A Pacific storm system moved eastward across northern Wyoming dragging a cold front across the northern mountains of Colorado. This resulted in widespread snowfall and gusty winds over the northern Colorado mountains.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 moved eastward across northern Wyoming dragging a cold front across the northern mountains of Colorado. This resulted in widespread snowfall and gusty winds over the northern Colorado mountains.
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 Feb 25, 9:02 PM MST, 2 hours 58 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 902 PM MST WED FEB 25 2009 .UPDATE...EVENING SOUNDING DEPICTED A WELL MIXED AIR MASS TO 500 MB...ADD A LITTLE MOISTURE AND YOU GET ISOLATED LIGHTNING STRIKES IN ROUTT COUNTY. PACIFIC ENERGY WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM ACROSS THE NRN HALF INTO THURSDAY MORNING...WITH A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW OVER WEST FACING MOUNTAIN SLOPES. WITH MT WERNER SHOWING 32F... SNOW LEVELS ARE RELATIVELY HIGH AND PROBABLY A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW AT THE 7K TO 9K FEET. WINDS ALOFT CONTINUE TO MIX TO THE SURFACE AFTER SUNSET... DECOUPLING MAY BE SLOW TONIGHT. OCCASIONAL MID TO HIGH CLOUD AND WEST WINDS MIXING TO THE SURFACE MEANS A MILD NIGHT. BOOSTED OVERNIGHT TEMPS BY A FEW DEGREES IN THE GRIDDED DATA. .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY... MILD DAY AGAIN ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA WITH TEMPS RUNNING NEARLY 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AT GRAND JCT. SOUTHWEST WINDS ALOFT HAVE MIXED DOWN AT MANY PLACES RESULTING IN GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON. A COUPLE UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVES...ONE LOCATED OVER NW UT AND ANOTHER OVER SE OR...WILL CRUISE BY JUST TO OUR N TONIGHT. ASSOCIATED UPPER LEVEL JET WAS NOSING INTO NE UT AND WILL BE ACROSS NE UT/NW CO THIS EVE. WEAK COLD ADVECTION TO DEVELOP IN WESTERLY FLOW TONIGHT WITH A FAIRLY MOIST VERTICAL PROFILE INDICATED AS THE SHORTWAVES MOVE BY. EXPECT THIS TO PRODUCE SOME LIGHT SNOW FOR THE NRN MTNS TONIGHT...BUT HAVE DECREASED THE CHANCE OF PRECIP FOR THE CENTRAL MTNS FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST AS CURRENT SATELLITE PICS INDICATE A BIT DRIER AND SUBSIDENT AIR OVER CENTRAL NV HEADED OUR WAY. WESTERLY FLOW EXPECTED THU AS A TIGHTLY WOUND UPPER LOW CURRENTLY NEAR VANCOUVER ISLAND MOVES OVER WA/OR. THIS DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS SRN ID AND WY THU NIGHT AND FRI AS A STRONG UPPER JET MOVES OVERHEAD. WILL KEEP A MENTION OF LIGHT SNOW AROUND FOR THE NRN MTNS THU-THU NIGHT IN SOMEWHAT DIFLUENT FLOW AHEAD OF THIS DISTURBANCE. SFC COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE AREA ON FRI... WITH THE ASSOCIATED BAROCLINIC ZONE HANGING ACROSS THE NORTH. THIS BAROCLINIC/FRONTAL ZONE SHOULD SERVE AS THE MAIN FOCUS FOR MOISTURE AND LIFT IN THE WESTERLY FLOW...SO WILL CARRY LIKELY POPS FOR THE NRN MTNS FRI. BULK OF COLD POOL ALOFT STAYS TO OUR N...HOWEVER...SO FRONT WILL LIKELY WEAKEN OR STALL BEFORE REACHING THE SAN JUANS. WILL KEEP SNOW ACCUMS RATHER LIGHT. SYSTEM LACKS A GOOD MOISTURE TAP AS THE CLOSED CIRCULATION EVENTUALLY CUTS OFF THE SUPPLY OF PAC MOISTURE BEFORE REACHING OUR FORECAST AREA. TEMPS WILL BE NOTICEABLY COOLER ACROSS THE N ON FRI. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY... FRIDAY NIGHT: DEPARTING JET CREATES UPWARD MOTIONS IN THE RIGHT EXIT QUADRANT...AND WEAK COLD ADVECTION ACROSS THE NORTH WILL KEEP SNOW SHOWERS GOING IN THE EVENING HOURS...THEN DIMINISHING. SATURDAY-SUNDAY: HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM WEST BRINGING MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION. A WEAK SHEAR/VORTICITY LINE PASSES SATURDAY AFTERNOON BUT CURRENTLY IS PRODUCING ONLY A FEW SHOWERS. THE RIDGE AXIS PASSES SATURDAY NIGHT WITH SW FLOW ON SUNDAY CONTINUING TO RAISE AIRMASS TEMPERATURES...ABOVE FREEZING ACROSS THE CWA AT 700MB ON SUNDAY. SUNDAY NIGHT-WEDNESDAY: PERTURBED SW FLOW BRINGS AN INCREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AS THE EASTERN PACIFIC LOW PROGRESSES TOWARDS THE CALIFORNIA COAST. MOISTURE AND GRADIENT WINDS INCREASES AND TEMPERATURES DECREASE SOMEWHAT. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE AN ISSUE...FIRST ESTIMATE...LOWERING FROM 9-10KFT TO 7-8KFT THROUGH THE NEW WEEK. && .AVIATION... CLOUDS WILL LOWER ACROSS THE NORTH TONIGHT AS LIGHT SNOW DEVELOPS OVER THE NRN MTNS CREATING AREAS OF MVFR CIGS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 AND MOSTLY OVER THE MTNS. VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR SE UT AND SW CO. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. UPDATE.........PF SHORT TERM.....JAD LONG TERM......JOE AVIATION.......JAD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 536 AM MST WED FEB 25 2009 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-261330- 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- 536 AM MST WED FEB 25 2009 .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS TODAY. ELSEWHERE CONDITIONS WILL BE DRY AND MILD. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF MOUNTAIN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW EACH DAY THROUGH SATURDAY...GENERALLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70...AND A CHANCE OF RAIN OR MIXED RAIN AND SNOW EACH DAY IN THE VALLEYS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 THROUGH SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. HOWEVER... REPORTS OF SNOWFALL AMOUNTS AND SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL AMOUNTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall ranging from 3 to 10 inches occurred across the area. Strong winds gusted 25 to 50 mph causing blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall of 5 to 6 inches occurred while winds gusted 25 to 45 mph causing blowing and drifting snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2009
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: 150884, 150885.