A Pacific storm system tracked across the Four Corners area and producing significant snowfall across the mountains of eastern Utah.
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 Pacific storm system tracked across the Four Corners area and producing significant snowfall across the mountains of eastern Utah.
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 15, 2:22 AM MST, 7 hours 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 322 AM MDT SAT MAR 15 2008 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT... UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE HAS MOVED EAST OF THE DIVIDE WITH SHOWERS DECREASING OVER WESTERN CO AND EASTERN UT. INSTABILITY ALSO DECREASED OVERNIGHT AND EARLY THIS MORNING. UPPER JET CONTINUES OVER THE REGION THIS MORNING...AZTEC PROFILER HAS 135 KTS AT 250 MB AND PLATTEVILLE 75 KTS. NAM SHOWS A SLIGHT WEAKENING OF THE JET DURING THE MORNING THEN INCREASING AGAIN WITH THE GFS SHIFTING THE STRONGEST PART OF THE JET SLIGHTLY EAST DURING THE MORNING AND THEN FILLING IN FROM THE WEST IN THE AFTERNOON. BOTH MODELS KEEP THE STRONGEST PORTION OF THE JET OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE CWA. PACIFIC TROUGH JUST ENTERING THE PAC NORTHWEST THIS MORNING SHOULD DIG SOUTH ALONG THE CA COAST BEFORE EJECTING EAST. STRONG JET INDICATED ON SATELLITE ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF THE TROUGH. EXPECT WINDS ALOFT TO SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST AND BRING WAA TO THE AREA. INSTABILITY WILL INCREASE DURING THE DAY AND EXPECT CONVECTIVE SHOWER TO INCREASE DURING THE AFTERNOON. ENOUGH UNCERTAINTY IN PLACEMENT DUE TO CONVECTIVE NATURE AND DIFFERENCES IN MODEL OUTPUT... THEREFORE WILL NOT ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS. A FEW LOCAL MOUNTAIN AREAS MAY SEE A BRIEF HEAVY BANDS OF SNOW AND ACCUMS. THE LOW MOVES NEAR NORTHWEST AZ LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING AND MODELS ARE IN SLIGHTLY BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THE POSITION. DRY SLOT IS INDICATED BY BOTH NAM AND GFS LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING ALONG THE SOUTHERN TIER OF THE CWA. AS THE LOW EJECTS EAST THE NAM IS STILL FARTHER NORTH WITH THE CENTER THAN THE GFS OR EC. REACHING ADVISORY LEVEL SNOW ACCUMS WILL DEPEND ON THE TRACK AND CONVECTIVE NATURE OF THE STORM. EITHER WAY INCREASED POPS SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... MINOR DIFFERENCES IN THE MID RANGE MODELS ON THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM SHOULDNT MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE IN THE SENSIBLE WEATHER. THE MAIN ENERGY AND CLOSED LOW SHOULD PASS SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY. EASTERN UT AND WESTERN CO WILL REMAIN BENEATH A LARGE DEFORMATION ZONE MON AND MON NT. THIS WILL BE A SLOW MOVING FEATURE AND PROVIDE A PROLONGED PERIOD OF PRECIPITATION THRU MONDAY NIGHT. BEING UNDER A COL AREA WILL MEAN THE OROGRAPHIC INFLUENCES WILL BE SMALL. RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS MORE LIKE AN ADVISORY LEVEL EVENT. RIDGING AND DRIER CONDITIONS WILL MOVE IN TUE. IN THE NW FLOW EXPECTED...SOME SNOW WILL HUG THE NW FACING SLOPES OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TUE. MINOR PACIFIC SHORTWAVES WILL PUSH THIS RIDGE EAST AND FLATTEN IT...SO WED THRU FRI WILL SEE ZONAL FLOW AND MAINLY OROGRAPHIC SHOWERS OVER THE UINTA MTS AND THE CO NRN AND CENTRAL MTS. && .AVIATION... LOCAL MVFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE THIS MORNING...WITH POCKETS OF MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WILL DUE TO VALLEY FOG. SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL REDEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE MOUNTAINS CAUSING LOCAL MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. SHORT TERM...AS LONG TERM....CJC AVIATION.....CJC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 431 AM MDT SAT MAR 15 2008 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-161100- 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- 431 AM MDT SAT MAR 15 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TODAY. A FEW BRIEF CONVECTIVE SHOWERS PRODUCING LOCALLY MODERATE PRECIPITATION ARE POSSIBLE LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A LATE WINTER STORM IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AND MAY BRING WIDESPREAD SNOW AND RAIN TO AREA. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER NORTHWEST COLORADO AND NORTHEAST UTAH TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. AS/CJC
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 while wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph caused blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall of 5 to 7 inches occurred while wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph caused blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall of 4 to 6 inches occurred above 9000 feet in the La Sal Mountains while wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph caused blowing and drifting snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, 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: 92908, 92909, 92907.