A quick moving upper level system moved across far northern New Mexico, generated up to 14 inches of snow in the southwest mountains and around the summit of Wolf Creek Pass.
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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 quick moving upper level system moved across far northern New Mexico, generated up to 14 inches of snow in the southwest mountains and around the summit of Wolf Creek Pass.
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 8, 5:05 AM MST, 7 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 505 AM MST SUN FEB 8 2009 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) UPPER LOW STILL OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EARLY THIS MORNING...WITH ONLY SLIGHT EASTWARD MOTION NOTED OVERNIGHT. STILL APPEARS UPSTREAM SYSTEM APPROACHING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL KICK THE UPPER LOW EASTWARD LATER TODAY...WITH SYSTEM WEAKENING AS IT PASSES OVER COLORADO TONIGHT. ALREADY SEEING A GOOD DEAL OF MID LEVEL RADAR ECHOES ACROSS THE STATE THIS MORNING...WITH SLOWLY LOWERING SURFACE TEMP/DEWPOINT SPREADS MOST LOCATIONS. MODELS SUGGEST SOME LIGHT PRECIP BREAKING OUT ON THE PLAINS AFTER 12Z...WHICH LOOKS POSSIBLE AS CLOUD HEIGHTS ARE ALREADY FALLING TOWARD MVFR THRESHOLDS AT KLAA AND KLHX...INDICATING INCREASING SATURATION OF THE LOWER LEVELS. BASIC TREND OF THE PREVIOUS FORECAST LOOKS GOOD...WITH SCATTERED PRECIP EARLY THIS MORNING BECOMING WIDESPREAD FOR A TIME THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...THEN TAPERING OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT AS TROUGH AXIS CROSSES THE AREA. SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS LOOK BEST FOR HEAVY SNOW THIS AFTERNOON...WITH 30-40 KNOT SOUTH-SOUTHWEST 700 MB FLOW THROUGH 00Z PROVIDING EXCELLENT OROGRAPHIC LIFT. FARTHER EAST...KEPT ADVISORY INTACT OVER THE HIGHEST PEAKS OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN MOUNTAINS...WITH HEAVIEST SNOW LIKELY AROUND 00Z. THOUGHT ABOUT ADDING SOME LOWER ELEVATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN SANGRES TO THE ADVISORY AS MODELS HIGHLIGHT THIS AREA FOR HEAVIER PRECIP...BUT EVEN WETTEST SOLUTIONS HERE YIELD LESS THAN ADVISORY AMOUNTS. FOR THE I-25 CORRIDOR...BEST UPSLOPE FLOW AND UPPER DYNAMICS BRIEFLY COINCIDE AROUND 00Z...BUT QUICKLY FADE AWAY AS FLOW GOES WESTERLY IN THE EVENING. COULD GET SOME SLUSHY ACCUMS ABOVE 6K FEET THIS EVENING IF PRECIP HOLDS ON...BUT NOT LOOKING LIKE A BIG SNOW EVENT FOR THE EAST. ON THE PLAINS...SURFACE DEWPOINTS INCREASE INTO THE 40S...WITH SOME MINOR CAPE (200-300 J/KG) NOSING INTO THE SOUTHEAST CORNER BY LATE AFTERNOON. MIGHT BE JUST ENOUGH INSTABILITY TO GET SOME ISOLATED TSRA...SO ADDED A MENTION ALONG THE KS BORDER. SWODY1 PUTS SLIGHT RISK INTO THE FAR SOUTHEAST TODAY...WHICH SEEMS A LITTLE AMBITIOUS GIVEN THE LOW INSTABILITY...THOUGH SHEAR IS CERTAINLY HIGH ENOUGH. WILL LET DAY SHIFT MONITOR FOR NOW. MODELS SUGGEST SOME SORT OF LINEAR PRECIP BAND/WEAK SQUALL LINE SETTING UP NEAR THE KANSAS BORDER THIS EVENING...WITH SUBSTANTIAL RAINFALL POSSIBLE FOR EASTERN AREAS IF FEATURE CAN DEVELOP FAR ENOUGH WEST. GENERAL DECREASE IN PRECIP MOST AREAS AFTER MIDNIGHT AS 700 MB FLOW GOES STRONGLY WESTERLY...THOUGH SNOW SHOWERS WILL LINGER OVER MOST MOUNTAIN AREAS THROUGH MORNING AS COLD ALOFT ROTATES ACROSS THE STATE. .LONG TERM... (MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY) RELATIVELY ACTIVE METEOROLOGICAL PATTERN IN THE OFFING FOR THE LONG TERM WITH AT LEAST 2 SYSTEMS IMPACTING REGION THROUGH NEXT SATURDAY. INITIAL SYSTEM TO IMPACT CWFA FROM MONDAY INTO TUESDAY...BRINGING THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL OF ACCUMULATING SNOW FROM LATER MONDAY INTO TUESDAY OVER THE CENTRAL AND ESPECIALLY THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS. AT THIS TIME...MINIMAL TO NO SNOW ANTICIPATED OVER THE MAJORITY OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR WITH THIS SYSTEM. GUSTY WINDS ARE ALSO ANTICIPATED AT TIMES WITH 1ST SYSTEM...ESPECIALLY DURING MONDAY NIGHT. GUSTY WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED AT TIMES TUESDAY NIGHT. AS 1ST SYSTEM PULLS AWAY FROM THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT...ANTICIPATE THAT BRIEF UPPER RIDGING TO ZONAL UPPER FLOW PATTERN RETURNS TO THE REGION WEDNESDAY. THUS...GENERALLY NIL POPS SHOULD BE NOTED WEDNESDAY IN COMBINATION WITH TEMPERATURES NEAR TO A CATEGORY OR SO BELOW EARLY TO MID-FEBRUARY CLIMATOLOGICAL AVERAGES. FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY NIGHT UPPER FLOW BECOMES MORE SOUTHWESTERLY IN ADVANCE OF RELATIVELY QUICK MOVING SYSTEM 2 WHICH IMPACTS CWFA FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY MORNING. