An upper level disturbance followed by northwest flow resulted in significant snowfall across the mountains of northwest Colorado near the Continental Divide.
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The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
An upper level disturbance followed by northwest flow resulted in significant snowfall across the mountains of northwest Colorado near the Continental Divide.
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 Mar 6, 4:15 AM MST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 415 AM MST THU MAR 6 2008 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... FORECAST AREA STILL UNDER NORTH-NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ON THE BACK SIDE OF A CENTRAL US TROUGH AND AHEAD OF A NARROW WEST COAST RIDGE. AFTER A COOL START TODAY IN MOST LOCATIONS TEMPERATURES REBOUND TO READINGS SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY. WEAK IMPLUSES IN THE FLOW EVIDENT UPSTREAM ON SATTELITE SLIDE ACROSS THE CWA THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER...STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION ALOFT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON KEEPS THINGS STABLE...SO DONT EXPECT TO SEE A REPEAT OF THE CONVECTIVE SNOW SHOWERS OVER LOWER VALLYES TODAY. OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TIME HEIGHTS INDICATE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE WITH LIGHT NORTH-NORTHWEST FLOW. ALSO A 110KT JET QUICKLY NOSES ACROSS THURSDAY NIGHT. MODELS DONT INDICATE IT ADDING ANY DYNAMICAL SUPPORT...BUT ANY JET ALOFT OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS SEEMS TO LEND SUPPORT TO OROGAPHICALLY FORCED PRECIP. SO...SHOULD SEE SNOW SHOWERS ON FAVORED NORTH AND NORTHWEST SLOPES... WITH LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS...MAINLY BEFORE 12Z FRIDAY BEFORE DIMINISHING THROUGH THE DAY AS MOISTURE WANES AND JET MOVES OFF TO THE EAST. RIDGE BEGINS TO FLATTEN ON FRIDAY AS THE CENTRAL US TROUGH SHIFTS EAST...TURNING FLOW MORE TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST. WITH WARMER AIR ALOFT AND FLOW RELAXING EXPECT TEMPS TO WARM A BIT AREA WIDE. STILL SOME PERSISTENT LIGHT SHOW SHOWER ACTIVITY IN FAVORED NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAIN AREAS AS MOISTURE REMAINS TRAPPED WITH WEAK NORTHWEST FLOW. CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEYS SHOULD ENJOY A NICE DAY FOR THE END OF THE WORK WEEK. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... A SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS PROGGED TO AFFECT THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. SOME TRACK AND SPEED DIFFERENCES AMONG THE MODELS WITH THIS SYSTEM. MODELS DO INDICATE THAT A CLOSED LOW WILL FORM IN THE VICINITY OF THE FOUR CORNERS SOMETIME SUNDAY WHILE THE SYSTEM MOVES SOUTHEAST INTO NEW MEXICO. KEPT POPS RATHER LOW AND FAIRLY BROAD BRUSH WITH CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE NORTH SATURDAY AND THEN SPREADING SOUTH SATURDAY NIGHT. LOW POPS FOR THE MOUNTAINS THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST AREA SUNDAY WITH THE UNCERTAINTY OF HOW QUICKLY THIS SYSTEM WILL EXIT THE AREA. A SHORTWAVE RIDGE TO DOMINATE MONDAY FOR DRY CONDITIONS. MODELS INDICATE THE PATTERN WILL REMAIN PROGRESSIVE WITH POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO BRING SOME PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA MID WEEK. KEPT THE TEMPERATURE FORECAST CLOSE TO NORMAL IN GENERAL. KEPT DAYTIME HIGHS NORTHWESTERN AND GUNNISON VALLEYS COOLER THAN GUIDANCE DUE TO EXTENSIVE SNOW COVER AND INVERSIONS HAMPERING WARMING. && .AVIATION... MOSTLY VFR CONDITIONS TODAY. HOWEVER THERE WILL BE AREAS OF MVFR AND POSSIBLY IFR OVER MAINLY THE NORTH FACING MOUNTAIN SLOPES AS WEAK DISTURBANCES IN NORTHWEST FLOW PRODUCE SOME AREAS OF SNOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF KGUC. BRIEF LOCALIZED MVFR IN LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE IN THE KHDN AND KEGE AREAS. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. SHORT TERM...LUD LONG TERM....TAL AVIATION.....TAL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MST THU MAR 6 2008 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-071245- 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 MST THU MAR 6 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW TODAY AND TONIGHT OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COLORADO. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SNOW WILL DIMINISH FRIDAY MORNING WITH ONLY LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS LINGERING THROUGH THE DAY...MAINLY CONFINED OVER THE PASSES AND HIGH MOUNTAINS. ANY ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT. THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW AGAIN ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS SATURDAY AND ACROSS ALL THE MOUNTAINS ON SUNDAY. ANOTHER CHANCE OF HIGH ELEVATION SNOW...AND MIXED RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS LOW ELEVATIONS WILL OCCUR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT...BUT SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT NEW SNOWFALL AND WIND GUSTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 6 to 13 inches occurred.
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, March 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: 82901.