Another round of high winds occurred along the Front Range Foothills. Peak wind gusts included: 84 mph at the National Wind Technology Center; 77 mph, 3 miles south-southwest of Boulder; 75 mph, 3 miles southwest of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Another round of high winds occurred along the Front Range Foothills. Peak wind gusts included: 84 mph at the National Wind Technology Center; 77 mph, 3 miles south-southwest of Boulder; 75 mph, 3 miles southwest of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
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 28, 9:28 PM MST, 5 hours 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 928 PM MST TUE FEB 28 2012 .UPDATE...LOOKS LIKE 700 MB TEMPERATURES TOMORROW WILL HAVE A HARD TIME PUSHING THE SURFACE MAX TEMPS INTO THE 60S TOMORROW FOR THE PLAINS...COOLED THEM A FEW DEGREES INTO THE MID 50S FOR THE PLAINS. AS FOR THE SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE MOUNTAINS...OBSERVATIONS ARE PUTTING OUR TOTALS SO FAR IN THE 6 TO 11 INCHES. SATELLITE IS SHOWING WARMING TOPS AS WELL AS THE MAIN AREA OF CLOUDS DRYING. SHOULD SEE A DRAMATIC DROP IN SNOWFALL JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH ONLY ANOTHER INCH OR TWO OF SNOW EXPECTED. ADVISORY END TIME STILL LOOKS GOOD. THERE HAS BEEN A SLIGHT LULL IN THE HIGH WINDS FOR THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE FRONT RANGE AND FOOTHILLS. HOWEVER...THE CURRENT SPEEDS OF 20 TO 30 WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH WILL BE INCREASING SHORTLY. THE WINDIEST PERIOD WILL LIKELY BE SOMETIME BETWEEN 2 AM AND 8 AM. && .AVIATION...WILL SEE VFR CONDITIONS AT DENVER AREA AIRPORTS NEXT 24 HOURS. CURRENT LULL IN WINDS IS NOT EXPECTED TO LAST LONG. SHOULD SEE WESTERLY WINDS INCREASING WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS. WEST WINDS OF 20-35KTS AT BJC COULD GUST TO 45-50KTS AFTER 06Z TONIGHT. OTHERWISE...WINDS LIKELY TO REMAIN BELOW 25 KTS AT APA AND DIA OVERNIGHT...AND UNDER 15 KTS ON WEDNESDAY. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 341 PM MST TUE FEB 28 2012/ SHORT TERM...MODERATE QG ASCENT AND INSTABILITY AT MID-LEVELS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE UPPER LOW TRACKING NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD OVER NORTHEAST WYOMING PRODUCING THE PRECIP SHIELD SWINGING ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO THIS HOUR. PRECIP MAINLY RAIN ON THE PLAINS... ALTHOUGH RADAR RETURNS SUGGEST POCKETS OF CONVECTIVE TYPE PRECIP OUT THERE SUCH AS GRAUPEL. EARLIER TODAY SPOTTERS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF DENVER REPORTED A FEW MINUTES OF GRAUPEL WITH A COUPLE PASSING SHOWERS. CAN SPRING BE FAR OFF? MEANWHILE UPSTREAM OVER THE WESTERN COLORADO...REGIONAL RADAR MOSAIC STILL INDICATING BANDED INSTABILITY SHOWERS HEADING FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL MTNS. SNOWFALL IN THE HIGH COUNTRY HAS BEEN OFF AND ON FOR MOST OF THE DAY. PROBABLY PICKED UP NO MORE THAN A FEW INCHES OF NEW SNOW ON WEST FACING SLOPES SINCE MID-MORNING. IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS SHOULD SEE SNOWFALL RAMPING UP AGAIN IN THE HIGH COUNTRY WITH LOCAL SNOWFALL RATES UP TO AN INCH PER HOUR WITH ANOTHER 2-4 INCHES OF SNOW BY MIDNIGHT. HOWEVER ITS LATER THIS EVENING WHEN WINDS INCREASE WITH STRENGTHENING WESTERLY FLOW ON THE BOTTOM SIDE OF EXITING TROUGH. INCREASING SUBSIDENCE ALOFT...MTN TOP STABILITY AND COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL INCREASE WIND SPEEDS OVERNIGHT. ITS ON MID AND UPPER EAST SLOPES OF THE FRONT RANGE WHERE WINDS ARE FORECAST TO BE THEIR STRONGEST. ACCORDING TO MODEL CROSS SECTIONS...WINDS INCREASE STEADILY AFTER 04Z THIS EVENING AND PEAK AROUND 09Z WITH GUSTS POTENTIALLY TO +70KTS. DO NOT SEE MUCH OF THIS MOMENTUM WORKING DOWN TO THE BASE OF THE FRONT RANGE...BUT WOULDN/T RULE OUT GUSTS TO +/-35KT NEAR THE BASE OF THE FOOTHILLS LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. FOR THE PLAINS...DO NOT SEE MUCH WIND EAST OF U.S. HIGHWAY 