A storm system generated snow over portions of southern Colorado. and 10 inches at Rye (Pueblo County) and Cuchara (Huerfano County).
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 PUB wrote it up.
A storm system generated snow over portions of southern Colorado. Some of the higher reported snow totals include 6 to 8 inches around Monument and Black Forest (El Paso County)...Florissant (Teller County)...Beulah (Pueblo County)...and 10 inches at Rye (Pueblo County) and Cuchara (Huerfano County).
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 Mar 26, 3:32 PM MST, 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 432 PM MDT FRI MAR 26 2010 RESENT DUE TO EARLIER TECHNICAL ISSUES .SHORT TERM... (TONIGHT AND SATURDAY) ...WIND AND SNOW OVER THE PLAINS AND EASTERN MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT... .TONIGHT...ALL MODELS INDICATE STRONG UPPER LOW WILL DEVELOP OVER THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE OVERNIGHT AND MOVE EAST INTO KANSAS BY MORNING. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL SURGE OVER THE PLAINS ND EASTERN MOUNTAINS DURING THE EVENING WITH GUSTY NORTHERLY WIND BEHIND THE FRONT. KEPT THE CURRENT ADVISORIES AND WARNINGS FOR PLAINS AND EASTERN MOUNTAINS. MONUMENT HILL AND TELLER COUNTY IS FAVORED FOR PRECIPITATION WITH THE STRONG NORTHERLY FLOW. WINDS GUSTING UP TO 40 MPH OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE WILL CREATE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS DURING THE EVENING. SNOWFALL WILL DECREASE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH OVER EL PASO COUNTY AS DOWNSLOPE OFF OF THE PALMER DIVIDE WOULD TEND TO DECREASE PRECIPITATION. OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND LAS ANIMAS COUNTY...NORTHERLY WINDS ARE FAVORABLE FOR OROGRAPHIC PRECIPITATION. HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL BE IN THE EVENING. WITH WEAKLY STABLE ATMOSPHERE...WILL GET SOME CONVECTIVE CELLS WHICH WILL PRODUCE SNOWFALL SOME SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES AN HOUR. SNOW WILL WEAKEN AFTER MIDNIGHT AS MOISTURE MOVES TO THE SOUTH AND EAST. CANCELLED THE WATCH FOR THE PLAINS AS TRANSITION TO SNOW WILL GENERALLY OCCUR AFTER MIDNIGHT. GROUND IS WARM AND ONLY EXPECT A COUPLE OF INCHES ON GRASS AND SNOW COVERED AREAS. SUSPECT THERE MAY BE A COUPLE OF HOURS OF POOR VISIBILITY DUE TO WINDS AND SNOWFALL...BUT BLOWING AND DRIFTING WILL BE MINIMAL DUE TO WET SNOW. OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF LAKE AND CHAFFEE COUNTIES...NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT IS FAVORABLE OROGRAPHICS...AND CONTINUED ADVISORY FOR THESE ZONES. .SATURDAY...TROWAL WILL DEVELOP IN WESTERN KANSAS...AND ANTICIPATE MOST PRECIPITATION ON THE PLAINS ENDING BY MID MORNING. WINDS WILL BE SUSTAINED AT 25 TO 35 MPH DURING THE DAY...WHICH IS JUST BELOW HIGH WIND CRITERIA. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT DECEASES SLIGHTLY DURING THE DAY...WHICH WILL PREVENT WINDS FROM REACHING WARNING CRITERIA. SECONDARY DISTURBANCE WILL PASS TO THE SOUTH OF THE REGION. WITH UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE AND FLOW TURNING WEAKLY NORTHEAST...SNOW SHOWERS MAY CONTINUE IN THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE DAY. --PGW-- .LONG TERM... (SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY) SUNDAY...UPPER RIDGE NOSES INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST...BUT NORTH TO NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL NOT ALLOW FOR MID-LEVEL TEMPERATURES TO WARM MUCH...STAYING IN THE -2 TO -5 CELSIUS RANGE. THIS SHOULD TRANSLATE INTO 50S FOR THE PLAINS...40S HIGH VALLEYS...AND 20S AND 30S MOUNTAINS. MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...UPPER RIDGE IN PLACE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES...WITH FLOW TRANSITIONING TO ZONAL THEN SOUTHWESTERLY...AS NEXT LONGWAVE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE WEST. MID LEVEL TEMPERATURES ELEVATE ABOVE 0 CELSIUS...AND ABOVE 5 CELSIUS ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS. WITH ABUNDANT SUNSHINE TEMPERATURE SHOULD ELEVATE FROM THE 60S ACROSS THE PLAINS ON MONDAY TO THE 70S TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. HIGH VALLEY HIGHS SHOULD BE IN THE 50S AND LOWER 60S...WITH 40S AND 50S FOR THE MOUNTAINS. