An upper level disturbance brought strong winds and significant snowfall to the northern mountains of western Colorado. SNOTEL data indicated 5 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with the heaviest amounts in the Flat Top, Elkhead, and Park Mountains.
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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 disturbance brought strong winds and significant snowfall to the northern mountains of western Colorado. SNOTEL data indicated 5 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with the heaviest amounts in the Flat Top, Elkhead, and Park Mountains. Frequent wind gusts from 25 to 45 mph caused blowing and drifting of snow.
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 6, 3:16 AM MST, 4 hours 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 316 AM MST SAT MAR 6 2004 .SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT)...POTENT SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS MONTANA/SOUTHERN ALBERTA THIS MORNING SPREADING CLOUDS ACROSS EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. DEEPENING SURFACE LOW PRESSURE AHEAD OF MID LEVEL WAVE CREATING WINDY TO VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST REGION...AND EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. OTHER STORY TODAY OUTSIDE OF THE WIND WILL BE THE THREAT OF SNOW IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO. SHALLOW MOIST AIR MASS EXISTS WITH STRONG H7 WEST-SOUTHWEST FLOW AROUND 40KTS. LAPSE RATES WITHIN THIS MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER INCREASE TO 7-7.5C/KM THIS AFTERNOON ALONG WITH 120+KT JET AXIS SLIDING ACROSS CENTRAL WYOMING. THESE FACTORS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO SNOW TODAY...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE WEST-SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES OF THE FLATTOPS AND THE PARK/GORE RANGE OF NORTH- CENTRAL COLORADO. WILL GO 2-4 SNOWFALL TODAY ACROSS THE PARK/GORE RANGE AND 1-3 OVER THE FLATTOPS. ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND EXPOSED AREAS ALONG THE DIVIDE...VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR TODAY WITH AREAS OF SIGNIFICANT BLOWING SNOW. MOST LOCATIONS WILL REMAIN BELOW WIND ADVISORY LEVELS (SUSTAINED 40-49/GUSTS 58-74MPH - MOUNTAINS)...BUT 30-40 MPH SUSTAINED WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED. H7 TEMPS WILL WARM ABOUT +2 TO +5C FROM FRIDAY...RESULTING IN WARMER MAX TEMPS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. TONIGHT...MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY DECREASE RAPIDLY ACROSS THE NORTH ENDING THE THREAT OF SNOW. THE STRONG FLOW WILL RELAX THOUGH LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST. GENERALLY CLEAR SKIES OVERNIGHT WILL RESULT IN COOL TEMPS...ESPECIALLY IN VALLEYS WITH LINGERING SNOWPACK. SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD FROM THE NORTHWEST WITH DRY AND STABLE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. OUTSIDE OF A FEW PASSING MID/HIGH CLOUDS...GENERALLY CLEAR SKIES WILL PREVAIL. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO WARM AS H7 TEMPS APPROACH +2C ACROSS SE UTAH/SW COLORADO SUNDAY AFTERNOON. MAX TEMPS IN THE 50S AND LOW 60S WILL BE COMMON ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS FROM KGJT TO SE UTAH. NADLER.83 .LONG TERM (MONDAY-SATURDAY)...WARM AND BENIGN PATTERN CONTINUES MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS LONG WAVE RIDGE DOMINATES THE WESTERN CONUS. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WITH ABOVE NORMAL MAX TEMPERATURES WILL GIVE WAY LATER TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY TO A STRONGER TROUGH DROPPING DOWN THE EAST SIDE OF THE RIDGE. BLV THIS FEATURE WILL AFFECT THE EASTERN HALF OF THE CWA MORE THAN THE WEST...BUT WITH ONLY VERY LOW MTN POPS AND MOSTLY CLOUDY CONDITIONS. THURSDAY-SATURDAY: THE RIDGE REBUILDS THURSDAY AFTER THE SHORTWAVE PASSES TO THE SOUTHEAST. THE MRF SHOWS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE PLOWING THROUGH THE RIDGE FRIDAY WITH INCREASING MOISTURE...SO INTRODUCED MORE CLOUDS AND LOW END POPS TO THE ENTIRE CWA FRI. ON SAT THE RIDGE APPEARS WILL BUILD BACK IN WITH IMPROVING CONDITIONS. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. && DJN/CJC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 450 AM MST SAT MAR 6 2004 COZ004-010-013-071230- ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-FLAT TOPS- GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAINS- 450 AM MST SAT MAR 6 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WITH NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS WILL AFFECT THE FLATTOPS...THE PARK AND GORE RANGE...AND THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO. GENERAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 2 INCHES WILL OCCUR THROUGH THIS EVENING...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ALONG WEST- FACING SLOPES. OVER RIDGETOPS AND EXPOSED AREAS...SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH WILL CREATE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. SNOW AND WIND WILL DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... A CHANCE OF SNOW WILL EXIST WEDNESDAY...WITH ANOTHER CHANCE OF SNOW FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT...BUT SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL OR ANY OTHER WEATHER REPORT. COZ001>003-005>009-011-012-014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-071230- 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- FOUR CORNERS/UPPER DOLORES RIVER-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- 450 AM MST SAT MAR 6 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE REMAINDER OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... WINDY CONDITIONS WILL EXIST TODAY IN THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH VALLEYS. SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH WILL OCCUR WITH ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS. ACROSS THE LOWER VALLEYS...BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP TODAY. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL DIMINISH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... A CHANCE OF SNOW WILL EXIST IN THE MOUNTAINS WEDNESDAY...WITH ANOTHER CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. NADLER
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: 5389401, 5389402, 5389403.