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN AND ESPECIALLY THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS WILL AGAIN HAVE THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL OF RECEIVING SIGNIFICANT SNOW...ALTHOUGH A FEW INCHES OF SNOW ARE NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION FOR AREAS SUCH AS THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY AS WELL AS PORTIONS OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR. FINALLY...FROM LATER FRIDAY INTO NEXT SATURDAY ZONAL TO SOUTHWESTERLY UPPER FLOW RETURNS TO THE CWFA IN ADVANCE OF NEXT SYSTEM TAKING SHAPE OVER CALIFORNIA SATURDAY AFTERNOON. ONCE AGAIN LIMITED POPS SHOULD BE NOTED DURING THIS TIME-FRAME IN COMBINATION WITH BELOW MID-FEBRUARY CLIMATOLOGICAL TEMPERATURE AVERAGES. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED EARLY THIS MORNING...WITH LOWERING ALTO-CUMULUS CEILINGS THROUGH MIDDAY. BETTER CHANCES FOR LOCAL MVFR OR EVEN IFR CONDITIONS DEVELOP AFTER 20Z OVER ALL THE TAF SITES...AS RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS BECOME MORE NUMEROUS. WILL THEN SEE IMPROVING CONDITIONS AFTER 06Z...AS DOWNSLOPE WINDS DEVELOP AND MAIN AREA OF PRECIPITATION MOVES INTO KANSAS. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR COZ058-060-066-073-075. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR COZ068. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1227 PM MST SUN FEB 8 2009 COZ058>089-093>099-091930- 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- 1227 PM MST SUN FEB 8 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A QUICK MOVING STORM WILL PRODUCE A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS...WHERE 6 TO 9 INCHES IS LIKELY BY LATE THIS EVENING. OVER THE LA GARITA MOUNTAINS...THE SAWATCH AND MOSQUITO RANGES AND THE HIGHER PEAKS OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO RANGE...SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL AVERAGE 4 TO 8 INCHES. OVER THE SAN LUIS VALLEY AND UPPER ARKANSAS VALLEY...SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES...WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS NEAR THE MOUNTAINS. ACROSS THE I-25 CORRIDOR AND EASTERN PLAINS...SNOW WILL MIX WITH RAIN AT TIMES DURING THE DAY...LIMITING SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO 1 TO 3 INCHES BY LATE THIS EVENING...MAINLY ABOVE 6000 FEET. ALSO...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE FAR SOUTHEAST PLAINS NEAR THE KANSAS BORDER THIS EVENING...WITH STORMS PRODUCING DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY TWO MORE STORM SYSTEMS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT SOUTHERN COLORADO DURING THE MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY TIME FRAME. THE FIRST STORM IS PROJECTED TO MOVE THROUGH LATER MONDAY INTO TUESDAY...BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW TO THE CENTRAL AND ESPECIALLY THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS. GUSTY WINDS ARE ALSO ANTICIPATED AT TIMES WITH THIS SYSTEM...ESPECIALLY MONDAY NIGHT. IN ADDITION...GUSTY WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED AT TIMES TUESDAY NIGHT. A RELATIVELY QUICK MOVING SYSTEM IS THEN PROJECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY MORNING. AT THIS TIME... IT APPEARS THAT PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN AND ESPECIALLY THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS WILL AGAIN HAVE THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL OF SIGNIFICANT SNOW...ALTHOUGH A FEW INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS...NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY...AND PARTS OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS. 44/50
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
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: 155162.