1 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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 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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 3, 9:45 AM MST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 945 AM MST SAT JAN 3 2004 .UPDATE...BASED ON CALLS TO NORTHERN YUMA AND SOUTHWEST DUNDY COUNTIES...WILL UPDATE THE FORECAST TO INCLUDE A WINTER WEATHER ADIVIOSRY THROUGH TONIGHT WITH AROUND 2 INCHES AT 930 AM MST ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF YUMA COUNTY AND 1 TO 2 INCHES IN WESTERN DUNDY COUNTY. THE HEAVIEST BAND OF SNOW HAS MADE VERY LITTLE SOUTHWARD PROGRESS AND EXPECT THE HEAVIEST SNOW TO BE CONFINED OVER YUMA AND DUNDY COUNTIES THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. && .PREV DISCUSSION...FORECAST CONCERNS ARE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TODAY/TONIGHT AND HOW COLD IT WILL BE THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. AT 09Z AN AXIS OF PRECIP WAS TRYING TO FALL PER LATEST RADAR IMAGERY FROM NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST ACROSS OUR NORTHERN ZONES. ETA/GFS SNOWFALL (6 HOURLY) SEEM TO HAVE THE BEST HANDLE ON CURRENT CONDITIONS. TODAY...FOR TODAY BASIC SCENARIO CALLS FOR SURFACE LOW TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTHEAST COLORADO OR PERHAPS EXTREME NORTHWEST TEXAS PER SUPERENSEMBLE GUIDANCE...CLOSE TO THE GFS POSITION. AS THE SURFACE LOW DEVELOPS AND CANADIAN HIGH MAKES ITS WAY INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS WINDS WILL GRADUALLY SWING AROUND TO THE EAST/SOUTHEAST. UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS WILL APPROACH THE AREA BY THE END OF THE FIRST PERIOD. FIRST PROBLEM IS WHETHER ANY PRECIP WILL FALL IN THE AREA. 06Z ETA 850-700 MOISTURE AXIS STRETCHES FROM NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST MAINLY NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE. THIS AXIS REMAINS NEARLY STATIONARY DURING THE DAY SO BEST CHANCE OF PRECIP WILL ALSO BE NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE. WITH THE BRUNT OF THE CLOUDINESS OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ZONES I WOULD EXPECT PERHAPS SOME SUNSHINE OVER THE SOUTHERN ZONES. THIS BRINGS UP THE NEXT PROBLEM...TEMPERATURES. BASED ON EVERYTHING I COULD LOOK AT WILL GENERALLY GO WITH THE ETA AND LAMP COMPROMISE. TONIGHT...THE UPPER TROUGH AXIS SWINGS ACROSS THE AREA. THE SURFACE LOW IS FORECAST TO BE OVER SOUTHERN MISSOURI BY 12Z. DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST OVERNIGHT AS NORTHWEST FLOW AT THE SURFACE PUSHES THE LOW AND MID LEVEL MOISTURE EASTWARD. HIGHEST POPS GENERALLY ALONG INTERSTATE 70 PER LATEST ETA WHICH DID WELL ON OURLAST NON-EVENT. AT THE SAME TIME THESE NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS BETWEEN THE WEST COAST AND HIGH AND DEPARTING LOW. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COLDEST OVER THE WEST WHERE CLOUDINESS WILL BE LESS THAN OVER THE EAST AND GUIDANCE MINS SEEM TO FOLLOW THAT SCENARIO. SUNDAY...LOOKS LIKE QUITE A BIT OF SUNSHINE AS ZONAL FLOW DEVELOPS. IT WILL BE BREEZY DURING THE DAY BUT AT DAYS END THIS WILL END AS PRESSURE GRADIENT RELAXES. TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE TRICKY PART OF THIS FORECAST. DONT SEE MUCH SNOWFALL TO COMPLICATE THINGS. 850 TEMPERATURES FROM THE ETA/GFS/NGM SUGGEST MID 30S WEST TO LOWER 40S EAST/SOUTH. IN THESE TYPES OF AIRMASSES IT SEEMS BEST TO USE THE VARIOUS MOS AND 2M GFS/ETA GUIDANCE NUMBERS. THIS WOULD REFLECT HIGHS FROM NEAR 30 NORTHEAST/EAST TO MID 30S SOUTH/WEST. THIS ALSO MATCHES SURROUNDING NEIGHBORS. SUNDAY NIGHT SHOWS THE ARCTIC FRONT BACKS INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHEAST. INVERTED TROUGH LINGERS ALONG THE FRONT RANGE. AS THE ARCTIC AIR SLIDES IN SO DOES THE LOW AND MID LEVEL MOISTURE...BASICALLY OVER THE NORTHEAST THIRD OF THE FORECAST AREA. ENSEMBLE PRESSURE FORECAST FAVORS THE STRONGER GFS SLIGHTLY OVER THE ETA. WITH A FAST JET STREAM AND APPROACHING UPPER DISTURBANCE MOVING THROUGH THE FLOW CANT ARGUE AGAINST SMALL POPS FOR THE AREA DEPICTED IN THE 850-700 MOISTURE AXIS SUNDAY NIGHT. WILL ADD SOME FLURRIES ACCORDINGLY. TEMPERATURES WILL AGAIN BE TROUBLESOME BUT IT APPEARS THAT LOWS AGAIN COLDEST NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST. MONDAY...ARCTIC HIGH CONTINUES SOUTHEASTWARD WITH CENTER OVER OMAHA AREA. INVERTED LEE TROUGH REMAINS ALONG THE FRONT RANGE. