXPECT CONVECTION TO BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED THIS AFTERNOON
ACROSS OUR ENTIRE CWA...AND ESPECIALLY IN THE ADVISORY AREA...AND
EXPECT TO SEE SCATTERED BURSTS OF HEAVY SNOWFALL.
UPPER LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS EVENT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO
DRIFT SLOWLY EAST...REORGANIZING OVER EASTERN COLORADO BY LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. WAVES OF MOISTURE AND VORT ENERGY WILL CONTINUE TO ROTATE
BACK AROUND SYSTEM THROUGH TONIGHT. AREA OF STRONG H7-3 QVECT
CONVG/UPR LVL DIVG ALONG AND WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...COUPLED
WITH FAVORABLE OROGRAPHICS (H7 FLOW -WEST TO NORTHWEST 25-30KTS)...
WILL SUSTAIN SNOW IN THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH
TONIGHT. HAVE ISSUED WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL MOUNTAINS
(ASPEN TO VAIL PASS)...THE FLATTOPS AND PARK/GORE MTNS (NRN COLORADO)
TO REFLECT ADDITIONAL SNOW POTENTIAL. EXPECT GENERAL TOTAL ACCUMS OF
6 TO 12 INCHES (ABOVE 8K) THROUGH THIS EVENING. PRINGLE/NADLER
GJT...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT COZ004-005-010-013
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH TODAY COZ012.COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-241100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 457 AM MDT WED APR 23 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN COLORADO AND FOR EASTERN UTAH .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AS A STORM MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. SNOW SHOWERS AND WEST WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH MAY CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT. SNOWFALL OF 3 TO 7 INCHES IS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTHEAST UTAH AND NORTHWEST COLORADO MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES PASS BY TO THE NORTH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY. JAD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2003
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: 5354360.