A series of moist Pacific storm systems produced heavy snow across the valleys of southwest Colorado. Snowfall accumulations ranged from 6 to 14 inches with the heaviest amounts generally occurring across the higher terrain adjacent to the San Juan Mountains.
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.
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.
A series of moist Pacific storm systems produced heavy snow across the valleys of southwest Colorado. Snowfall accumulations ranged from 6 to 14 inches with the heaviest amounts generally occurring across the higher terrain adjacent to the San Juan Mountains. Scattered thunderstorms produced local snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour during the afternoon and evening hours of the 25th.
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 25, 2:52 AM MST, 6 hours 8 minutes earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
252 AM MST TUE FEB 25 2003
AS EXPECTED RADAR SHOWING MORE RETURNS AS MAIN PCPN EVENT GETS
UNDERWAY. NEW ETA SHOWS A STRONGER SHORT WAVE OVR SRN IDAHO
WHICH WOULD CAUSE A LITTLE STRONGER DEFORMATION OVER THE NW ZONES.
AS A RESULT WOULD EXPECT SNOW TO INCREASE UP THERE SHORTLY. OTHERWISE
MDLS IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT AFTER 12Z TUE. AFTER LOOKING AT NEW
INFO...AGREE WITH CURRENT HILITES REGARDING TIMING AND INTENSITY.
GOOD JOB PREVIOUS DAY SHIFT ATMS VERY UNSTABLE WITH LTG STRIKES
NOTED JUST TO THE WEST OF OUR CWA.
TODAY...PACIFIC STORM OPENS AS IT LIFTS INLAND TO THE GRT BASIN...
WHILE SHORT WV OVR SRN IDAHO GETS SHEARED APART. ARCTIC SFC
BOUNDARY AND DEFORMATION WILL FOCUS SNOW OVER THE NORTH...BUT COLD
AIR SHOULD BEGIN TO ERODE BY AFTERNOON AND SNOW WILL TAPER OFF.
IN THE SOUTH GOOD OROGRAPHICS WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE LIFT OVER
THE MTNS AND SFC LOW IN SRN UTAH WILL PROVIDE LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE.
THE CENTRAL VALLEYS BEING BETWEEN FORCING MECHANISMS PROBABLY WILL
NOT MEASURE A WHOLE LOT.
TONIGHT...THE FLOW ALOFT BEGINS TO RELAX AS BROAD TROF OF LOW
PRESSURE SETTLES OVR THE GRT BASIN. SOME EJECTING SHORT WV
ENERGY IS EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTH AND COMBINED WITH SFC LOW NEAR
THE 4 CORNERS WILL KEEP PCPN GOING SOUTHERN ZONES EVEN AS
OROGRAPHICS WIND DOWN. UP NORTH EXPECT SNOW TO REALLY TAPER OFF
AS LITTLE UPWARD FORCING OR OROGRAPHICS SEEN AND LAPSE RATES FLATTEN.
ALTHO RELUCTANT TO PULL POPS DOWN TO FAST. SO WILL LEAVE SOME
LOCAL ACCUMULATIONS IN ZNS 4 WITH SCATTERED POPS...SUSPECT ZN 13
SPCLY SOUTHERN PORTIONS WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE LIGHT SNOW SO WILL
GO A LITTLE HIGHER THERE.
WEDNESDAY...DRIER AIR WORKS INTO ALL BUT THE SOUTHWESTERN ZONES...AS
TROUGH PASSAGE OCCURS IN RESPONSE TO NEXT UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE DIGGING
ALG THE NW COAST. SNOW WILL BE MOSTLY OVER UP NORTH...EXCEPT WITH NW
FLOW ALOFT NEED TO KEEP AT LEAST SCATTERED SHOWERS OMTNS. WEAK
CYCLONIC FLOW AND STEEP LAPSE RATES ALONG WITH LINGERING MOISTURE
WILL KEEP SNOW SHOWERS GOING OVER THE SAN JUANS AND ELKS. MC
THU-SAT...PATTERN APPEARS WILL REMAIN TROUGHY WITH BRIEF BREAKS
QUICKLY FILLING IN WITH MOISTURE AND CLOUDS. A FEW SHORTWAVES DROP
DOWN THROUGH PAC NW AND FAR WEST...THEN MOVE ACROSS THE CWA. ETA
PRESENTS A SLIGHTLY DRIER PICTURE...BUT OVERALL IMPRESSION REMAINS
UNSETTLED WEATHER WITH COOLISH TEMPS.
SUN-MON...SUNDAY APPEARS TO BE THE DRIEST DAY WITH SHORTWAVE RIDGING
SPREADING ACROSS THE CWA. THEN GFS/MRF SHOWING ANOTHER DECENT TROUGH
MOVING THROUGH MON AND TUE. NRN HALF OF CWA MOST AFFECTED MON WITH A
SLGT CHC OF PCPN. THEN ENTIRE CWA APPEARS WILL BECOME MOSTLY CLOUDY
TUE WITH A CHC OF SNOW FOR THE MTNS AND A SLGT CHC OF R AND S IN THE
VALLEYS. CJC/JAD
.GJT...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR COLORADO ZONES
09-12-17>19 AND UTAH ZONE 28.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR COLORADO ZONES 02-03-04-05-10-
13 AND UTAH ZONE 25.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. 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, February 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: 5343400, 5343401, 5343402.