A weather disturbance caused a general 5 to 7 inches of snow from the Wet Mountain Valley to the Upper Arkansas Valley. The eastern San Juan Mountains had over 8 inches of snow, including the summit of Wolf Creek Pass.
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The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
A weather disturbance caused a general 5 to 7 inches of snow from the Wet Mountain Valley to the Upper Arkansas Valley. The eastern San Juan Mountains had over 8 inches of snow, including the summit of Wolf Creek Pass.
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 Apr 23, 4:15 AM MST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 515 AM MDT SAT APR 23 2011 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) ...FIRST IN A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES APPROACHING THE AREA... WELL...THE WEATHER PATTERN IS ABOUT TO CHANGE FOR A WHILE. SATELLITE PICTURES THIS MORNING SHOW A FEW WAVES OF MOISTURE HEADED THIS WAY. MEANWHILE...THE LOW LEVEL FLOW ON THE PLAINS HAS BECOME EASTERLY UPSLOPE. A COUPLE OF UPPER JETS ARE INFLUENCING SOUTHERN COLORADO WEATHER RIGHT NOW...ONE IS EXITING THE STATE THROUGH THE UPPER MIDWEST...LEAVING COLORADO IN THE RIGHT REAR LIFTING REGION OF THAT JET. THE OTHER IS APPROACHING COLORADO ACROSS CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA...PUTTING COLORADO IN THE LEFT FRONT LIFTING REGION OF THAT JET. SO...THE 2 JETS TOGETHER ARE GENERALLY LIFTING THE AIR OVER COLORADO...A GOOD THING IF YOU WANT PRECIPITATION. MODEL FORECASTS GENERALLY LEAVE COLORADO IN THIS POSITION BETWEEN THE 2 UPPER JET STREAMS THROUGH TONIGHT. SO...GENERAL ASCENT SHOULD CONTINUE OVER THE AREA FOR A WHILE. AS THE WAVES OF MOISTURE FROM THE PACIFIC MOVE OVER THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT...SNOW WILL DEVELOP IN THE MOUNTAINS AND CONTINUE FOR A WHILE. PRE-EXISTING WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES WILL CONTINUE FOR THE MOUNTAINS WITH VERY SIMILAR SNOWFALL TOTALS TO PREVIOUS FORECASTS. MEANWHILE...ACROSS THE PLAINS...LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE FLOW HAS DEVELOPED FAIRLY DEEPLY ACCORDING TO THE LATEST PUEBLO DOPPLER RADAR WIND PROFILER DATA. THE PROFILER INDICATES EAST TO SOUTHEAST FLOW OF 20 KNOTS UP THROUGH ABOUT 10000 FT MSL. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS AND LAPS SURFACE ANALYSES SHOW UPSLOPE FLOW ACROSS ALL OF THE PLAINS UP TO THE MOUNTAINS...AND EVEN UP INTO THE ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY ABOVE CANON CITY. LOOKS LIKE SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE EVEN WORKING UP INTO THE WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY FROM THE SOUTH. SO...WITH UPSLOPE UNDERWAY... THIS WILL AID THE PROCESS OF GRADUALLY LOWERING THE CLOUD BASE AND MOISTENING THINGS UP IN THE LOWER LEVELS. EVENTUALLY...SOME PRECIPITATION MAY ACTUALLY REACH THE GROUND OVER THE PLAINS ADJACENT TO THE MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING PORTIONS OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR. THIS COULD HAPPEN TODAY...BUT THE CHANCES LOOK EVEN BETTER TONIGHT AS THE MAIN PART OF APPROACHING PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE AREA. THE AIRMASS WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL GENERALLY KEEP THE SNOW LEVEL ABOVE 6500 FEET FOR MOST LIGHT PRECIPITATION. HOWEVER...IN AREAS OF HEAVIER PRECIPITATION...THE PRECIPITATION-COOLED AIR MAY LOWER THE SNOW LEVEL DOWN TO AS LOW AS 5500 FEET AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. SO...AN INCH OR TWO OF WET SNOW ON GRASSY AREAS IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS NEAR THE MOUNTAINS. THE HIGH VALLEY AREAS...INCLUDING THE ARKANSAS...SAN LUIS AND WET MOUNTAIN VALLEYS...COULD ALSO SEE SOME WET SNOW SHOWERS AT TIMES THROUGH TONIGHT. HEY...IT'S SPRING TIME IN THE ROCKIES! FOR THE LOWER PLAINS...EAST OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR...THE PRECIPITATION PROSPECTS ARE NOT LOOKING AS GOOD THROUGH TONIGHT. COULD BE SOME SPOTTY SHOWERS THAT MAKE IT EAST...BUT FOR THE MOST PART...A DRY FORECAST IS ON THE BOOKS. HOWEVER...THE PLAINS EAST OF I-25 WILL STILL BENEFIT FROM HIGHER HUMIDITIES OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THIS SHOULD HELP TO KEEP THE FIRE DANGER DOWN...WHICH IS CERTAINLY A GOOD THING. IN FACT...THERE ARE NO FIRE WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS ANYWHERE ACROSS SOUTHERN COLORADO TODAY. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE. HOPE IT LASTS. WALROD .LONG TERM... (SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY) UNSETTLED METEOROLOGICAL PATTERN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO AT LEAST TUESDAY NIGHT AS AT LEAST 2 DISTINCT UPPER WAVES IMPACT CWFA... WITH PRIMARY LONGER TERM METEOROLOGICAL CONCERNS CONTINUING TO BE SNOW AMOUNTS...TEMPERATURES...GUSTY WINDS AT TIMES AND THUNDERSTORM POSSIBILITIES(ESPECIALLY FROM SUNDAY INTO TUESDAY). RECENT COMPUTER SIMULATIONS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT HEALTHY SNOW AMOUNTS OVER SEVERAL HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS INTO SUNDAY WITH LOCALIZED HEAVY SNOW CONTINUING EVEN INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING(ESPECIALLY OVER PORTIONS OF ZONES 60 AND 68) AS 1ST UPPER SYSTEM MAKES ITS WAY ACROSS COLORADO. FOR NOW WILL CONTINUE WITH THE WINTER STORM WARNING ENDING OVER ZONES 60 AND 