A winter-like spring storm brought heavy snow to the mountains and high valleys of southwest Colorado.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
A winter-like spring storm brought heavy snow to the mountains and high valleys of southwest Colorado.
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 Apr 11, 1:44 PM MST, 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
244 PM MDT WED APR 11 2007
...FREEZING TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER VALLEYS POSSIBLE FRIDAY
MORNING...
.SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)...
COOLER BUT MORE STABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE THIS AFTERNOON. LATE MORNING
SNOW SHOWERS ALONG THE DIVIDE HAD DISSIPATED BY EARLY AFTERNOON
WHILE MID AND HIGH CLOUDS HAD BEGUN TO FILL IN ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
PORTION OF THE CWFA.
TONIGHT-THURSDAY NIGHT: ANOTHER STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM PROGGED
TO IMPACT THE AREA BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT...CONTINUING THROUGH MUCH
OF THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK. GFS AND NAM SHOWING SOME
SIGNIFICANT DISCREPANCIES IN SYSTEM PLACEMENT BY LATE TONIGHT WITH
GFS DEEPER AND SLOWER. ECMWF MODEL WAS QUITE SIMILAR TO THE GFS40...
THEREFORE GFS THE FAVORED MODEL TODAY.
BOTH NAM AND GFS SHOWED DIGGING PACIFIC STORM DROPPING SOUTHWARD
THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST DURING THE NIGHT. SHEARING TROF OUT
AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM AND WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY ACROSS THE SOUTH WILL
BRING SOME ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE TO THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT.
EXPECT INITIAL PRECIPITATION TO BE LIGHT AS DRYNESS IN THE LOWER
LEVELS WILL NEED TO BE OVERCOME. LOW TO CLOSE OFF OVER THE WESTERN
GREAT BASIN ON THURSDAY BRINGING INCREASED SOUTHWEST FLOW TO THE
SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. DEEPENING MOISTURE AND OROGRAPHIC LIFT COMBINED
WITH PVA/JET INFLUENCES FAVOR WIDESPREAD SNOW. OBSERVED MANY OF THE
ELEMENTS WHICH CAUSED PREVIOUS SHIFT TO HAVE RESERVATIONS REGARDING
HEAVY SNOW. THEREFORE...OPTED FOR A SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY
FOR THE WESTERN SAN JUANS BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT. SHOULD TAKE A BIT
LONGER FOR MOISTURE TO WORK INTO THE SAWATCH AND WEST ELK MOUNTAINS.
IN ADDITION...WINDS WILL BE LIGHTER SO ISSUED SNOW ADVISORY BEGINNING
THURSDAY MORNING FOR ZONE 12.
AS TROF AXIS MOVES OVERHEAD LATE THURSDAY NIGHT...SNOW WILL BECOME
MORE CONVECTIVE IN NATURE AND SOME AREAS MAY SEE BRIEF HEAVY SNOWFALL
RATES.
TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN UNSEASONABLY COOL DESPITE INITIAL SOUTHWEST
FLOW. IN FACT...APPEARS ANOTHER FREEZE IS LIKELY IN THE LOWER
VALLEYS FRIDAY MORNING.
FRIDAY: TROF AXIS WILL SHIFT EAST OF THE DIVIDE DURING THE DAY
BRINGING DECREASING SNOW FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA AS THE
DAY PROCEEDS. CAA ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE SYSTEM WILL REINFORCE
COOLER THAN NORMAL READINGS.
.LONG TERM (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...
A PROGRESSIVE PATTERN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. MODELS
ARE IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT ON THE LARGE SCALE FEATURES WITH THE
ECMWF BEING FAVORED OVERALL.
DRIER AND WARMER CONDITIONS THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEKEND WITH A
SHORTWAVE RIDGE TRANSLATING ACROSS THE AREA. THE NEXT UPPER TROUGH
IS PROGGED TO ARRIVE SUNDAY WITH A CLOSED LOW CENTER DEVELOPING AND
SLOWING THE SYSTEM DOWN WHILE TRACKING ACROSS THE FOUR CORNERS AREA.
THIS WILL BRING A FAIRLY LONG PERIOD OF UNSETTLED WEATHER TO THE AREA
BEGINNING SUNDAY AND CONTINUING INTO MONDAY NIGHT. PRECIPITATION WILL
DIMINISH WEST TO EAST LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING WITH
SHOWERS CONFINED MAINLY TO HIGHER ELEVATIONS NEAR THE CONTINENTAL
DIVIDE TUESDAY AFTERNOON. DRIER AND MORE STABLE CONDITIONS TUESDAY
AS SHORTWAVE RIDGING MOVES OVER THE AREA.
POTENTIAL FOR SOME FREEZING TEMPERATURES ACROSS LOWER CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN VALLEYS AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT...AND MONDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHTS
OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.CO...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY AFTER MIDNIGHT THROUGH 0600
FRIDAY FOR WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS...ZONES 18 AND 19.
SNOW ADVISORY FROM 0600 THURSDAY THROUGH 0600 FRIDAY FOR
THE WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS...ZONE 12.
.UT...NONE.
NL/TALHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 757 AM MDT WED APR 11 2007 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-121200- 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- 757 AM MDT WED APR 11 2007 ...WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT FOR THE SOUTHERN AND MUCH OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHWEST COLORADO TONIGHT AND SPREAD NORTHWARD TO THE ELK MOUNTAINS. ACCUMULATING SNOW OVER THE MOUNTAIN PASSES WILL IMPACT TRAVEL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS TO THE MOUNTAIN AREAS...AND A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS IN THE VALLEYS OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. SIGNIFICANT SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS THAT WILL IMPACT TRAVEL OVER THE MOUNTAIN PASSES. ALSO...FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE LOWER VALLEYS OF WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH ON SATURDAY MORNING. ANOTHER COLD STORM SYSTEM MAY IMPACT THE MOUNTAIN AREAS WITH MORE SNOW ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY AND TONIGHT. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather, 1 winter storm, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Widespread snowfall of 4 to 10 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred with frequent wind gusts of 20 to 35 mph that produced blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall of 8 to 20 inches blanketed the Southwest San Juan Mountains with amounts of 1 foot or more over approximately 75 percent of the area. Frequent wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph caused blowing and drifting of snow.
Widespread snowfall of 3 to 5 inches was measured, with local amounts of 6 to 9 inches.
Snowfall of 6 to 8 inches fell across the majority of the area. The heaviest snowfall was in the vicinity of Pagosa Springs.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2007
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: 28266, 28271, 28282, 28267, 28269.