Colorado, 2006

Winter Weather in Colorado, February 15 to 16, 2006

February 15 to 16, 2006 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Around 5 inches of snow fell in the Steamboat Springs vicinity accompanied by frequent wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.

Around 5 inches of snow fell in the Steamboat Springs vicinity accompanied by frequent wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph.

What forecasters said that day

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 15, 3:04 PM MST, 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 15, 3:04 PM MST, 56 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 15, 5:45 AM MST, 10 hours 15 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
545 AM MST WED FEB 15 2006

...WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 12 PM TO 6 PM MST WEDNESDAY FOR
AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 IN EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN
COLORADO...
...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON FOR COLORADO
FIRE ZONE 207 BELOW 8500 FEET FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND STRONG
WINDS...
...VARIOUS SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORIES FOR THE NORTHERN AND
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...AND PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST COLORADO PLATEAU
LATE TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING...

COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-161245-
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-
545 AM MST WED FEB 15 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN
COLORADO.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WITH GUSTS OF 40 MPH OR GREATER WILL DEVELOP
THIS AFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. STRONGEST
WINDS WILL BE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70. AFTERNOON HUMIDITY DROPPING
BELOW 15 PERCENT IN THE FOUR CORNERS AREA WILL POSE A FIRE WEATHER
THREAT WHEN COMBINED WITH THE WIND EXTREME SOUTHWEST COLORADO. SNOW
WILL DEVELOP OVER THE EASTERN UINTA...ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS...
AND THE FLAT TOPS THIS AFTERNOON...THEN SPREAD ACROSS MOST OF EASTERN
UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO TONIGHT. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL CREATE
TRAVEL PROBLEMS ESPECIALLY OVER MOUNTAIN PASSES TONIGHT.

VARIOUS WIND...FIRE WEATHER...AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES AND
WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT. PLEASE VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
GRAND JUNCTION WEBSITE AT: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

THURSDAY...SNOW WILL CONTINUE IN THE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY MORNING
BEFORE DECREASING. MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES RETURN.

FRIDAY...A CHANCE OF SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE NORTHWESTERN
COLORADO MOUNTAINS...AND ALONG THE YAMPA RIVER VALLEY FROM MAYBELL
TO STEAMBOAT SPRINGS.

SATURDAY...SNOW WILL BE INCREASING OVER THE MOUNTAINS IN THE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING....ESPECIALLY ON SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES.
EXPECT WINDY CONDITIONS OVER EXPOSED AREAS AND RIDGE TOPS.

SUNDAY...MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL BE LIKELY...POSSIBLY HEAVY...WITH AREAS
OF BLOWING SNOW OVER EXPOSED AREAS AND RIDGE TOPS.  ALSO...THERE WILL
BE A CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE VALLEYS WITH SOME ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY...CONTINUED COLD AND UNSETTLED WITH A CHANCE OF
MOUNTAIN SNOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.  HOWEVER...
SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SEND IN ANY REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS OR
HEAVY SNOW.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Upper Yampa River Basin

When
February 15, 4:00 PM MST to February 16, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Upper Yampa River Basin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.485, -106.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2006

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5487400.