Rainfall combined with rapid snow melt to cause the Yampa River to rise above flood stage. Several ranches and farm buildings adjacent to the river were flooded with up to 4 feet of water.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
Rainfall combined with rapid snow melt to cause the Yampa River to rise above flood stage. Several ranches and farm buildings adjacent to the river were flooded with up to 4 feet of water. Ditches on some of the agricultural properties were heavily damaged, and recently plowed fields lost a significant amount of topsoil. The Routt County Emergency Manager reported 8 inches of water covered the parking lot of the Steamboat Springs Holiday Inn. Additionally, a Kampgrounds Of America (KOA) facility located two miles west of Steamboat Springs was flooded with moving water up to 2 feet deep.
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 Jun 1, 1:00 PM MST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 200 PM MDT SUN JUN 1 2003 SHORT TERM THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT: NORTHWEST FLOW NOW IN PLACE WEEK WAVES EMBEDDED IN FLOW. THE BEST WAVE IS MONDAY EVENING...BUT MOISTURE IS SUSPECT FOR ANY MORE THAN ISOLATED IN HIGHER TERRAIN. AS POORLY AS THE PAST SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN HANDLED NEED TO KEEP EYE ON THIS ONE SHOULD IT INCREASE ITS ENERGY OR FINDS MORE THAN CURRENT MID LEVEL MOISTURE TO WORK WITH. ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO PACKAGE. DJC/12 TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY: NORTHWEST FLOW PROGGED TO STAY ACTIVE WITH RIPPLES PRODUCING LIFT IN THE COLORADO NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. MOISTURE IS SLOW TO ERODE WITH PRECIP WATER VALUES REMAINING NEAR 0.5 INCH. WILL PULL POPS OUT OF TUESDAY AS THE REGION IS IN THE SUBSIDENT RIGHT EXIT REGION OF THE JET...AND LESSENED LOW- LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES STABILITY. STILL SOME MODEL UNCERTAINTY WITH TIMING AND STRENGTH OF CLOSED LOW DIGGING INTO NORTH DAKOTA. FOR NOW WILL BRUSH THE NORTHERN COLORADO MOUNTAINS WITH LIGHT POPS. OTHERWISE TEMPERATURES WILL SHOW LITTLE CHANGE STAYING BELOW THE NEAR RECORD WARMTH OF LAST WEEK. RAMEY FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY: MODELS BEGIN TO TRANSITION TO A LESS AMPLIFIED PATTERN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH A RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE AREA...AND WARMER TEMPERATURES OVER THE WEEKEND. GFS SHOWS AN OPEN WAVE MOVING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WHILE A CLOSED LOW FORMS OFF THE COAST OF BAJA. COULD SEE A PUSH OF MOISTURE INTO THE FOUR CORNERS AREA FROM THE SOUTH IF THE GFS SOLUTION VERIFIES. WILL WAIT FOR MORE CONTINUITY ON THIS IDEA. ANY MENTION OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONFINED TO SOUTHWEST COLORADO MOUNTAINS AND NEAR THE DIVIDE. LINDQUIST .GJT...RIVER FLOOD WARNING FOR EAGLE COUNTY ON GORE CREEK.
COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-021145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MDT SUN JUN 1 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN COLORADO AND FOR EASTERN UTAH .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS MORNING OVER MUCH OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. BY THIS AFTERNOON...THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ON THE DECREASE AS DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION FROM THE WEST. EXPECT FREQUENT LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS EACH DAY THROUGH SATURDAY. MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AND LITTLE OR NO RAIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
0237 PM MDT SUN JUN 01 2003
TIME(MDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0140 PM 4 SE NORWOOD CO 0.75 IN HAIL
06/01/03 SAN MIGUEL REPORTED BY PUBLIC
DJNThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. 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, June 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: 5366761.