and over the higher elevations near Leadville. Up to 13 inches of snow occurred in the vicinity of Leadville in Lake county.
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 PUB wrote it up.
A winter storm produced more than 8 inches of snow across the eastern San Juan and La Garita mountains...and over the higher elevations near Leadville. Up to 13 inches of snow occurred in the vicinity of Leadville in Lake county.
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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 4:31 AM MST, 8 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 431 AM MST SUN FEB 24 2008 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) ...HEAVY SNOW AND WIND ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TONIGHT... CURRENTLY...HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS ALREADY CROSSING THE COLORADO/UTAH BORDER AHEAD OF DEEP PACIFIC TROUGH MOVING ONSHORE ALONG THE WEST COAST. WINDS INCREASING AT PASS LEVEL AND ABOVE...WITH SEVERAL KDOT AWOS GUSTING TO AROUND 30 KNOTS EARLY THIS MORNING. QUIET ON THE PLAINS WITH LIGHT WINDS AND SEASONABLY COOL TEMPS. TODAY...PACIFIC LOW BEGINS TO SHEAR EASTWARD...WITH NOSE OF THE UPPER JET MOVING INTO WESTERN COLORADO BY LATE AFTERNOON. WILL SEE AT LEAST SOME ISOLATED -SHSN BEGIN ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE THIS MORNING...WITH INCREASING SNOW AND WIND THIS AFTERNOON AS INITIAL SURGE OF MOISTURE MOVES INTO THE STATE. AS A RESULT...CONVERTED THE WINTER STORM WATCH TO A WARNING FOR THE HIGHER ZONES IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS BEGINNING AT 19Z...AND HOISTED A SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR LOWER ELEVATION ZONES IN THE SAN JUAN/LA GARITA/SAWATCH RANGES..AS WELL AS LAKE COUNTY AROUND LEADVILLE. ADDED ZONE 58 (CLIMAX/MOSQUITO RANGE) TO THE WARNING...THOUGH BEST SNOW HERE MAY BE MORE IN THE LATE TONIGHT/MONDAY TIME FRAME. WILL SEE INCREASING WINDS AND WARM TEMPERATURES OVER THE PLAINS...WITH SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SPINNING UP OVER EASTERN COLORADO BY EVENING. MIGHT HAVE SOME LOCALIZED BLOWING SNOW OVER THE HIGHEST PEAKS OF THE SANGRES...BUT WITH TEMPERATURES EDGING ABOVE FREEZING...SHOULD BE LIMITED IN SCOPE WITH NO ADVISORY NEEDED. TONIGHT...FIRST PORTION OF THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES ACROSS THE STATE...WITH HEAVY SNOWS ALONG THE DIVIDE CONTINUING. FOCUS IN THE EVENING WILL BE OVER THE SAN JUANS...THEN SHIFTING TO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AFTER 06Z...AS MID LEVEL FLOW BECOMES MORE WEST-NORTHWEST. MODELS ALL SUGGEST WELL OVER A FOOT POSSIBLE BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING OVER THE WARNING AREA...WITH HIGHEST AMOUNTS OVER THE USUALLY SNOWY WEST FACING SLOPES. WESTERLY DOWNSLOPE FLOW WILL LIMIT PRECIP CHANCES OVER THE EAST...THOUGH A FEW SPILL OVER SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP IMMEDIATELY EAST OF THE SANGRES/WETS BY MON MORNING...AS FLOW BECOMES MORE NORTHWEST AND COLD ADVECTION BEGINS. .LONG TERM... (MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY) RELATIVELY ACTIVE METEOROLOGICAL PATTERN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY MORNING OVER CWFA WITH MORE TRANQUIL CONDITIONS RETURNING FROM LATER TUESDAY INTO SATURDAY. LATEST LONGER TERM MODELS INDICATE THAT THE UPPER WAVE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR CWFAS WESTERN MOUNTAIN WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL COLORADO BY 12Z MONDAY AND THEN INTO THE MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES BY 12Z TUESDAY. SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES OVER THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN MOUNTAINS...IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO MONDAY MORNING...THEREFORE WILL CONTINUE WITH INHERITED WINTER STORM WARNINGS/SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORIES FOR THESE AREAS UNTIL AROUND NOON MONDAY. AS COOL NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPS IN WAKE OF DISTURBANCE FROM LATER MONDAY INTO TUESDAY WILL PAINT CWFA WITH ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS IN COMBINATION WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES. FROM LATER TUESDAY UNTIL SATURDAY...GENERALLY NORTHWEST TO ZONAL FLOW ALOFT PATTERN IS EXPECTED WHILE ANOTHER NORTHERLY SURGE SHOULD PUSH ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS THURSDAY NIGHT. OUTSIDE OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...LOW GRADE TO NIL POPS EXPECTED DURING THIS PERIOD. COOLEST TEMPERATURES OF THE LONG TERM SHOULD OCCUR ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY AND THEN AGAIN ON FRIDAY WHILE WARMEST CONDITIONS EXPECTED THURSDAY AND SATURDAY. AT THIS WRITING...IT APPEARS THAT THE GRADIENT WINDS SHOULD REMAIN RELATIVELY WELL-BEHAVED DURING THE LONG TERM. && .AVIATION... VFR AT KCOS AND KPUB THROUGH MONDAY MORNING...WITH GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. VFR AT KALS UNTIL 00Z THIS EVENING...THEN OCCASIONAL MVFR OVERNIGHT WITH LOWERING CIGS AND CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. EXPECT MOST MOUNTAIN PASSES ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TO BECOME IFR BY MID-AFTERNOON...WITH LIFR CONDITIONS WIDESPREAD DUE TO SNOW OVERNIGHT. ISOLATED MVFR CONDITIONS DUE TO CIGS AND SNOW TONIGHT OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS...AS SNOW SPREADS EAST. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 12 PM MST MONDAY FOR COZ058-060-066-068. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 12 PM MST MONDAY FOR COZ059-061-064-065-067. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 641 AM MST SUN FEB 24 2008 COZ058>089-093>099-251345- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- 641 AM MST SUN FEB 24 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A POWERFUL WINTER STORM WILL MOVE INTO COLORADO TODAY...WITH HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE FROM THIS AFTERNOON UNTIL MONDAY MORNING. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 FEET ARE LIKELY OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...WITH 5 TO 10 INCHES AT LOWER ELEVATIONS. TRAVEL OVER HIGH MOUNTAIN PASSES...INCLUDING WOLF CREEK...CUMBRES AND MONARCH PASSES...WILL BECOME VERY DIFFICULT FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS UNTIL AROUND NOON MONDAY...WITH SNOW THEN DECREASING IN BOTH AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY MORNING. SEVERAL ADDITIONAL INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS ON MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER THE LA GARITA MOUNTAINS...THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS...THE EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS AND THE UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
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, February 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: 82851, 82852, 82853, 82854.