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE DURING THE DAYS. NOT EXPECTING ANY FIRE WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...ASSUMING FUEL MOISTURES WILL NOT BE CRITICAL. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...THE LONGWAVE TROUGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATER THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. MAIN ENERGY LOOKS TO BE SOUTH OF OUR AREA IN NEW MEXICO...BUT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL INFLUENCE THE MOUNTAINS AND EDGES OF THE HIGH VALLEYS...FOR THE MOST PART. AS LOWER TEMPERATURES ADVECT IN WITH THE TROUGH...HIGHS WILL COME DOWN SOME 15 DEGREES FROM MIDWEEK LEVELS. -TLM- && .AVIATION... GUSTY NORTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL OCCUR AT KCOS AND KPUB TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. IFR CONDITIONS WILL ACCOMPANY THE SNOW AT KPUB AND KCOS FRIDAY EVENING. STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS ARE NOT FAVORABLE FOR SNOW AT KCOS...AND ANTICIPATE ONLY A COUPLE OF INCHES AT THE AIRPORT. HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL STAY EAST OF KALS AND DO NOT ANTICIPATE MUCH OF SUB VFR CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT. --PGW-- && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM MDT SATURDAY FOR COZ072>075- 078>080-085-087-088-094. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM MDT SATURDAY FOR COZ058-060. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 AM MDT SATURDAY FOR COZ081-082-084. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 443 PM MDT FRI MAR 26 2010 COZ058>089-093>099-272245- 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- 443 PM MDT FRI MAR 26 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A STRONG SPRING STORM WILL RAPIDLY INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES ACROSS COLORADO TONIGHT...AND INTO SOUTHWEST KANSAS AND THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES BY SATURDAY MORNING. SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS THROUGH THIS EVENING. SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE LATE THIS AFTERNOON...AND MAY BEGIN AS A RAIN/SNOW MIX AT ELEVATIONS BELOW 7000 FEET. RAIN AND SNOW WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD IN THE EVENING HOURS...SPREADING TO THE NEW MEXICO BORDER BY MID EVENING. ISOLATED EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING...WHICH COULD LEAD TO LOCALLY INTENSE SNOWFALL RATES. THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY VERY STRONG NORTH WINDS...WHICH COMBINED WITH THE SNOWFALL MAY CAUSE WHITE OUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY...AND THE RATON MESA. SEVERAL INCHES OF ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY STRONG NORTH WINDS 20 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH WILL CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHEAST COLORADO ON SATURDAY BEHIND THE DEPARTING SYSTEM. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH QUICKLY FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE PLAINS IN THE MORNING. COMBINED WITH THE STRONG NORTH WINDS...AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS IN THE MORNING...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE PALMER DIVIDE AND RATON RIDGE. THIS MAY RESULT IN WHITE OUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES...WITH SNOW BLOWING ACROSS ROADWAYS KEEPING THEM ICY AND SNOW PACKED. STRONG NORTH WINDS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES...ESPECIALLY ON EAST WEST ORIENTED ROADWAYS SUCH AS HIGHWAY 50. ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS WILL END BY SATURDAY EVENING. THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW TO THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS NEXT THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
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, March 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: 219695, 219696, 219697.