An upper level low pressure system moved over western Colorado and produced 5 to 12 inches of snow across portions of the central and northern 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.
An upper level low pressure system moved over western Colorado and produced 5 to 12 inches of snow across portions of the central and northern mountains.
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 18, 3:43 AM MST, 4 hours 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 343 AM MST WED FEB 18 2004 .SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT)... TODAY...WARM PACIFIC STORM ON TRACK WITH GOOD AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SHORT TERM MODELS. TODAY WILL SEE PLENTY OF MAINLY HIGH CLOUDS AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM AS MOISTURE CARRIED BY SOUTHWEST FLOW STREAMS OVER THE AREA. WARM ADVECTION WILL CONTINUE TODAY FOR HIGH TEMPS ABOVE NORMAL...EVEN IN VALLEYS THAT HAVENT SEEN NORMAL READINGS FOR WEEKS. TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...COOLING ALOFT BEGINS THIS EVENING AS THE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN. THEN AS THE TROUGH PROGRESSES EAST...A LOW CENTER DEVELOPS OVER NORTHERN AZ OVERNIGHT. MOISTURE DEEPENS ENOUGH BY THIS EVENING ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTH...FOR A CHANCE OF MOUNTAIN SHOWERS WHICH INCREASE AND SPREAD AFTER MIDNIGHT. SOUTHWEST OROGRAPHICS WILL ASSIST SHOWERS TONIGHT AS A PORTION OF THE UPPER JET MOVES OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKIES. HOWEVER... DEEPER MOISTURE IS DELAYED UNTIL THU. THE FLOW WEAKENS ON THU WITH THE FORECAST AREA UNDER A COL AS THE JET REMAINS ACROSS NM. AN AREA OF DIVERGENCE ALOFT ON THE CYCLONIC SIDE OF THE JET MOVES OVER EAST UT/WEST CO TONIGHT THEN STRENGTHENS BY MIDDAY THU. COOLER AIR ALOFT INCREASES INSTABILITY ON THU...WITH BEST INSTABILITY OVER THE SOUTH. FORECAST IN GOOD SHAPE WITH LIKELY OR BETTER POPS ON THU. IM ANTICIPATING ADVISORY AMOUNTS FOR THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS BUT SOME UNCERTAINTY EXISTS DUE TO THE WARM NATURE OF THIS STORM. THE BIG CHALLENGE CONTINUES TO BE THE RAIN/SNOW INTERFACE. PCPN SHOULD BEGIN AS RAIN EXCEPT ON THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS...AND MOST VALLEY AREAS WILL CONTINUE TO SEE RAIN OR MIXED PHASE THROUGH THU. THE NORTHERN VALLEYS WILL CHANGE TO SNOW THE SOONEST. BY EVENING...THE NORTH SHOULD BE ALL SNOW. HOWEVER THIS SYSTEM IS A FAST MOVER...AND WILL BE MOSTLY EAST OF THE AREA BY MIDNIGHT. HAVE DECREASED POPS FOR LATE THU NIGHT. TEMPS WILL BE MILD WED NIGHT AND THU...WITH COOLER LOWS THU NIGHT. .LONG TERM (FRIDAY-WEDNESDAY)... FRIDAY: RIDGE SETTLES OVER THE REGION BRIEFLY ON FRIDAY. ETA AND GFS IN GOOD AGREEMENT AND MUCH DRIER THAN IN PREVIOUS RUNS. AS A RESULT...REMOVED EVEN SLIGHT CHANCE ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND BOOSTED TEMPERATURES A DEGREE OR TWO. FRIDAY NIGHT-WEDNESDAY: GFS INDICATES PROGRESSIVE PATTERN TO PERSIST DURING THE MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD WITH CLOUDS INCREASING FRIDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF THE NEXT PACIFIC WAVE. THIS SYSTEM WILL PUSH THROUGH SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT BECOMING SIGNIFICANTLY LESS AMPLIFIED AS IT DOES SO. THE NEXT WAVE COMES ON MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT...THEN ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROF TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. NONE OF THESE SYSTEMS LOOK PARTICULARLY IMPRESSIVE AND TIMING WILL BE DIFFICULT. EC NOT IN GOOD AGREEMENT SO WILL KEEP POPS LOW THIS WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO SHOW TREND TOWARD NEAR NORMAL READINGS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. && EH/NL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 442 AM MST WED FEB 18 2004 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-191230- ANIMAS RIVER BASIN-ARCHES/GRAND FLAT-CANYONLANDS/NATURAL BRIDGES- CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN- CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN- CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN-DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR- EASTERN UINTA BASIN-EASTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS- ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-FLAT TOPS- FOUR CORNERS/UPPER DOLORES RIVER- GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS- GRAND VALLEY-LA SAL AND ABAJO MOUNTAINS-LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN- NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-PARADOX VALLEY/LOWER DOLORES RIVER- ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS-SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN-SOUTHEAST UTAH- SOUTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-TAVAPUTS PLATEAU- UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE-UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY- UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS- 442 AM MST WED FEB 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THE CHANCE OF SNOW OR SNOW MIXED WITH RAIN...WILL BEGIN OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING AS A POTENT PACIFIC STORM MOVES INTO THE REGION. SNOW WILL INCREASE AND SPREAD AFTER MIDNIGHT. AT THE LOWER ELEVATIONS THE PRECIPITATION TYPE WILL BE RAIN OR RAIN MIXED SNOW. ALONG WITH THE SNOW...SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WILL RESULT IN REDUCED VISIBILITY AT TIMES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... MOUNTAIN SNOW AND VALLEY RAIN...OR RAIN MIXED WITH SNOW...WILL CONTINUE ON THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY EVENING. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM...ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. MORE SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE MOUNTAINS SATURDAY...AND AGAIN ON TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PHONE IN ANY REPORTS OF SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL. ELH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2004
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: 5387894, 5387895, 5387896.