A moist northwest flow behind a departing Four Corners upper trough brought accumulating snowfall to the northern and central mountains of western Colorado.
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 moist northwest flow behind a departing Four Corners upper trough brought accumulating snowfall to 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 3, 2:51 AM MST, 5 hours 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 251 AM MST THU FEB 3 2011 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... FRIGID AIR REMAINS TRAPPED IN THE REGIONAL VALLEYS EVEN AS AIR ALOFT BEGINS TO MODIFY. FOG HAS FORMED AGAIN IN THE YAMPA VALLEY THIS MORNING...BUT WILL BURN OFF BEFORE NOON. WINDS ARE GENERALLY LIGHT AND TERRAIN DOMINATED THIS MORNING. THE COLD CORE UPPER LOW THAT BROUGHT US THE ARCTIC AIR WILL CONTINUE TO SAG SOUTH INTO WEST TEXAS TODAY WHILE THE WEST COAST RIDGE HAS AMPLIFIED INLAND. PACIFIC DISTURBANCES RIDING THROUGH THE RIDGE ARE SHEERING. THE FIRST WILL SPREAD CLOUDS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY AND MAY PRODUCE SOME FLURRIES ALONG THE NORTHERN CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND PARK/GORE RANGE. WARM ADVECTION ALOFT CONTINUES THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. INCREASING CLOUDS FAVORING THE NORTH WILL HELP TO MODIFY THE MORNING LOW TEMPERATURES...BUT STILL WENT WELL BELOW GUIDANCE THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. IN MILDER TEMPERATURES THURSDAY NIGHT...NORTHERN VALLEY FOG FORMATION WILL LIKELY BE DISRUPTED. CHANCES FOR SNOWFALL INCREASE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT AS A MORE DYNAMICAL DISTURBANCE PASSES. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... WEST COAST RIDGE AND CENTRAL PLAINS TROUGH WILL SANDWICH WESTERN COLORADO UNDER A RETURN OF MOIST NORTHWEST FLOW BEGINNING SATURDAY AND PERSISTING THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL SET THE STAGE FOR A SERIES OF FAST MOVING SHORTWAVES TO PASS THROUGH THE REGION. TIMING OF INDIVIDUAL WAVES WILL REMAIN A CHALLENGE... ALTHOUGH FAVORABLE OROGRAPHICS WILL BE ENOUGH TO GENERATE A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SNOWFALL FOR OUR NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME...SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL LOOKS POSSIBLE FOR THE PARK AND GORE RANGES AND THE FLAT TOPS SURROUNDING STEAMBOAT SPRINGS. IN ADDITION...NOSE OF 100+ KT JET WILL BE SETTLING OVER THE AREA... PROVIDING SOME DYNAMIC FORCING AWAY FROM INDIVIDUAL WAVES RIDING THROUGH. SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT WILL BE FAIRLY ACTIVE OVER OUR MOUNTAINS AS A SHOT OF COLDER AIR ALOFT ARRIVES WITH A PASSING WAVE...INCREASING INSTABILITY AND ENHANCING SNOWFALL. BRIEF BREAK EARLY SUNDAY...FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER STRONGER WAVE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. HIGHLIGHTS ARE LOOKING POSSIBLE SHOULD THIS PATTERN HOLD... WHICH IS LOOKING MORE REASONABLE AS THE MODELS CONVERGE ON A SIMILAR SOLUTION. THE POSITIVE ABOUT THIS ENERGETIC NORTHWEST FLOW WILL BE MIXING THE BITTERLY COLD AIRMASS OUT OF THE VALLEYS...WITH MOST LOCATIONS RETURNING TO MORE SEASONAL READINGS BY SUNDAY. HOWEVER... ANOTHER PUSH OF ARCTIC AIR ARRIVES EARLY NEXT WEEK AND WITH CLEARING CONDITIONS EXPECTED EARLY TUESDAY...CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR ANOTHER MORNING OF VERY COLD TEMPERATURES...ALTHOUGH MODIFIED FROM THOSE EXPERIENCED OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS. && .AVIATION... AREAS OF FOG ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH 18Z FOR KHDN AND KVEL ALONG WITH PATCHY RIVER FOG IN THE VICINITY OF KEGE AND KASE. OTHERWISE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING VFR CONDITIONS TODAY AND TONIGHT. INVADING CLOUDS TODAY WILL PRODUCE MVFR CIGS AT KHDN KEGE AND POSSIBLY KASE AFT 21Z. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...NONE. UT...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JOE LONG TERM....JDC AVIATION.....JOE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 422 AM MST THU FEB 3 2011 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-041115- 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- 422 AM MST THU FEB 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY SERIES OF DISTURBANCES WILL START MOVING OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE OFF AND ON THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS FROM THIS SERIES OF STORMS WILL BE HEAVIEST IN THE ELKHEADS...PARK...FLATTOPS AND GORE MOUNTAIN RANGES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 6 to 12 inches was measured across the area as wind gusts up to 30 mph produced localized blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall amounts of 4 to 13 inches were reported across the area along with occasional wind gusts of up to 40 mph that resulted in areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall measurements of 6 to 12 inches were recorded across the area as winds gusted up to 30 mph at times.
Snowfall amounts in the 5 to 10 inch range were reported with wind gust up to 35 mph that produced areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches fell over the area along with wind gusts up to 40 mph that produced areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches were measured across the area with some blowing and drifting due to wind gusts up to 50 mph.
Snowfall amounts of 2 to 6 inches fell across the area with occasional wind gusts up to 30 mph that created localized blowing and drifting snow.
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, February 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: 323350, 323353, 323357, 323351, 323355, 323358, 323361.