A fast moving winter storm caused whiteout conditions to form over the Northeast Plains of Colorado. Interstate 70 was closed from just east of Denver; from Airpark Road, to the Kansas border.
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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 BOU wrote it up.
A fast moving winter storm caused whiteout conditions to form over the Northeast Plains of Colorado. Interstate 70 was closed from just east of Denver; from Airpark Road, to the Kansas border. Snow drifts up to 3 feet deep were reported. Prior to the closure of Interstate 70, the icy conditions and zero visibilities caused a 35-car pileup, just east of Denver near E-470. No major injuries were reported. Peak wind gusts ranged from 47 mph to 68 mph. Storm totals ranged from 1 inch to around 6.5 inches of snow, heaviest along the Palmer Divide south and east of Denver.
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 Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 4:20 AM MST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 420 AM MST SAT FEB 24 2007 .SHORT TERM...THE INTENSIFICATION PROCESS HAS BEGUN SINCE MIDNIGHT AS SNOW HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND SNOW ALSO RAPIDLY DEVELOPING ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS...ESP ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 76. THE UPPER LOW IS MOVING ACROSS NRN NEW MEXICO WHILE THE 700MB CIRCULATION SEEN EVOLVING ACROSS EAST CENTRAL CO...FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE LATEST RUC FCST AROUND LIC. APPEARS THE NAM AND LESSER EXTENT THE GFS ARE TOO FAR EAST WITH THE 700MB CIRCULATION AND THE INITIAL HEAVIER SNOW BAND HAS DEVELOPED MUCH FURTHER WEST ALONG INTERSTATE 25 DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS. 88D VELOCITY SHOWING WINDS INCREASING ALOFT TO THE 50KT RANGE SO EXPECT AN INCREASE IN SFC WINDS DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS. GIVEN THE HEAVIER SNOW FURTHER WEST THAN EXPECTED FEEL IT PRUDENT TO GO AHEAD WITH A BLIZZARD WARNING FOR ZN 43 AND 40. FEEL ZONES 38 AND 39 HAVE TOO MUCH DOWNSLOPE FLOW TO PRODUCE THAT MUCH SNOW AND WILL LEAVE SNOW/BLO SNOW ADVISORIES. APPEARS THE REST OF THE HILITES ARE IN GOOD SHAPE WITH SNOW DEVELOPING ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS...ESP NORTH OF LIC AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 76. SFC WINDS ALSO INCREASING ON THE PLAINS WITH SUSTAINED 30KT AT THIS TIME AT LIC AND AKO. ADVISORIES OVER THE MTNS LOOK MARGINAL ATTM BUT GIVEN A BETTER NW FLOW THIS AM EXPECT SNOW TO PICK UP A BIT. SNOW WILL BE RAPIDLY DECREASING FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE DAY...AND CURRENT FCSTS AND HILITES REFLECT THIS. .LONG TERM...BY SUNDAY MORNING SLIGHT WARMING AND DRYING ALOFT SHOULD BE UNDERWAY BY THEN WITH SUBSIDENCE ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH A SHORTWAVE RIDGE PASSING OVER THE AREA DURING THE MORNING HOURS. SPATIAL CROSS SECTIONS INDICATE LITTLE IF ANY CLOUD COVER AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER BY AFTERNOON...THE UPR RIDGE MOVES EAST ALLOWING A SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO RACE IN FROM THE NORTHERN GREAT BASIN. HUMIDITY FIELDS INDICATE A FAIRLY RAPID INCREASE IN LOW AND MID-LEVEL MOISTURE ON THE WESTERN SLOPE...WITH QPF/SNOW FIELDS SHOWING PRECIPITATION BREAKING OUT OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE NRN MTNS BY EARLY AFTERNOON. LOOKING FOR SNOWFALL COVERAGE TO INCREASE BY LATE AFTERNOON AS THE NOSE OF A +100KT JET MAXIMA PASSES JUST TO OUR SOUTH. QG OMEGA FIELDS SHOW MODEST UPWARD MOTION OVER THE NRN AND N-CNTRL MTNS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. AIRMASS ALSO PRETTY UNSTABLE WITH 700-500MB LAPSE RATES IN THE 7.0-8.0C/KG RANGE AND IN-CLOUD TEMPERATURES FAVORABLE FOR DENDRITIC ICE CRYSTAL GROWTH...IN THE -8C TO -11C RANGE. HOWEVER...750-600MB WIND SPEEDS NOT ALL THAT STRONG...ONLY IN THE 15-25KT RANGE. SO OROGRAPHIC LIFT ONLY MARGINAL. OROGRAPHIC SNOW MODEL CAME UP WITH 3-6 INCH SNOW TOTALS IN MTN ZONES 31..33 AND 34 DURING THE PERIOD 18Z/MON THROUGH 12Z/TUE. AFTER WHICH TIME...SHOULD SEE THE ATMOSPHERE DRYING AND STABILIZING AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE RIDGE BUILDS IN FROM THE WEST. ON MONDAY...THE INCREASING STABILIZATION AT MID-LEVEL DUE TO WARMING ALOFT SETS THE STAGE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF STG WEST AND/OR DOWNSLOPE SFC WINDS OVER MTN AREAS EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. COULD SEE GUSTS APPROACHING 55KTS IN THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS MONDAY MORNING AS SFC PRESSURE FALLS ALONG THE BASE OF THE FRONT RANGE. THE GUSTY WINDS WOULD USUALLY WARM TEMPS ON THE PLAINS...ESPLY UP AGAINST THE FOOTHILLS...ALTHOUGH