287...EXCEPT EAST OF A FORT MORGAN TO ELBERT LINE FOR THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING WHERE WEST- SOUTHWESTERLY WIND WILL GUSTS TO +/-40KTS. EARLIER TODAY MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO ONGOING WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS. THEY INCLUDE UPGRADING THE HIGH WIND WATCH TO A WARNING IN MTN ZONES 33..34..35 AND 36...AND DELAYED ITS START UNTIL 9 PM MST THIS EVENING. AS FOR THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE MTN ZONES 31..33 AND 34...LEFT IT ALONG EVEN THOUGH ADDITIONAL SNOW AMOUNTS WILL BE ON THE LIGHT SIDE. THE DEVELOPING STRONG WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW THIS EVENING MAIN REASON FOR HANGING ONTO THE ADVISORY. FOR WEDNESDAY...DRIER AND WARMER CONDITIONS ON THE WAY FOR THE ENTIRE CWFA WITH ZONAL FLOW ALOFT AS A FLAT UPPER RIDGE PASSES BY. 700 MB TEMPS WARM 3-4C NEXT 24 HOURS RESULTING IN A 10-15F WARMING ON THE PLAINS. WINDS ALSO MUCH LIGHTER TOMORROW. LONG TERM...A LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN ROCKIES WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL BRING A MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TO COLORADO. THE MOISTURE WILL BE DEEP OVER THE MOUNTAINS WITH THE AIRMASS NEARLY SATURATED TO 400 MB. LAPSE RATES OF 6-8 C/KM COMBINED WITH THE MOIST WEST TO SOUTHWEST WILL PRODUCE OROGRAPHIC SNOW. QG LIFT WILL ALSO BE OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THIS SET UP WILL REMAIN OVER THE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT AND HAVE HIGH POPS IN THE FORECAST FOR THIS. COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTHEAST COLORADO THURSDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE A MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW BEHIND IT. BEST CHANCE FOR SNOW WILL BE LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY EVENING. WILL INCREASE POPS FOR THIS. THE GFS IS SHOWING NORTHEAST WINDS 25 TO 35 KNOTS UP THROUGH 700 MB FOR A SHORT TIME. IF THIS HOLDS TRUE...MOST AREAS ALONG THE URBAN CORRIDOR...ESPECIALLY SOUTH WILL SEE ACCUMULATING SNOW. TROUGH AXIS WILL FINALLY MOVE EAST OF THE AREA BY FRIDAY...LEAVING A NORTHWEST FLOW BEHIND IT. SNOW WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY DUE TO A SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS. EXPECTING SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WITH ONLY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS DURING THE DAY FRIDAY. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL FORM ALONG THE WEST COAST SATURDAY. THIS WILL KEEP A NORTHWEST FLOW OVER COLORADO. MAY BE ABLE TO SQUEEZE OUT A FEW SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS...OTHERWISE DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL. THE RIDGE WILL WEAKEN AS IT MOVES EAST SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THIS WILL BRING MILD AND DRY CONDITIONS. FOR TUESDAY...FLOW ALOFT WILL TURN SOUTHWESTERLY AS A TROUGH MOVES OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. STILL LOOKING DRY WITH JUST A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR MOUNTAIN SHOWERS. AIRMASS WILL CONTINUE TO BE MILD WITH HIGHS AROUND 60 DEGREES OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO. AVIATION...WILL SEE VFR CONDITIONS AT DENVER AREA AIRPORTS NEXT 24 HOURS. MAY STILL SEE A FEW WEAK SHOWERS MOVING OFF THE FOOTHILLS IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS PRODUCING A BRIEF SNOW FLURRY. OTHERWISE CEILINGS SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE 6000 FT AGL. AS FOR WINDS...WEST WINDS OF 20-35KTS AT BJC COULD GUST TO 45-50KTS AFTER 06Z TONIGHT. OTHERWISE...WINDS LIKELY TO REMAIN BELOW 25 KTS AT APA AND DIA OVERNIGHT...AND UNDER 15KTS ON WEDNESDAY. