Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 5 to 6, 2003

Name: Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 5 to 6, 2003
Start: 2003-01-05T12:00
End: 2003-01-06T01:00
Location: Colorado

January 5 to 6, 2003 · NWS PUB · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

3 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Ft

When: January 5, 12:00 PM MST to January 6, 1:00 AM MST
Where: Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Ft forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.677, -106.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A weather system brought a general 2 to 4 inch snowfall in the high country. However, 6 inches of snow fell in the higher elevations at Lily Pond in Conejos county, while 7 inches of snow fell at Monarch ski area in Chaffee county. Lastly, 8 inches of snow was noted in the higher elevations of Las Animas county at Whiskey Creek.

Heavy Snow, Upper Rio Grande Valley / Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Ft

When: January 5, 12:00 PM MST to January 6, 1:00 AM MST
Where: Upper Rio Grande Valley / Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Ft forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 & 11000 Ft

When: January 5, 12:00 PM MST to January 6, 1:00 AM MST
Where: Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 & 11000 Ft forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.426, -104.809 (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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, January 2003

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5339591, 5339592, 5339959.