Several upper level disturbances combined with northerly flow aloft to produce oragraphic lift over the northern and central Colorado mountains, where significant amounts of snow fell.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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.
Several upper level disturbances combined with northerly flow aloft to produce oragraphic lift over the northern and central Colorado mountains, where significant amounts of snow fell.
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 11, 7:36 AM MST, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 736 AM MST THU FEB 11 2010 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... ...UPDATED... INCREASED COVERAGE OF SNOW FROM THE I-70 CORRIDOR NORTHWARD BASED ON CURRENT AND EXPECTED CONDITIONS. AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW OBSERVED EARLY THIS MORNING...BEING MOST PERSISTENT NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE FROM MT WERNER ABOVE STEAMBOAT SPGS SOUTH TO MONARCH PASS. PATCHY FOG OBSERVED IN SOME CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEYS. CLOUDS WORKING OVER AND THROUGH A WEST COAST RIDGE WERE SPREADING INTO NE UT/NW CO. THE UPPER LOW ALONG THE USA/MEXICO BORDER WILL GET ABSORBED IN THE SRN JET STREAM STRETCHING FROM BAJA TO THE DEEP SOUTH TODAY...AND BE A NON-PLAYER FOR US. OUR MAIN WEATHER GENERATOR WILL BE PERSISTENT NW FLOW CARRYING MOISTURE AND PERIODIC EMBEDDED DISTURBANCES. FIRST WAVE WILL BE THE SOUTHERN END OF A SHEARING SHORTWAVE OVER THE PAC NW THAT WILL DROP ACROSS WRN CO TODAY. MODELS BRING ANOTHER SHORTWAVE ACROSS THE N ON FRI...WITH YET ANOTHER APPROACHING LATE FRI NIGHT. THESE DISTURBANCES COMBINED WITH FAVORABLE NW OROGRAPHIC FLOW SHOULD PRODUCE PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW FOR THE ELKHEAD MTNS AND PARK/GORGE RANGES TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT ACCUMULATIONS ONLY ON THE ORDER OF A COUPLE INCHES AT AT TIME...SO NO HIGHLIGHTS. SNOW CHANCES TAPER OFF ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH...WHERE MOST AREAS SHOULD REMAIN DRY. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... THE MID-RANGE MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE OVERALL PATTERN. THE ONLY CONSISTENT DISPARITY IS BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF...WHERE THE EC IS A BIT DRIER ACROSS THE BOARD. BOTH MODELS MOVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVE TROUGH OF THE PERIOD THROUGH THE AREA ON SATURDAY EVENING. THIS CHANNELED VORT MAX SHOULD BRING SNOW TO THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CO MOUNTAINS...THE MOUNTAINS OF NE UTAH...AND THE HIGH PLATEAUS AND VALLEYS OF NW CO AND NE UT. THIS FEATURE SHOULD BE STRONGER OVER NORTHERN CO AND UT. THE SOUTHERN CO MOUNTAINS WILL SEE LESS PRECIPITATION...WITH VERY LITTLE CHANCE OF PRECIP AT LOWER ELEVATIONS OF SW CO AND SE UT. SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...THE SNOWFALL WILL DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST AND THE GREAT BASIN RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD. ANOTHER WEAKER VORT MAX WILL GLIDE DOWN THE EAST SIDE OF THE RIDGE MON AND TUE... AGAIN EFFECTING NW AND CENTRAL CO MORE THAN THE REST OF THE AREA. THE GFS INTRODUCES TWO MORE STRONGER TROUGHS THAT PLUNGE DOWN THE FRONT RANGE TUE NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. THE ECMWF HINTS AT THESE BUT DOES NOT RESOLVE THEM AS MUCH AS THE GFS. && .AVIATION... SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL PRODUCE MVFR AND LOCALLY IFR CONDITIONS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN TODAY...MAINLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70. AREAS OF SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO LIMIT VISIBILITY AND CEILINGS UNDER NORTHWEST WINDS ALOFT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. THIS FLOW WILL RESULT NORTHWEST SLOPES BEING THE FAVORED LOCATION FOR SNOW...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...NONE. && UPDATE.......MC SHORT TERM...JAD LONG TERM....CJC AVIATION.....CJC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MST THU FEB 11 2010 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-121245- 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 FEB 11 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT PATCHY FOG IN EASTERN UTAH AND SOUTHWEST COLORADO MAY CAUSE SOME LOCALIZED TRAVEL SLOWDOWNS EARLY THIS MORNING. OCCASIONAL LIGHT SNOW WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AROUND STEAMBOAT SPRINGS...INCLUDING RABBIT EARS PASS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT... AND THEN AGAIN MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THESE STORMS WILL BRING HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER TO THE HIGH MOUNTAIN PASSES OF NORTHEAST UTAH...AND NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COLORADO DUE TO INCREASING SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. JAD/CJC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snowfall of 16 to 27 inches occurred across the area. Locally higher amounts of up to 40 inches were reported at the Tower SNOTEL site. Wind gusts up to 40 mph produced areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Heavy snowfall of 12 to 23 inches occurred across the area. Wind gusts up to 30 mph produced areas of blowing snow.
Snowfall of 5 to 10 inches occurred across the area.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred across the area. Some locally higher amounts included 20 inches over Independence Pass and 22 inches at Vail Ski Area. Wind gusts up to 30 mph produced areas of blowing snow.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred across the area. Locally higher amounts included 14 inches at Schofield Pass and 24 inches at the Irwin Lodge. Wind gusts up to 30 mph produced areas of blowing snow.
Snowfall of 5 to 10 inches occurred across the area. Wind gusts up to 40 mph produced areas of blowing snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2010
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: 211787, 211788, 211781, 211780, 211785, 211786.