A series of winter storms spread precipitation across southeast Utah throughout the month of March, improving drought conditions from abnormally dry and moderate drought to near normal by the end of the month, while northeast Utah remained abnormally dry.
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 series of winter storms spread precipitation across southeast Utah throughout the month of March, improving drought conditions from abnormally dry and moderate drought to near normal by the end of the month, while northeast Utah remained abnormally dry.
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 28, 3:25 PM MST, 8 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 325 PM MST SUN FEB 28 2010 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY CANCELLED FOR THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS... .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY... THE UPPER CLOSED LOW MOVED FURTHER SOUTH THROUGH SOUTHERN AZ AND NM AND MOST OF THE ASSOCIATED DYNAMICS BECAME CONSOLIDATED CLOSE TO THE LOW CENTER. THUS...NOT AS MUCH MOISTURE ADVECTED INTO WESTERN CO AND EASTERN UT AS EXPECTED. CONVECTIVE SHOWERS AND AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM BLOSSOMED OVER THE SAN JUANS AND UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU... BUT THE CONVECTION IS MAINLY SMALLISH CUMULUS. REPORTS FROM AREA INCLUDED INSIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS. LOW LEVEL FLOW HAS ALREADY TURNED AROUND TO THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA. MOISTURE AND CLOUDS ADVECTING IN FROM THE NORTH APPEAR SCANT AS WELL. BELIEVE THE CURRENT AND NEAR FUTURE ACTIVITY WON/T SUPPORT ADVISORY LEVEL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THE LATEST MODELS SUPPORT THIS CONCLUSION AS WELL. THE MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST OF THE AREA. THERE SHOULD BE SNOWFALL OVER AND EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE THROUGH TONIGHT. THIS STORM IS QUICKLY BECOMING A FRONT RANGE STORM. A SHARP RIDGE WILL SPREAD OVER THE AREA MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY...AND HAVE ELIMINATED MOST OF THE POPS AND CLOUDS IN THOSE PERIODS. .LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WEAKENS AS THE AXIS MOVES OVERHEAD TUESDAY NIGHT. EXPECT DRY CONDITIONS INTO WEDNESDAY. THE NEXT SYSTEM IS CLOSED OFF JUST OFF AS IT MOVES ON SHORE OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CA. MODELS HAVE PUSHED THIS SYSTEMS TRACK FARTHER SOUTH AND SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE WEDNESDAY FIRST INCREASING CLOUD COVER AND THEN PRECIPITATION FROM WEST TO EAST. PRECIPITATION WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD ON THURSDAY. THE LOW OPENS AS IT EXITS THE GREAT BASIN AND BECOMES MORE PROGRESSIVE WHICH COULD REDUCE SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS. THE TROUGH AXIS IS EXITING THE AREA BY FRIDAY MORNING ALTHOUGH THERE IS SOME DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN MODELS WITH THE EC SLOWER. THE NEXT STORM DIGS ALONG THE WEST COAST LATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THE GFS BRINGS THE LOW INTO THE GREAT BASIN AND THEN TRACKS OVER THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS SATURDAY. THE EC CLOSES THE LOW AND KEEPS IT SPINNING ALONG THE WEST COAST. STARTED TO TREND POPS TOWARD THE GFS BUT WITH THE GREAT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODELS CONFIDENCE IS LOW FOR TRACK AND TIMING. && .AVIATION...OROGRAPHIC SNOW SHOWERS WILL CAUSE BRIEF MVFR AND EMBEDDED IFR CONDITIONS OVER THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH TONIGHT. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...NONE. && SHORT TERM...CJC LONG TERM....AS AVIATION.....CJC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 552 AM MST SUN FEB 28 2010 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-011300- 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- 552 AM MST SUN FEB 28 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD FROM THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4-8 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE FAVORED MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY ONCE STORM MOVES OUT OF AREA MONDAY...NEXT CHANCE FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER WILL BE THURSDAY/FRIDAY AND THEN AGAIN SUNDAY AS ANOTHER STORM MOVES INTO THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT...HOWEVER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Abnormally dry conditions persisted across the area, except in the extreme northeast portion of the area where moderate drought conditions persisted throughout the month.
Abnormally dry conditions persisted across the area.
Abnormally dry conditions persisted across the area.
Abnormally dry conditions across the entire area at the beginning of the month persisted across northern parts of the area throughout the month, while southern portions improved to no drought conditions by the end of the month.
Abnormally dry conditions at the beginning of the month improved by the end of the month to a situation with no more drought.
Significant improvement in drought conditions occurred throughout the month. Abnormally dry conditions in the northern area and moderate drought conditions in the southern area improved by the end of the month to a situation with no more drought across the entire area.
Significant improvement in drought conditions occurred throughout the month. Abnormally dry conditions in the eastern area and moderate drought conditions in the western area improved to a situation with no drought across the entire area by the end of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, 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: 221078, 221079, 221080, 221081, 221082, 221083, 221084.