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE SOUTHEAST. 850 TEMPS DIFFER GREATEST OVER THE WEST WHILE OVER THE EAST THEY AGREE ON UNMODIFIED READINGS GENERALLY IN THE TEENS. ENSEMBLE NUMBERS AT 850 FAVOR THE STRONGER ETA SOLUTION. THIS WOULD PUT UNMODIFIED 850 TEMPS IN THE TEENS AS WELL. ETA/GFS 2M TEMPS REFLECT TEENS FOR HIGHS...COLDER THAN THE MAV. HOWEVER... LOOKING AT THE MAV 18 AND 00Z FORECAST SUPPORTS TEENS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE EAST. ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ON THE OTHER HAND SUPPORT THE SLIGHTLY MILDER GFS. WILL GO WITH THE GFS UNMODIFIED 850 TEMPS AND A RANGE FROM NEAR 20 EAST TO MID/UPPER 20S WEST/SOUTH. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. CO...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR YUMA COUNTY THROUGH TONIGHT. NE...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR DUNDY COUNTY THROUGH TONIGHT. && DDT/MWM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1115 AM MST SAT JAN 3 2004 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-041200- CHEYENNE KS-CHEYENNE COUNTY CO-DECATUR KS-DUNDY NE-GOVE KS-GRAHAM KS- GREELEY KS-HITCHCOCK NE-KIT CARSON COUNTY CO-LOGAN KS-NORTON KS- RAWLINS KS-RED WILLOW NE-SHERIDAN KS-SHERMAN KS-THOMAS KS-WALLACE KS- WICHITA KS-YUMA COUNTY CO- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ATWOOD...BENKELMAN...BURLINGTON... CHEYENNE WELLS...COLBY...FLAGLER...GOODLAND...GOVE...HILL CITY... HOXIE...LEOTI...MCCOOK...NORTON...OAKLEY...OBERLIN...QUINTER... SHARON SPRINGS...ST. FRANCIS...TRENTON...TRIBUNE...WRAY AND YUMA 1115 AM MST SAT JAN 3 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST KANSAS...EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...AND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL FALL ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM YUMA COLORADO TO TRENTON NEBRASKA. AT 1100 AM MST...3.5 INCHES OF SNOW WAS REPORTED 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF WRAY COLORADO. AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT SOUTH OF THIS LINE...PERHAPS UP TO AN INCH. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE...AIDED BY STRONG JET STREAM WINDS ALOFT...WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AS IT DOES...SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO FALL. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THROUGH TONIGHT WILL RANGE FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES FROM CHEYENNE WELLS TO GOODLAND TO OBERLIN AND POINTS NORTH. LOCATIONS NORTH OF HIGHWAY 34 MAY SEE LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS UP TO 8 INCHES. SOUTH OF THIS LINE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL NOT EXCEED AN INCH. WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO EXCEED 20 MPH SO WIDESPREAD BLOWING SNOW IS NOT EXPECTED. WIND CHILL READINGS WILL BE NEAR ZERO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. DDT/MWM
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1051 AM MST SAT JAN 03 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1048 AM SNOW 9 NW WRAY 40.17N 102.35W
01/03/2004 3.50 INCH YUMA CO PUBLIC
&&
MWMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
A localized band of 6-8 inch of snow occurred across the northern half of Yuma county during the day on January 3rd, creating difficult travel conditions.
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, January 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: 5382084.