Significant moisture along with an upper level disturbance combined to produce snowfall over the northern and central mountains of western Colorado.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
Significant moisture along with an upper level disturbance combined to produce snowfall over the northern and central mountains of western Colorado.
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 23, 3:18 PM MST, 19 hours 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 318 PM MST TUE FEB 23 2010 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... RIDGE TO OUR WEST SHIFTS EWRD OVERNIGHT WITH RIDGE LINE PASSING TO OUT EAST BY 12Z WED. IN THE MEANTIME SHRT WAVE ENERGY MOVES INTO THE WRN GRT BASIN. THIS WILL BACK THE FLOW TO A WESTERLY ZONAL FLOW ON WED. AS SHRT WV ENERGY APPROACHES OUR CWA EXPECT INCREASING AND LOWERING CLDS FROM THE WEST DURING THE AFTERNOON. SHWRS WILL LIKELY BREAKOUT OVER THE MTNS LATE IN THE AFTERNOON FAVORING THE NORTH. FORCING RATHER LIMITED AT THIS TIME AND LAPSE RATES NOT ALL THAT RESPONSIVE SO EXPECT LITTLE IF ANY MEASURABLE PCPN. THE HEAVIEST PCPN WILL OCCUR WED NIGHT AS OPEN WAVE TROF PASSAGE OCCURS AND FORCING PEAKS...ALSO APPEARS TO BE WEAK SFC FRONTAL PASSAGE. FEEL MOST MTN LOCATIONS WILL RECEIVE 2-4 INCHES OF SNOWFALL DRIVEN BY COMBINATION OF OMEGA AND COUPLET OF CONVG/DIVG. INSTABILITY SHOWERS WILL CARRY OVER INTO THURSDAY AS MSTR AND OROGRAPHICS (NW WINDS AROUND 20KTS) WORK WITH UNSTABLE LAPSE RATES AS MID LEVEL COOLING OCCURS. EXPECT ANOTHER 1-3 OVER THE FAVORED NRN AND CNTRL MTNS. TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE BUT REMAIN BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS WED NIGHT AND THURSDAY MAINLY DUE TO CLD COVER. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY... THE NEXT IN A SLOW PROGRESSION OF STORMS PASSES THIS WEEKEND... FAVORING THE SOUTH WITH PRECIPITATION. THE 12Z GFS AND EC ARE IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH STORM TIMING AND STRENGTH. THURSDAY NIGHT: NW FLOW ALOFT WITH THE RIDGE AXIS OVER THE GREAT BASIN. CLEARING SKIES AND WARM ADVECTION ALOFT SHOULD PRODUCE COLD OVERNIGHT VALLEY TEMPERATURES. FRIDAY: RIDGE AXIS PROGRESSES OVERHEAD SWITCHING THE LIGHT FLOW ALOFT TO SW. SPLITTING PACIFIC TROUGH COMES ONSHORE. CLOUDS TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT FOR MILDER TEMPERATURES. SATURDAY-SUNDAY: SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE TROUGH CLOSES OVER LAS VEGAS SATURDAY...THEN DIGS DIAGONALLY THROUGH NM SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. CYCLONICALLY-CURVED JET NOSE RAKES THE FOUR CORNERS SATURDAY PRODUCING GOOD UPPER DIVERGENCE OVER SE UT AND THEN SW CO. 700MB WINDS INCREASE TO SW20-30KTS FAVORING THE S-FACING SLOPES. CURRENT TIMING IS FOR TROUGH PASSAGE AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH THE 700MB LOW OVER EAST-CENTRAL UTAH. DYNAMICAL SUPPORT BREAKS DOWN QUICKLY ON SUNDAY. OROGRAPHIC SNOWFALL IN NW FLOW ALSO DIMINISHES THRU THE DAY AS THE FLOW BACKS TO NE. MONDAY-TUESDAY: ANOTHER COOL MORNING MONDAY IN LIGHT DRY NORTH FLOW UNDER SUNNY SKIES. RIDGE AXIS BUILDS IN FROM THE WEST ON TUESDAY. THE NEXT PACIFIC TROUGH CURRENTLY TIMED TO PASS NEXT THURSDAY OR FRIDAY. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THE EXCEPTION WILL OVER PARTS OF THE UINTA BASIN AND KVEL WHERE LOW CIGS AND VIS FROM FOG WILL CAUSE IFR CONDITIONS THROUGH 17Z WEDNESDAY. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE UT...NONE && SHORT TERM...MC LONG TERM....JOE AVIATION.....MC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 4 to 10 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 4 to 6 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 4 to 6 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred. Locally heavier amounts up to 15 inches were reported at the Dry LAke SNOTEL site.
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 211796, 211797, 211798, 211795, 211794.