A slow moving spring storm system produced significant snowfall across the central and southern mountains of western Colorado.
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.
A slow moving spring storm system produced significant snowfall across the central and southern mountains of western 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 May 22, 2:01 AM MST, 3 hours 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 301 AM MDT TUE MAY 22 2007 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)... SURFACE COLD FRONT WAS ALIGNED ALONG A KASE-KTEX-KCEZ-KPGA LINE AS OF 0300. GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS OBSERVED JUST BEHIND THE FRONT...THOUGH GENERALLY QUITE A BIT WEAKER THAN EARLIER IN THE NIGHT. BROAD AREA OF SHOWERS ALONG AND BEHIND THE FRONT IMPACTING A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE CWFA EARLY THIS MORNING. TODAY: WEST-TO-EAST ORIENTED 100 KT JET CORE WILL DRIVE COLD FRONT RAPIDLY ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTION OF THE CWFA THIS MORNING. STRONG LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG THE SURFACE BOUNDARY COMBINED WITH STRONG PVA COINCIDING WITH JET DIVERGENCE WILL LEAD TO CONTINUED SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS MUCH OF THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE CWFA DURING THE MORNING. MEANWHILE...DRY SLOT ACROSS THE EXTREME NORTHWEST WILL LIMIT CHANCES FOR ADDITIONAL PCPN TODAY. SHOWERS AND SCATTERED TSTMS WILL PERSIST DURING THE AFTERNOON AS TROF AXIS LINGERS OVER THE AREA AND DESTABILIZATION OCCURS WITH RISING TEMPERATURES. UNSEASONABLY LOW SNOW LEVEL WILL ALLOW FOR SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OVER THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9000. CONVECTION MAY ALLOW FOR LOCALLY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW. TONIGHT-WEDNESDAY NIGHT: TROUGH AXIS WILL REMAIN OVERHEAD DURING THE NIGHT WHICH WILL YIELD ADDITIONAL PRECIPITATION...ESPECIALLY IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS. SECONDARY SHORTWAVE ROTATING THROUGH THE BASE OF THE LARGE SCALE TROF WILL HELP DRIVE AFTERNOON/EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION. FINALLY...A DRIER WESTERLY FLOW WILL SET UP FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHICH WILL END PRECIPITATION AND BRING CLEARING. HOWEVER...7H TEMPS RANGING FROM -4 DEG C IN THE NORTH TO +1 DEG C IN THE SOUTH COMBINED WITH DRIER CLEAR SKIES WILL LIKELY BRING FREEZING TEMPERATURES TO THE I-70 CORRIDOR EAST OF PARACHUTE...ALONG WITH THE GUNNISON BASIN AND THE FOUR CORNERS AREA. LATE TONIGHT...HOWEVER...FREEZING SCENARIO UNLIKELY AS CLOUDS AND MOISTURE LINGER. AFTERNOON HIGHS COOLER TODAY AND AGAIN TOMORROW DUE TO SURGE OF COLD AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FRONT. .LONG TERM (THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY)... THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY DOMINATED BY LONGWAVE TROUGH OVER MUCH OF THE WEST...FROM THE NRN ROCKIES TO THE UPPER MIDWEST. NE PAC SHORTWAVE DROPS DOWN CA/FAR WEST THU WITH ENERGY SHEARING OUT TO THE NE AND ACROSS OUR AREA FRI. MOISTURE SEEMS RATHER LIMITED AND WILL MAINTAIN JUST THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP THU-FRI. COLD FRONT SAGS DOWN INTO ID/WY BY FRI BUT THEN SEEMS LOSE STEAM AS FLOW ALOFT REMAIN W TO SW WITH THE WEAK TROUGHING OVER SRN CA. TEMPS LIKELY TO REMAIN NEAR SEASONAL NORMS AND NOT RETURN TO ABOVE NORMAL UNTIL RIDGE BUILDS IN SUN/MON AHEAD OF THE NEXT PAC TROUGH FORECAST TO MOVE ASHORE. && .AVIATION...MORNING SHOWERS WITH LOCAL MVFR CONDITIONS IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE I-70 CORRIDOR WILL GIVE WAY TO SCATTERED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. OUTFLOW WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH AFTERNOON STORMS WILL RANGE FROM 25 TO 35 KNOTS. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL EXCEPT FOR MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. NL/JAD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MDT TUE MAY 22 2007 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-231200- 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 MDT TUE MAY 22 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN WILL BRING LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS TO AREAS ABOVE 9000 FEET WITH ICY AND SNOW PACKED ROADS LIKELY IN HIGH MOUNTAINS PASSES. IN THE AFTERNOON...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP GENERATING WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ALONG WITH SMALL HAIL AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY WARMER WEATHER MOVES IN ON THURSDAY AND CONTINUES THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK...WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY...MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY AND TONIGHT. NL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 5 to 10 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 8 inches occurred over 50 percent of the area.
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, May 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: 39212, 39213, 39211.