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BAKER/KRIEDERMAN LONG TERM....MEIER AVIATION...KRIEDERMAN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 1130 AM MST TUE FEB 28 2012 COZ030>051-291830- 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- 1130 AM MST TUE FEB 28 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW AND AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW WILL CONTINUE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO FOR THE REST OF TODAY AND EARLY THIS EVENING AS THE LAST BATCH OF PRECIPITATION TRACKS NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA LATER TODAY. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 5 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED IN MOUNTAIN AREAS...WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS ON WEST AND SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES. GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW FURTHER ADDING TO THE SNOW COVER ON ROADWAYS AND REDUCING VISIBILITIES MAINLY ON THE HIGHER PASSES. BY THIS EVENING...STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP ON THE EAST FACE OF THE FRONT RANGE. SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS OF OF 25 TO 35 MPH AND STRONGER GUSTS OF 70 TO 80 MPH ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP PARTICULARLY IN THE FOOTHILLS LATE THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. AREAS AT THE BASE OF THE FOOTHILLS COULD ALSO SEE GUSTY WEST WINDS LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY...BUT SPEEDS SHOULD REMAIN BELOW 50 MPH. A STORM SYSTEM PASSING OVER NORTHERN COLORADO AND WYOMING LATE THIS MORNING WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK NORTHEAST AWAY FROM COLORADO DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A MOUNTAIN WAVE AND A STRONG STABLE LAYER AT RIDGE TOP LEVEL ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE THE STRONG AND GUSTY LEE SLOPE WINDS OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING MORE SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT... WITH PERIODS OF SNOW CONTINUING THURSDAY AND INTO FRIDAY. THE BEST TIME FOR DECENT ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THE PLAINS WILL HAVE A GOOD CHANCE FOR SEEING SNOW WITH THIS SYSTEM SOMETIME THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO THURSDAY NIGHT. THE WEEKEND AND MONDAY WILL BE DRY AND MILD AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES OVER COLORADO. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. BAKER/MEIER
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
904 PM MST TUE FEB 28 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0846 PM HEAVY SNOW 5 WSW GREEN MOUNTAIN RE 39.86N 106.42W
02/28/2012 E6.0 INCH SUMMIT CO MESONET
ELLIOT RIDGE SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO.
0846 PM HEAVY SNOW 9 WNW COALMONT 40.60N 106.60W
02/28/2012 E13.5 INCH JACKSON CO MESONET
ZIRKEL SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO
0846 PM HEAVY SNOW 6 SSW GLENDEVEY 40.70N 106.00W
02/28/2012 E6.0 INCH JACKSON CO MESONET
RAWAH SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO
0846 PM SNOW 5 NNW LONG'S PEAK 40.32N 105.65W
02/28/2012 E3.0 INCH LARIMER CO MESONET
BEAR LAKE SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO
0846 PM SNOW 1 SSW ELDORA 39.93N 105.58W
02/28/2012 E4.5 INCH BOULDER CO MESONET
LAKE ELDORA SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO.
0846 PM HEAVY SNOW 1 NNE RABBIT EARS PASS 40.40N 106.60W
02/28/2012 E16.5 INCH JACKSON CO MESONET
COLUMBINE SNOTEL - ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO
0846 PM HEAVY SNOW 3 WNW ALMA 39.30N 106.12W
02/28/2012 E7.5 INCH PARK CO MESONET
BUCKSKIN JOE SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO.
0846 PM HEAVY SNOW 1 SW COPPER MOUNTAIN 39.48N 106.17W
02/28/2012 E9.0 INCH SUMMIT CO MESONET
COPPER MOUNTAIN SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO.
0846 PM HEAVY SNOW NW BERTHOUD PASS 39.80N 105.78W
02/28/2012 E9.0 INCH GRAND CO MESONET
BERTHOUD PASS SNOTEL. ESTIMATED 15 TO 1 SNOW RATIO.
0801 PM HEAVY SNOW 1 SE BRECKENRIDGE 39.50N 106.03W
02/28/2012 M9.8 INCH SUMMIT CO TRAINED SPOTTER
STORM TOTAL SINCE 3 AM TUESDAY. 4.3 INCHES SINCE 8 AM.
&&
DBThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. 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: 368116, 368117.