THE MODELS SHOW A SHALLOW/WEAK COLD AIR SURGE BACKING INTO NERN COLORADO AROUND MIDDAY ON MONDAY. THIS SHOULD PREVENT ANY WARMUP UP NEAR THE FOOTHILLS...AND LOWER TEMPS BY AT LEAST A FEW DEGS FARTHER OUT ACROSS THE NERN COLORADO PLAINS. DO NOT SEE ANY PRECIPITATION WITH THIS WEAK SURGE AS BOUNDARY LAYER LOOKS TOO DRY. BY TUESDAY...TEMPERATURES REBOUND EVERYWHERE AS HEIGHTS RISE WITH PASSAGE OF A FLAT SHORTWAVE RIDGE. BY AFTERNOON WINDS ALOFT GO SWLY WITH THE RIDGE AXIS EAST OF THE AREA. MODELS SHOW PRECIPITATION DVLPG IN THE HIGH COUNTRY TOWARDS EVENING AS ANOTHER SHOT OF MOISTURE AND JET ENERGY DROPS IN FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. FOR THAT REASON HAVE RAISED MTN POPS TO SCATTERED CATEGORY TUESDAY NIGHT. WHEREAS DO NOT SEE ANY PRECIPITATION ON THE PLAINS WITH ONGOING DOWNSLOPE FLOW. WEDNESDAY AND BEYOND...MADE NO CHANGES AT THIS TIME. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...BLIZZARD WARNING MIDNIGHT UNTIL 4 PM TODAY FOR THE EASTERN PLAINS AND PALMER DIVIDE... ZONES 41..44>51. .BLIZZARD WARNING THIS MORNING FOR DENVER AND PTNS OF WELD COUNTY..ZONES 40..43. .SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING...ZONES 31..33..AND 34. && ENTREKIN/BAKER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1124 AM MST FRI FEB 23 2007 COZ030>051-241300- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/ SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/ EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 1124 AM MST FRI FEB 23 2007 ...BLIZZARD WARNING FOR THE EASTERN PLAINS OF COLORADO AND PALMER DIVIDE AREA MIDNIGHT TONIGHT UNTIL 4 PM SATURDAY... ...WINTER STORM WATCH FRONT RANGE I-25 URBAN CORRIDOR TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING... ...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL TRACK ACROSS THE DESERT SOUTHWEST TODAY AND RAPIDLY DEVELOP IN NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO LATE TONIGHT. THIS WILL BRING A RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY SNOW ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS OF COLORADO BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. THE WORST CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 76 AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 25 WHERE AN EXTREME BLIZZARD IS POSSIBLE. HEAVY SNOWFALL AND VERY STRONG WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 70 MPH WILL PRODUCE WIDESPREAD WHITEOUTS AND DRIFTS SEVERAL FEET HIGH. MANY IF NOT ALL ROADS OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS OF COLORADO AND THE PALMER DIVIDE ARE EXPECTED TO CLOSE BY OR SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AS THE STORM COMMENCES. FARTHER WEST ACROSS THE INTERSTATE 25 URBAN CORRIDOR INCLUDING DENVER....BOULDER...AND FORT COLLINS...THERE IS MORE UNCERTAINTY REGARDING EXACTLY HOW FAST THE STORM WILL INTENSIFY AND HOW MUCH SNOW WILL FALL. THEREFORE A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THOSE LOCATIONS FOR TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS OVER THE NORTHEAST PLAINS OF COLORADO AND ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE PALMER DIVIDE WITH TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM 4 TO 10 INCHES. IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS THE SNOW WILL END IN THE MORNING HOURS WITH ONLY AN INCH OR TWO OF ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION. IN THE MOUNTAINS SNOW WILL DECREASE BY AFTERNOON WITH ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE MOUNTAINS LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AND MAY BRING MORE SNOW AND WIND. OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS IT WILL BE GENERALLY DRY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. BARJENBRUCH/046
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
At Denver International Airport, a peak wind gusts of 60 mph was recorded. Storm totals over the eastern and southern sections of Denver included: 6.5 inches at Buckley AFB, 6 inches at Centenniel, and 5 inches at Parker.
The combination of very strong wind and snow brought blizzard conditions to the Northeast Plains of Colorado. Although storm totals were generally between 1 and 4 inches; the strong winds caused zero visibilities in blowing and drifting snow. As a result, Interstate 70 was closed from east of Denver to the Kansas Border. Peak wind reports included: 68 mph at Akron and Limon, 64 mph at Fort Morgan, 63 mph at Crook, 61 mph; 4 miles east of Haxtun, 56 mph at Windsor, 55 mph at Sterling, 53 mph; 5 miles east-northeast of Eaton, 52 mph at Greeley, and 50 mph near Hugo.
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, February 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: 12252, 12254, 12255, 12256, 12257, 12258, 12259, 12260, 12261, 12262.