The moist flow aloft continued to produce heavy snow across portions of the North Central Mountains. 5 inches at Winter Park Ski Area.
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 BOU wrote it up.
The moist flow aloft continued to produce heavy snow across portions of the North Central Mountains. Storm totals included: 16.5 inches, 1 mile northeast of Rabbit Ears Pass SNOTEL; 14 inches at Columbine SNOTEL; 13.5 inches at Zirkel SNOTEL; 12 inches at Breckenridge; 9 inches at Arapahoe Basin; with 8.5 inches at Winter Park Ski Area.
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 Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 27, 9:25 PM MST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 925 PM MST MON FEB 27 2012 .UPDATE...LOOKING AT SOME OF THE 00Z MODELS BELIEVE THERE IS LESS OF A CHANCE THE PLAINS WILL SEE MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION TOMORROW. ALSO...LOOKS LIKE TEMPERATURES WILL BE SLIGHTLY WARMER AND WILL INTRODUCE RAIN MIXING WITH SNOW ON THE PLAINS TOMORROW AS WELL AS BUMPED UP MAX TEMPERATURES. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 551 PM MST MON FEB 27 2012/ SHORT TERM...HAVE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TONIGHT PERIOD OF THE FORECAST. GIVEN OBSERVATIONS...HAVE BACKED OFF ON CHANCES OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING AS THE STRONG SOUTHWEST FLOW IS NOT CONDUCIVE TO MUCH SHOWER ACTIVITY IN OUR MOUNTAINS. HAVE ALSO ADJUSTED SKY COVER TO MOSTLY CLEAR OVER THE PLAINS EARLY THIS EVENING THEN INCREASE THE CLOUDS GIVEN THE STRATUS DEVELOPING ACROSS FAR SOUTHEAST COLORADO AND WESTERN KANSAS. CHANCES OF ANY PRECIP LOOK VERY LOW OVER EASTERN COLORADO WITH MAINLY DRY AIRMASS IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS. HAVE REMOVED MOST OF THE POPS. ALSO BUMPED UP WIND SPEEDS FOR TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE TROF SWEEPS ACROSS NORTHERN COLORADO. .AVIATION...MAIN CHANGE TO 00Z TAFS WAS TO INCREASE THE WESTERLY WINDS FOR TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS MODELS AGAIN SEEM TO BE UNDERDOING WIND SPEEDS. LATEST HRRR SHOWS DEN CYCLONE THRU THE NIGHT WITH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THE LOW LATER TONIGHT WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR FOG/STRATUS OVER THE TERMINALS. STILL A CLOSE CALL AND MAYBE A BETTER CHANCE AT BJC. LEFT THE VCFG AT KDEN BUT GIVEN CYCLONE WE MAY GET MORE FOG THAN FORECAST. WILL LIKELY MAKE MORE ADJUSTMENTS THIS EVENING. NOT VERY CONFIDENT ON PRECIP OCCURRING AT LOCAL TERMINALS BUT DID LEAVE A VCSH IN FOR NOW. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 323 PM MST MON FEB 27 2012/ SHORT TERM...UPPER TROUGH HEADING TOWARDS THE GREAT BASIN AT THIS TIME WITH FAIRLY TIGHT SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE REGION. AT THE SURFACE...GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS CONTINUING ACROSS THE PLAINS MAINLY FROM DENVER EASTWARD. MODELS STILL PERSISTENT WITH WEAKENING THAT GRADIENT DURING THE EVENING...WITH SURFACE WINDS DECREASING A RESULT. WILL CONTINUE THIS TREND. SATELLITE SHOWING MOISTURE CONTINUING TO SPREAD INTO WESTERN COLORADO...WITH RADAR SHOWING SOME ECHOES ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS. NOT A LOT CURRENTLY HAPPENING OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS... PERHAPS A FEW ECHOES ACROSS ZONE 31. AS TROUGH MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN THIS EVENING...SHOULD SEE MOISTURE INCREASE AND SNOW SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA. SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT NOT FAVORABLE FOR GOOD SNOWFALL AND ACCUMULATIONS...BUT WITH INCREASING ASCENT AND LAPSE RATES...LIKELY POPS SEEM WARRANTED WITH THE HIGHEST POPS FOR FAVORED ZONE 31. SNOW AMOUNTS TO BE IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RANGE. ACROSS PLAINS....SURFACE WINDS TO BECOME SOUTHWEST DURING THE EVENING AS THE SOUTHWEST GRADIENT INCREASES. MOISTURE TO INCREASE ACROSS THE AREA BY MIDNIGHT. LOW LEVELS SLOWING MOISTEN OVERNIGHT AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SPREADS NORTHWEST. QUESTION REMAINS HOW MUCH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE MAKES IT TO THE FOOTHILLS. LATEST RUC AS WELL AS THE HI RESOLUTION MODELS BRING THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO EASTERN ADAMS AND EASTERN ARAPAHOE COUNTIES AROUND 10Z...ENOUGH PERHAPS FOR PATCHY FOG. THIS ALREADY IN THE GRIDS. PRECIP CHANCES LOW OVERNIGHT...WITH THE BEST CHANCE ACROSS ZONE 38 WHERE SOME BANDED PRECIP IS POSSIBLE. MAY BE A RAIN/SNOW MIX FOR A FEW HOURS. ON TUESDAY...THE TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION WITH THE BEST DYNAMICS OCCURRING DURING THE MORNING. OROGRAPHICS IMPROVE DURING THE AFTERNOON BUT LIFT IS EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS AND MOISTURE DEPTH DECREASES. STILL A DECENT SHOT OF SNOW EXPECTED FOR THE MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY FOR THE MORNING HOURS...WITH ANOTHER 2 TO 5 INCHES. ACROSS PLAINS...BEST CHANCE FOR SNOW LOOKS TO BE DURING THE MORNING WHEN THE DYNAMICS MOVES OVERHEAD. BUT DOWNSLOPE WINDS WILL OFFSET THE SNOW POTENTIAL. SO ANY ACCUMULATION SHOULD BE LESS THAN AN INCH....MAINLY ACROSS ZONE 38. SNOW CHANCES DECREASE DURING THE AFTERNOON AS TROUGH MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND DOWNSLOPE INCREASES. LATEST MODELS STILL SHOW SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATION ACROSS FAR NORTHEAST CORNER DURING THE AFTERNOON. WILL KEEP CHANCE POPS THERE...BUT AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT. AS FOR PRECIP TYPE...THICKNESS PROGS SUGGEST ALL SNOW. LONG TERM...A