68 AT 00Z MONDAY...ALTHOUGH LATER SHIFTS MAY NEED TO EXTEND THE WINTER STORM WARNING BY AN ADDITIONAL 12 TO 18 HOURS OR SO AS LATEST MODELS SUPPORT SEVERAL ADDITIONAL INCHES OF SNOW FROM SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING OVER PORTIONS OF ZONES 60 AND 68. WFO PUEBLO WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR LATEST REAL-TIME TRENDS AND COMPUTER MODELS/SIMULATIONS CLOSELY. ELSEWHERE OVER THE CWFA...HAVE PAINTED ISOLATED TO SCATTERED POPS DURING THE LATER SUNDAY INTO MONDAY TIME-FRAME. HAVE ALSO DEPICTED ISOLATED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MAJORITY OF THE CWFA DURING THE SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY TIME-FRAME. LATEST DGEX COMPUTER RUN CONTINUES TO SUGGEST THAT A IMPRESSIVE SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP OVER COLORADO ON TUESDAY WITH A CLOSED LOW DEVELOPING OVER THE TEXAS PANHANDLE REGION BY TUESDAY NIGHT...WHILE BOTH THE ECMWF AND GFS40 ARE MORE PROGRESSIVE AND LESS INTENSE WITH THIS PROJECTED STORM SYSTEM. IF THE DGEX MODEL VERIFIES THEN GUSTY WINDS IN COMBINATION WITH WIDESPREAD HEAVY PRECIPITATION WOULD BE NOTED OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWFA FROM LATER TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. ON THE OTHER HAND IF THE GFS40/ECMWF SOLUTIONS ARE MORE ACCURATE THEN GUSTY WINDS IN COMBINATION WITH LOWER QPFS(WHEN COMPARED TO THE DGEX) WOULD BE NOTED OVER EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE CWFA DURING THE TUESDAY NIGHT/WEDNESDAY MORNING TIME-FRAME. FOR NOW...WILL CONTINUE TO DEPICT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED POPS OVER EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE CWFA DURING THIS TIME-FRAME. STRONGEST WINDS DURING THE LONGER TERM SHOULD BE NOTED SUNDAY NIGHT AND THEN AGAIN FROM MONDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. COOLEST TEMPERATURES OF THE LONGER TERM ARE ANTICIPATED SUNDAY AND TUESDAY WHILE WARMEST TEMPERATURES OF THE LONGER TERM ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. && .AVIATION... WAVES OF PACIFIC MOISTURE WILL WORK ACROSS SOUTHERN COLORADO DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...WITH LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE FLOW ACROSS THE PLAINS. THIS WILL LEAD TO GRADUALLY DETERIORATING CONDITIONS...FROM WEST TO EAST TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. AFTER A BREAK IN SNOWFALL ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE YESTERDAY AND MOST OF THE NIGHT...IT HAS STARTED SNOWING AGAIN ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AROUND LEADVILLE THIS MORNING. KLXV IS CURRENTLY REPORTING MVFR CIGS AND VSBYS. THESE CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY WORSEN OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. IN GENERAL...CONDITIONS ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WILL DETERIORATE TO IFR/LIFR THIS MORNING AND REMAIN THERE THROUGH TONIGHT AND EVEN SUNDAY. WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THESE AREAS TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY. FARTHER EAST...CLOUD BASES WILL CONTINUE TO LOWER THIS MORNING...WITH SCATTERED MVFR AND LOCAL IFR/LIFR CONDITIONS DEVELOPING FROM THE I-25 CORRIDOR WESTWARD...LASTING THROUGH TONIGHT. FARTHER EAST...MUCH LESS IF ANY PRECIPITATION IS EXPECT SO CIGS AND VSBYS SHOULD GENERALLY REMAIN VFR NEXT 24 HOURS. WALROD && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM MDT SUNDAY FOR COZ066. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM MDT SUNDAY FOR COZ068. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO NOON MDT SUNDAY FOR COZ073-080-082. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MDT SUNDAY FOR COZ058>060. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 804 PM MDT FRI APR 22 2011 COZ058>089-093>099-240215- 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- 804 PM MDT FRI APR 22 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE REGION WILL BRING SNOW SHOWERS TO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AT TIMES TONIGHT. ELEVATIONS ABOVE 9000 FEET COULD SEE 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW BY SATURDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES COMBINED WITH OROGRAPHIC UPSLOPE FLOW WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATING SNOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...FROM SATURDAY INTO MONDAY. A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING INTO MONDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET...THE WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FEET...THE PIKES PEAK REGION ABOVE 11000 FEET...THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FEET...THE EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET AND LAKE COUNTY. IN ADDITION...HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS GENERALLY ABOVE 6000 FEET MAY ALSO NOTE SOME ACCUMULATING SNOW AT TIMES FROM THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAZARDOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...HAIL UNDER 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH AT TIMES ARE ANTICIPATED OVER GENERALLY EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION FROM SUNDAY INTO TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. 27/34
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2011
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: 303227.