A strong Pacific storm system accompanied by a strong cold front moved southward across the area spreading significant amounts of snowfall over the western Colorado mountains.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 strong Pacific storm system accompanied by a strong cold front moved southward across the area spreading significant amounts of snowfall over the western 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 Mar 5, 4:16 AM MST, 3 hours 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 416 AM MST THU MAR 5 2009 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... NICE BAROCLINIC LEAF DEVELOPED LATE LAST NIGHT/EARLY THIS MORNING OVER EASTERN NV/WESTERN UT NORTHWARD INTO ID AND WY. THIS FEATURE ASSOCIATED WITH A SHORTWAVE EJECTING TO THE NORTHEAST FROM THE MAIN WESTERN TROUGH. SATELLITE LOOPS AND MODEL PROGS INDICATE THAT THIS FEATURE IS WEAKENING AS IT SHIFTS TO THE EAST...AND WILL MAINLY STAY TO OUR NORTH. HOWEVER FAR NORTHEAST UT HAS SEEN AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS THIS MORNING AND EXPECT THAT PCPN WILL DEVELOP SOON...IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY...OVER THE EASTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS...AND THEN THE CHANCE FOR PCPN WILL QUICKLY DEVELOP OVER THE EASTERN TAVAPUTS PLATEAU BEFORE SUNRISE. AS THE SHORTWAVE MOVES NORTHEAST...THE NORTHWEST CO MOUNTAINS WILL SEE SNOW LIKELY DURING THE AFTERNOON. BUT AS THE AREA OF PCPN SHIFTS EAST...ITS SOUTHERN END WILL ERODE KEEPING THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF OUR FORECAST AREA GENERALLY DRY. ALSO THE FLOW WILL BECOME WESTERLY THIS AFTERNOON AS THE WAVE PASSES. THE UPPER JET REMAINS STRETCHED OVERHEAD SO BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL AGAIN DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON. BUT WINDS WILL NOT BE AS STRONG AS YESTERDAY WITH A LIGHTER FLOW AT 700 MB AND MORE CLOUDS. THE FLOW QUICKLY RETURNS TO SOUTHWEST THIS EVENING AND REMAINS UNSETTLED AS ENERGY CONTINUES TO EJECT OFF MAIN TROUGH AS IT MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN BY EARLY FRI. THE CHANCE FOR PCPN WILL AGAIN INCREASE ON FRI THROUGH FRI NIGHT AS THE MAIN LOW PRESSURE TROUGH APPROACHES AND DYNAMICS/INSTABILITY INCREASE. IN ADDITION SUB- TROPICAL MOISTURE CAUGHT UP IN THE STRONG SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL STREAM ACROSS THE DESERT SOUTHWEST...OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES AND INTO THE PLAINS BEGINNING TODAY THEN CONTINUE THROUGH FRI NIGHT. THE DEEPEST MOISTURE WILL MAINLY STAY TO OUR SOUTH...BUT ENOUGH WILL MAKE IT OVER THE AREA TO HELP FEED THE CHANCES FOR PCPN. TEMPS HAVE BEGUN A COOLING TREND BEHIND LAST EVENINGS COLD FRONT THAT MOVED OVER THE NORTH. EXPECT HIGHS TODAY TO COME IN AROUND 5-10F DEGREES LOWER THAN WEDNESDAYS...ESPECIALLY NORTH. THE COOLING WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE SHORT TERM PERIOD AS THE MAIN TROUGH APPROACHES. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... MODELS REMAINED ON TRACK WITH VIGOROUS LATE WINTER STORM FOR SATURDAY. TIMING AND INTENSITY STRIKINGLY SIMILAR BETWEEN MODELS SO CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH FOR SIGNIFICANT WINTER EVENT THIS WEEKEND. SURFACE FRONT COMBINED WITH UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT AND FAVORABLE OROGRAPHIC FLOW WILL LIKELY YIELD ADVISORY LEVEL SNOW...THOUGH HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. WITH TROF AXIS EAST OF THE CWFA SATURDAY NIGHT LINGERING SNOW ALONG THE DIVIDE WILL DIMINISH. SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT LOOK RELATIVELY QUIET AHEAD OF THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM. AS IN PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...EC CONTINUED TO LAG THE MORE PROGRESSIVE GFS BY 12 HOURS WITH MONDAYS STORM. TIMING DIFFERENCES ASIDE...EC AND GFS WERE SIMILAR WITH THE INTENSITY OF THIS NEXT STORM WHICH WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW TO THE REGION. INFLUX OF COLDER AIR SATURDAY WILL BRING ABOUT 10 DEGREES OF COOLING SATURDAY...RESULTING IN BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR MOST LOCATIONS IN EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. TEMPS WILL MODERATE SOME ON SUNDAY FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER PUSH OF COLD AIR MONDAY. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL BE THE RULE FOR MOST OF THE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT. HOWEVER...A DISTURBANCE MOVING ACROSS THE NORTH DURING THE DAY WILL BRING MVFR CIGS AND VSBY IN SNOW SHOWERS WITH POCKETS OF IFR CONDITIONS OVER MOUNTAIN AREAS. SHOWERS WILL LARGELY DIMINISH OVERNIGHT. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. SHORT TERM.....EH LONG TERM......NL AVIATION.......NL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter weather, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 8 to 18 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 3 to 9 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 3 to 7 inches occurred with locally higher amounts. Strong gusty winds of up to 25 to 35 mph also occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 10 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 3 to 7 inches occurred as well as strong winds gusting up to 25 to 45 mph.
Five to six inches of snow fell across the area.
Snowfall of generally 3 to 6 inches occurred with locally higher amounts. In addition, strong gusty winds ranging from 25 to 40 mph also occurred.
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, March 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: 150695, 150789, 150702, 150699, 150701, 151003, 150700.