CLOSED UPPER LEVEL LOW MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS WILL BRING A NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TO COLORADO TUESDAY NIGHT. AS THIS SYSTEM EXITS THE REGION...MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL COME TO AN END DURING THE NIGHT. A STABLE LAYER WILL FORM JUST ABOVE RIDGE TOP AND CREATE A MOUNTAIN WAVE. WINDS AT RIDGE TOP WILL BE AROUND 50 KNOTS. THE WAVE WILL ACCELERATE THESE WINDS DOWN THE FOOTHILLS RESULTING IN WIND GUSTS UP TO 80 MPH. WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND AREAS AT THE BASE OF THE FOOTHILLS FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE WINDS WILL QUICKLY DIE OFF WEDNESDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE QUICKLY PASSES OVER THE STATE. THIS WILL BRING MILD AND DRY CONDITIONS TO NORTHEAST COLORADO. NEXT STORM SYSTEM WILL DIG SOUTH ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN ROCKIES THURSDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL LIKELY BRING ANOTHER SHOT OF SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS...THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. COLD FRONT WILL PUSH SOUTH ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO THURSDAY. WINDS WILL BECOME NORTHEAST BEHIND THE FRONT...PRODUCING AN UPSLOPE FLOW. WILL HAVE SCATTERED POPS IN THE FORECAST THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. THE AREA WILL BE ON THE BACKSIDE OF THIS SYSTEM ON FRIDAY. AIRMASS WILL BE SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE AND WILL KEEP LOW POPS FOR NORTHEAST COLORADO IN THE FORECAST. FOR THE MOUNTAINS...THE SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE FLOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS WILL PRODUCE SNOW SHOWERS...THUS WILL HAVE HIGHER POPS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BE ALONG THE WEST COAST SATURDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE A DRY AND MILD NORTHWEST FLOW OVER COLORADO. THE RIDGE WILL SHIFT EAST THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO CLIMB ABOVE NORMAL SUNDAY AND MONDAY AS DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUE. ON MONDAY...SOME 60S WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO. AVIATION..STRONG SOUTHERLY GRADIENT TO SLOWLY WEAKEN ACROSS PLAINS THIS EVENING...WITH WINDS DECREASING AT DEN AND APA. WINDS TO BECOME SOUTHWEST AT ALL THE AREA AIRPORTS BY 05Z AS SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT INCREASES. MOISTURE TO GRADUALLY INCREASE THIS EVENING...WITH CEILINGS OF 5000-6000 FEET AGL PREVAILING. CHANCE FOR MVFR CEILINGS AT DEN AND APA AFTER 07Z IF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES FROM THE SOUTHEAST. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS AFTER 06Z...POSSIBLY MIXED WITH RAIN. BEST CHANCE FOR SNOW TUESDAY MORNING...AS TROUGH MOVES OVERHEAD. VFR CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL...WITH POSSIBLE MVFR CONDITIONS WITH PASSING SNOW SHOWERS. WINDS TO SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST AFTER 16Z...CONTINUING THROUGH THE DAY WITH SOME GUSTS TO 20 KTS POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WATCH FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR COZ035-036-038-039. && SHORT TERM...ENTREKIN LONG TERM....MEIER AVIATION...ENTREKIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 608 PM MST MON FEB 27 2012 COZ030>051-281300- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/ SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/ EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 608 PM MST MON FEB 27 2012 ...HIGH WIND WATCH TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY FOR AREAS EAST OF THE DIVIDE INTO THE FOOTHILLS AND ADJACENT PLAINS... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH OVER THE PLAINS WILL BEGIN DIMINISHING THIS EVENING. AN APPROACHING WEATHER SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS LATER TONIGHT WITH UP TO 2 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION BY TUESDAY MORNING. ACROSS THE PLAINS...MOISTURE WILL BE INCREASING FROM THE SOUTH BRINGING POSSIBLE PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN COUNTIES WILL LIKELY SEE STRATUS MOVING IN AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH AREAS OF FOG...AND POSSIBLE DRIZZLE. VISIBILITIES MAY BE REDUCED DOWN TO AROUND A MILE OR LESS IN FOG. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SNOW WILL FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS TUESDAY AND TUESDAY EVENING...WITH TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 7 INCHES. A FEW SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE PLAINS ON TUESDAY. ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BE LIGHT FOR NORTHEAST COLORADO. GUSTY WINDS WILL DEVELOP BEHIND THE DEPARTING SYSTEM TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. AREAS EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...IN THE FOOTHILLS AND ACROSS THE ADJACENT PLAINS MAY SEE WIND GUSTS OF 50 TO 75 MPH. THE NEXT SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS COLORADO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL LIKELY BRING MORE SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS...BEGINNING LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. NORTHEAST COLORADO MAY SEE LIGHT SNOW SOMETIME BETWEEN THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. D-L/MEIER/KRIEDERMAN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather, 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 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2012
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: 366004, 366005, 366006.