A storm system brought heavy snow to parts of the North-Central Mountains, Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide. The heaviest snow fell mainly south of the Interstate 70 Corridor.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 storm system brought heavy snow to parts of the North-Central Mountains, Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide. The heaviest snow fell mainly south of the Interstate 70 Corridor. Storm totals in the mountains and foothills ranged from 8 to nearly 15 inches. Across the northern portions of Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln Counties, storm totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches.
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 Apr 16, 12:30 PM MST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 130 PM MDT THU APR 16 2008 .SHORT TERM...A MOIST AND FAIRLY UNSTABLE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO SWING THROUGH THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON WITH A FAIRLY RAPID EXIT DURING THE MORNING HOURS OF THURSDAY. IN TYPICAL SPRINGLIKE FASHION...A LOT SHOULD TAKE PLACE OVER THE CWA THROUGH THE NEXT 18 HOURS AS SNOW SHOWERS ALREADY DEVELOPING OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MTNS ATTM. 12Z MODEL RUNS INDICATE MAIN AREA OF BEST DYNAMICS STILL RIDING SLIGHTLY TO THE SOUTH OF THE AREA BUT SUFFICIENT LIFT WILL TAKE PLACE AS MODEL SOUNDINGS AND CROSS SECTIONS INDICATE DEEP MOISTENING IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER LVLS. ALTHOUGH SURFACE DEW POINTS ARE CURRENTLY ON THE LOW END...ONE OF THE BETTER FEATURES WITH THIS EVENT IS THE STRONG NORTHERLY SURFACE FRONT RIDING SOUTH OUT OF MT AND WY LAST NIGHT AND CURRENTLY PUSHING ONTO THE PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. UPSLOPE FLOW AND COOLER LOW LEVEL TEMPS WILL HELP PRECIP EFFICIENCY TONIGHT AND WILL EXPECT RAPID MOISTENING OF LOW LVLS THEREAFTER. TARGET AREA OF BEST PRECIPITATION REMAINS OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE REGION AND SOUTHERN FOOTHILLS ALONG WITH THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS BUT MOST LOCATION ALONG URBAN CORRIDOR SHOULD SEE DECENT PRECIP VALUES. WILL EXPECT A PROCESS OF RAIN SHOWERS CHANGING OVER TO SNOW BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON TOWARD SUNSET. ATTM...HAVE HELD ON TO THE CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS ALONG THE PALMER AND SOUTHERN FOOTHILLS AND HAVE ADDED A SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS AS WELL. WITH RAPID MOVEMENT OF TROUGH AND DEVELOPING NORTHWESTERLY SURFACE FLOW TOWARDS EARLY MORNING...CONDITIONS SHOULD IMPROVE FAIRLY RAPIDLY IN THE 12-15Z TIME FRAME. WILL EXPECT SOME SHOWER ACTIVITY THROUGH NOON THURSDAY AS COLDEST AIR ALOFT DEVELOPS OVER THE REGION. OTHERWISE... THE TREND IS HAVE SUBSIDENCE RULE INTO THE LONG TERM PERIOD. .LONG TERM...STORM SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH AWAY FROM THE AREA TOMORROW NIGHT WITH ANY LINGERING CLOUDS DISSIPATING. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A COLD NIGHT WITH LOWS DROPPING INTO THE 20S...AND PERHAPS UPPER TEENS WHERE SNOW COVER REMAINS. DRY AND WARMER WEATHER WILL DEVELOP BY FRIDAY WITH A RETURN TO DOWNSLOPE FLOW AND TONS OF SUNSHINE. 700 MB READINGS WARMING TO AROUND 2C SHOULD RESULT IN HIGH TEMPERATURES WELL INTO THE 60S ACROSS THE PLAINS. THICKNESS AND 700 MB TEMPS SUGGEST HIGH TEMPS ANOTHER 10F WARMER ON SATURDAY AS RIDGING SHIFTS EASTWARD AND DOWNSLOPE STRENGTHENS. BY SUNDAY...DEPENDING ON HOW FAST THE NEXT TROUGH SENDS OUT A SHORT WAVE ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES...WE SHOULD BEGIN TO SEE SOME COOLING. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY WITH BETTER POTENTIAL FOR FROPA AT THIS TIME. THERE IS JUST ENOUGH COOLING ALOFT TO WARRANT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. IF THE FRONT DOES MANAGE TO GET DEEP ENOUGH...THEN COULDNT RULE OUT A CHANCE ON THE PLAINS BUT TIMING THIS THREAT IS DIFFICULT AT BEST AT THIS POINT SO MAY HAVE TO ADDRESS THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS. && .AVIATION....MVFR CONDITIONS WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THROUGH THE REST OF THE DAY AS RAIN SHOWERS MIXED WITH SNOW DEVELOP INTO THE EVENING HOURS. BY 02Z...RAIN WILL LIKELY HAVE CHANGED TO SNOW CAUSING VISIBILITY AND CEILINGS TO DECREASE INTO IFR CATEGORIES. ALL LOCATIONS IN THE DENVER METRO AREA WILL LIKELY SEE SNOW WITH THE LOWEST CONDITIONS AT KBJC AND KAPA. CEILINGS WILL LIKELY FALL BELOW 1000 FEET AND VISIBILITY WILL LIKELY FALLING BELOW 1 MILE. IN THE HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS VISIBILITY WILL DROP TO A QUARTER MILE AND CEILINGS MAY FALL TO 500 FEET OR LESS. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM MDT TODAY UNTIL 9 AM MDT THURSDAY FOR ZONES 36 AND 41. SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM MDT TODAY UNTIL 9AM MDT THURSDAY FOR ZONES 34 AND 37. && FREDIN/BARJENBRUCH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1052 AM MDT WED APR 16 2008 COZ030>051-171200- 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- 1052 AM MDT WED APR 16 2008 ..WINTER-LIKE STORM WILL AFFECT AREA TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT RAIN MIXED WITH SNOW WILL OCCUR OVER THE OUTLOOK AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW BY THIS EVENING. THE HIGHEST SNOW AMOUNTS WILL BE IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS SOUTH AND WEST OF DENVER AND ALONG THE PALMER DIVIDE. A COLD FRONT PRODUCING UPSLOPE FLOW WILL MOVE SOUTH ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL COMBINE WITH A MOIST PACIFIC TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WHICH WILL MOVE OVER THE STATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SNOW WILL GRADUALLY TAPER OFF FROM NORTH TO SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE MORNING HOURS THURSDAY. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS AND PALMER DIVIDE AREA...BRINGING STORM TOTALS INTO THE 5 TO 10 INCH RANGE WITH AROUND A FOOT OF SNOW EXPECTED IN FAVORED LOCATIONS AROUND EVERGREEN...CONIFER...AND MONUMENT HILL. MEANWHILE...THE NORTHERN FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS...PARK COUNTY...AND THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS SHOULD SEE AMOUNTS TOTALING 3 TO 8 INCHES. IN THE FRONT RANGE URBAN CORRIDOR...LOOK FOR STORM TOTALS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES...WITH UP TO 5 INCHES IN THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN SUBURBS OF DENVER. SIMILAR AMOUNTS CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED STRETCHING EASTWARD ACROSS THE I-70 CORRIDOR TOWARD LIMON. FINALLY...THE FAR NORTHEASTERN PLAINS WILL SEE LITTLE IF ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION. DRY AND WARMER WEATHER WILL PREVAIL FROM FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. KTF/ET/BARJENBRUCH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
455 PM MDT WED APR 16 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0436 PM SNOW 2 S BRECKENRIDGE 39.47N 106.04W
04/16/2008 M3.0 INCH SUMMIT CO TRAINED SPOTTER
HEAVY SNOW. 3 INCHES PER HOUR.
0401 PM SNOW 3 NNE BAILEY 39.43N 105.44W
04/16/2008 M5.0 INCH PARK CO TRAINED SPOTTER
TOP OF CROW HILL. SNOW STARTED AT 1 PM.
0344 PM SNOW 4 ENE CONIFER 39.54N 105.23W
04/16/2008 M3.8 INCH JEFFERSON CO TRAINED SPOTTER
SINCE 1238 PM.
0341 PM SNOW 2 ENE BERGEN PARK 39.71N 105.32W
04/16/2008 M3.0 INCH JEFFERSON CO TRAINED SPOTTER
CHIEF HOSA EXIT I-70. ONE INCH PER HOUR.
&&
CLBThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Storm totals ranged from 9 to 13 inches.
Storm totals ranged from 8 to nearly 15 inches of snowfall.
Storm totals generally ranged from 4 to 7 inches.
Storm totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2008
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: 91006, 91014, 91022, 91023.