Strong gradient winds caused numerous tree limbs to break and blowing dust reduced visibility to near zero at times in the Dove Creek area.
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.
Strong gradient winds caused numerous tree limbs to break and blowing dust reduced visibility to near zero at times in the Dove Creek area.
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 May 9, 7:59 AM MST, 4 hours 1 minute earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
859 AM MDT FRI MAY 9 2003
...UPDATED FOR WINTER WEATHER THIS MORNING...
UNUSUAL WEATHER SITUATION THIS MORNING ACROSS EASTERN UTAH AND
WESTERN COLORADO. KGJX RADAR SHOWING NARROW BAND OF SIGNIFICANT
PRECIPITATION ORIENTED FROM SOUTHEAST UTAH...ACROSS THE GRAND
VALLEY...THEN EXTENDING NORTHEAST TOWARD THE PARK RANGE AROUND
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS. THIS BAND IS ASSOCIATED WITH A 120+KT JET THAT IS
PUNCHING ACROSS THE AREA AHEAD OF A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM...
CURRENTLY MOVING INTO WESTERN UTAH. 12Z/KGJT SOUNDING NEARLY
SATURATED...INDICATED FREEZING LEVEL AROUND 7500 FT HOWEVER...WITH
CONVECTION DRIVING DOWN COLDER AIR ALOFT...SNOW BEING REPORTED AT
WFO GRAND JUNCTION (<5000 FT). MAIN CONCERN THIS MORNING...IS
SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IN THE SURROUNDING HIGH TERRAIN (NORTHWEST
UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU/TAVAPUTS PLATEAU NORTH OF GJT/AND FLATTOPS)...
WHERE BAND OF PRECIP HAS BEEN TRAINING OVER THESE AREAS FOR PAST
SEVERAL HOURS.
AS LONG AS PROGRESSION OF UPPER LOW IN WESTERN UTAH AND ASSOCIATED
H3 JET CORE REMAIN SLOW...EXPECT ADDITIONAL PRECIP ECHOES TO DEVELOP
THROUGH THIS MORNING OVER THESE CONCERNED AREAS. AS A RESULT...
HAVE ISSUED WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR COZN 17 (WEST OF HIGHWAY
141)...COZN 3 AND 13 TODAY FOR SNOW ACCUMULATION 6 TO 12 INCHES.
WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE VALLEYS OF WESTERN COLORADO
AND EASTERN UTAH...WHERE SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE BY MIDDAY...
QUICKER OVER AREAS IN SUNSHINE THIS MORNING. NADLER.83
.GJT...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY COLORADO ZONES 003-013-017.
...WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR COLORADO ZONES 006>008-011-014-020>023
AND UTAH ZONES 022-027-029.COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-101145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 910 AM MDT FRI MAY 9 2003 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR PLATEAUS AND MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO... ...WIND ADVISORY FOR VALLEYS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 IN WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN COLORADO AND FOR EASTERN UTAH .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... A NARROW BAND OF SNOW OVER THE NORTHWEST UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU...THE TAVAPUTS PLATEAU AND THE FLATTOPS WILL RESULT IN ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. SOUTHWEST WINDS FROM 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE VALLEYS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 IN WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH TODAY. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ENTERING WESTERN UTAH WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST TODAY. AS THIS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHES WESTERN COLORADO...SURFACE WINDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE RESULTING IN WINDY CONDITIONS. THE BAND OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT EAST THROUGH THE DAY...MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO. LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO OCCUR OVER MUCH OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO TODAY. SUDDEN WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 60 MPH AND HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO FALL OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO DURING THE DAY SATURDAY. ADDITIONAL LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. SCATTERED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO EXPECTED SATURDAY OVER THE REMAINDER OF WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PHONE IN ANY REPORTS OF STRONG WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 45 MPH AND ANY REPORTS OF HAIL. MOUNTAIN SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PHONE IN ANY SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS. HOWEVER... ACTIVATION OF LOCAL SPOTTER GROUPS IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. MORE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL: HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/GJT (ALL LOWER CASE) COLTON/NADLER
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, May 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: 5357310.