Widespread snowfall amounts from 6 to 12 inches accumulated per SNOTEL and Ski Resort data. Locally higher amounts up to 30 inches fell across the Park Mountains, with local amounts up to 18 inches across the Flat Top 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.
Widespread snowfall amounts from 6 to 12 inches accumulated per SNOTEL and Ski Resort data. Locally higher amounts up to 30 inches fell across the Park Mountains, with local amounts up to 18 inches across the Flat Top 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 Mar 27, 3:18 AM MST, 4 hours 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 318 AM MST SAT MAR 27 2004 .SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT)...GFS CONTINUES TREND OF SLIGHTLY LOWER HEIGHTS AND STRONGER VORT FEATURES. THIS SEEMS REASONABLE ALTHO QPF SEEMS OVER DONE IN LIGHT OF FRIDAYS SYSTEM. SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT...MUCH COOLER AIR IS MOVING INTO THE REGION AFTER FRONTAL PASSAGE AS EVIDENCE OF UPSTREAM SLC SOUNDING. OVERALL SPEC HUMIDITY VALUES FALL AND FEEL MAIN PCPN IS OVER. COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL CONTINUE THRU MID-DAY AND HELP TO KEEP ATMS UNSTABLE. H7 WINDS OF AROUND 15KTS ARE NOT GOING TO ADD MUCH ADDITIONAL OROGRAPHIC INFLUENCE. WILL CONTINUE TREND OF SCATTERED SHWRS MAINLY OVER THE NRN MTNS. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE MUCH COOLER AND CLOSER TO SEASONAL NORMALS. ENERGETIC SECONDARY SHORTWAVE ENERGY WILL DIVE DOWN THE BACKSIDE OF THE TROUGH AND AFFECT THE CWA TONIGHT. MOISTURE SOMEWHAT LIMITED BUT GOOD INSTABILITY WILL BE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SHOWERS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH VALLEYS OF NORTHWEST COLORADO. 90+KT JET OVER NORTHWEST COLO...AND MAY PROVIDE SOME LIFT...ALTHO NOT SEEN IN TIME/HGHT XSEC. HAVE BUMPED UP POPS ACROSS THE NORTHERN/CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS HOWEVER WILL BE ON THE LIGHT SIDE. ACROSS THE LOWER VALLEYS OF WEST-CENTRAL COLORADO AND EASTERN/SOUTHEAST UTAH...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND COLD AIR MASS IN PLACE WILL RESULT IN FREEZING/SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES BY SUNDAY MORNING. SUNDAY...COLD AIR ADVECTION IN THE WAKE OF SATURDAY NIGHTS SYSTEM WILL MAKE FOR STEEP LAPSE RATES AND COMBINE WITH LIMITED MOISTURE TO PRODUCE A FEW SHOWERS OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. ELSEWHERE DRYING AND SUBSIDENCE THE RULE AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS TO THE WEST. THE RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO AMPLIFY SUNDAY NIGHT IN RESPONSE TO DEEPENING TROF OFF THE WEST COAST. CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS WILL PRODUCE ANOTHER NIGHT OF SUB-FREEZING TEMPS. .LONG TERM (MONDAY-SATURDAY)... MONDAY-WEDNESDAY...NO CHANGES TO THIS PERIOD. ANOTHER STRONG RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE AREA BRINGING MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND WELL ABOVE NORMAL DAYTIME TEMPERATURES. THURSDAY-SATURDAY...GFS CONTINUES TO DEVELOP DEEP TROUGH...CLOSING OFF THE LOW OVER WESTERN AZ THURSDAY. EC NOT SUPPORTING THIS SOLUTION AS IT KEEPS A RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN U.S. AND PLACES A CUTOFF LOW OVER THE BAJA COAST. HAVE KEPT THE INCREASING CLOUDS DURING THE PERIOD RESPONDING TO SOME KIND OF TROUGH DEVELOPMENT...BUT WILL HOLD OFF ADDING ANY POPS UNTIL WE SEE MORE CONSISTENT MODELS SOLUTIONS. AS && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. MC/CJC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 409 AM MST SAT MAR 27 2004 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-281200- 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- 409 AM MST SAT MAR 27 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... LOCALLY BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP TODAY WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. SNOWFALL WILL CONTINUE IN THE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL GENERALLY BE LESS THAN 2 INCHES. MOUNTAIN PASSES WILL REMAIN ICY AND SNOWPACKED WITH AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. COLORADO HIGHWAYS 40 AND 134 WILL BE IMPACTED THE MOST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. MC/CJC
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, March 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: 5389406, 5389407, 5389408.