An upper level disturbance combined with enough moisture to produce significant snowfall amounts over the northwestern Colorado mountains.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
An upper level disturbance combined with enough moisture to produce significant snowfall amounts over the northwestern 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 17, 3:29 PM MST, 8 hours 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 329 PM MST WED FEB 17 2010 ...EXTENDED PERIOD OF UNSETTLED THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND... .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY... A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WAS MOVING INTO NW CO THIS AFTERNOON AND SHOULD EXIT TO THE EAST EARLY THIS EVENING. NOT MUCH COLD ADVECTION OR DYNAMICS WITH THIS WAVE...BUT ENOUGH MOISTURE FOR SOME LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE NRN MTNS. SNOTEL ESTIMATES OF 1-2 INCHES IN THE PARK/GORE RANGES TODAY. A STRONGER SHORTWAVE WAS DROPPING SOUTH ACROSS THE NRN ROCKIES THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL EVENTUALLY CROSS ERN UT/WRN CO THU NIGHT. 12Z NAM KEEPS IT THE MOST INTACT WHILE 12Z GFS REALLY WEAKENS IT THU-THU NIGHT. WILL GO MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. CLOUD SHIELD AHEAD OF IT ACROSS ID WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTH LATER TONIGHT AND SOME LIGHT SNOW MAY PERSIST AFTER MIDNIGHT FOR THE NRN MTNS...BUT BULK OF SNOW ACCUMS EXPECTED THU-THU NIGHT WITH TROUGH PASSAGE. POSITIVE-TILT TO THE TROUGH SHOULD FAVOR LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE AREA THAT STARTS NEAR THE WY-CO BORDER LATE TONIGHT AND AND THEN WORKS S ON THU. ONLY MODEST OROGRAPHIC FLOW...BUT WESTERLY THEN NORTHWESTERLY WIND DIRECTION WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR THE NRN AND CENTRAL MTNS. OROGRAPHIC SNOW MODEL PRODUCED 4-9 INCHES FOR THE NRN MTNS. WILL ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE ELKHEAD/PARK/GORE/ELK/FLATTOPS MTNS FOR THU-THU NIGHT...AS IT WILL IMPACT TRAVEL OVER THE WELL-TRAVELED RABBIT EARS PASS AND VAIL PASS. ANTICIPATE ASPEN WILL SEE LIGHTER AMTS IN THE WESTERLY FLOW WITH THE HEAVIER SNOW TOWARDS VAIL. WITH GFS WEAKENING THE SYSTEM...WENT SUB-ADVISORY AMTS FOR THE GRAND MESA AND SAWATCH MTNS. WARM ENOUGH THU AFTN FOR RAIN POSSIBLE IN THE LOWER VALLEYS OF W-CENTRAL CO AND SE UT. PRECIP SHOULD DIMINISH LATE THU NIGHT AND FRI MORNING AS NW TO SE ORIENTED UPPER JET LIFTS UP TO THE NORTHEAST AND THE FORECAST AREA BECOMES LOCATED ON THE SIDE SOUTH. MAY GET A BIT UPPER DIVERGENCE IN THE FAVORED RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION FRI AFTERNOON...AND WILL BEGIN TO BOOST POPS AGAIN LATE FRI. BOTH NAM/GFS INDICATE INCREASING FRONTOGENESIS NEAR THE WY-CO BORDER LATE FRI IN AN AREA OF INCREASING LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE DROPS DOWN THE NRN ROCKIES AND A PACIFIC WAVE MOVES INLAND. MORE ON THIS IN THE LONG TERM DISCUSSION. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY... THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM IS ON TRACK TO BRING WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH AN ACTIVE PATTERN CONTINUING INTO NEXT WEEK. THIS PERIOD BEGINS WITH A BROAD UPPER LOW POSITIONED OVER WESTERN MONTANA/IDAHO WHILE A PACIFIC TROUGH MAKES ITS WAY ONTO THE WEST COAST. THIS LEAVES THE FORECAST AREA UNDER A WEAK WARM ADVECTIVE WEST TO SOUTHWEST FLOW. THE WARM ADVECTION IS NOT ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE...BUT IT APPEARS TO ENHANCE A BROAD BAROCLINIC ZONE THAT SETS UP ACROSS THE CO/WY BORDER FRIDAY NIGHT. EXPECT SNOWFALL TO FAVOR FAVORING THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH AN INCH OR TWO ALSO POSSIBLE OVER THE SAN JUANS. THIS BEGINS THE START TO A VERY ACTIVE WEEKEND. SATURDAY...THE BAROCLINIC ZONE PUSHES NORTHWARD AS THE IDAHO UPPER LOW STRETCHES WESTWARD INTO THE PAC NW. MEANWHILE...THE PACIFIC TROUGH PHASES WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM FLOW AS IT TRACKS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN. CONFIDENCE HAS INCREASED WITH THIS FORECAST AS THE GFS/NAM/ECMWF ARE ALL IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE PASSAGE OF THIS PACIFIC TROUGH SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. EXPECT WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA BY MIDDAY SATURDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. RIGHT NOW IT APPEARS THAT THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS WILL BE FAVORED FOR HEAVIER PRECIP AS THE PAC WAVE TAKES MORE OF A SOUTHERN TRACK. FEELING PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE NEEDED WITH THIS STORM...BUT WILL WAIT TO PIN DOWN TIMING AND LOCATION. TIMING WILL BE DIFFICULT AS THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT PIECES OF THIS STORM AND THERE WILL LIKELY BE BRAKES IN THE ACTION THAT WILL BE HARD TO TIME. A MOIST WESTERLY FLOW CONTINUES BEHIND THE TROUGH PASSAGE SUNDAY WITH THE PROGRESSIVE WET PATTERN CONTINUING. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF INDICATE ANOTHER PAC LOW MOVING ONSHORE SUNDAY. THIS LOW DIVES SOUTHWARD AS IT MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN AND CENTERS OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION BY MONDAY NIGHT. DECIDED TO KEEP BROAD BRUSHED POPS FAVORING THE SOUTH FOR THE LATER PART OF THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE MODEL SOLUTIONS STILL DIFFER SOMEWHAT. TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE NEAR TO BELOW AVERAGE...ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH THE INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND PRECIPITATION. && .AVIATION... AREAS OF MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS OVER THE MTS FROM K3MW TO KLXV THROUGH TONIGHT. THERE MAY BE SOME BREAKS LATE THIS EVENING. FOG COULD AFFECT KVEL...KGJT...KCNY AGAIN TONIGHT BUT SHOULD NOT BE AS EXTENSIVE OR AS DENSE AS WED NIGHT. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS SE UT AND SW CO TONIGHT. CLOUDS WILL BE LOWERING TOWARDS 12Z FRI ACROSS THE N AS -SN DEVELOPS. THIS AREA OF LOWER CIGS AND VSBY SHOULD SPREAD INTO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS BY 19Z THU. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THU AND THU NIGHT FOR ZONES 4/10/13. UT...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JAD LONG TERM....MCS AVIATION.....JAD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MST WED FEB 17 2010 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-181245- 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 WED FEB 17 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT FOG OVER THE WESTERN VALLEY OF COLORADO AND THE EASTERN VALLEYS OF UTAH THIS MORNING...WILL DISSIPATE BY MID TO LATE MORNING. LIGHT SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE OVER AREA MOUNTAINS TODAY...FAVORING THE NORTHWEST COLORADO MOUNTAINS. ONLY LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A SERIES OF MOIST PACIFIC STORMS WILL BRING WIDESPREAD RAIN AND SNOW TO MUCH OF WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH THROUGH NEXT MONDAY. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL FALL SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT...WITH SIGNIFICANT MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL EXPECTED. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/GJT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS INCLEMENT WEATHER. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 4 to 8 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 4 to 7 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 4 to 9 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 3 to 9 inches occurred. Some locally higher amounts included 12 inches in Gothic and over McClure Pass.
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: 210481, 210483, 210482, 210484.