Another storm system moving through the region produced heavy snow in the Front Range Foothills. Storm totals in the Front Range Foothills included: 12 inches near Black Mountain and Pine Junction, 10 inches near Conifer and Nederland; 9 inches, 12 miles northwest of Golden; 8 inches near Evergreen, with 6 inches near Eldorado Springs.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 storm system moving through the region produced heavy snow in the Front Range Foothills. Storm totals in the Front Range Foothills included: 12 inches near Black Mountain and Pine Junction, 10 inches near Conifer and Nederland; 9 inches, 12 miles northwest of Golden; 8 inches near Evergreen, with 6 inches near Eldorado Springs.
As the system moved into the east central plains of Colorado, snow and blowing snow produced blizzard conditions along and south of the Interstate 70 corridor, from just east of Denver to the Kansas state line. Storm totals generally ranged from 3 to 7 inches. North winds of 25 to 30 mph were reported with gusts around 40 mph. Roads became impassable as snow and blowing snow produced 3 to 4 ft snow drifts. Road and highway closures included: Interstate 70 from Aurora to the Kansas state line; U.S. 40 between Limon and Kit Carson; and U.S. 24 between Colorado Springs and Limon.
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 26, 10:09 AM MST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 1009 AM MST TUE FEB 26 2013 .UPDATE... && .SHORT TERM...UPPER TROUGH MOVING ACROSS MOUNTAINS AT THIS TIME. GOOD QG LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH ALONG WITH DECENT LAPSE RATES. RADAR SHOWING FRONT RANGE FILLING IN AS BANDS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW MOVES SOUTH ACROSS THE DENVER AREA. THERE APPEARS SOME DRYING ACROSS EASTERN LARIMER AND NORTHWEST WELD COUNTIES. PLATTEVILLE PROFILIER AS WELL AS SURFACE OBS INDICATING SURFACE WINDS MORE OF A NORTHERLY DIRECTION WHICH IS AIDING IN THE INCREASED ACTIVITY. AS TROUGH MOVES ONTO PLAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON...SURFACE WINDS SHOULD SHIFT TO A MORE NORTHWEST DIRECTION. ACROSS MOUNTAINS...WEB CAMS SHOWING LIGHT SNOW MOST LOCATIONS. MAIN CHANGES FOR THIS UPDATE WILL BE TO INCREASE THE POPS ALONG FRONT RANGE TO REFLECT CURRENT TRENDS. WILL ALSO INCREASE THE SNOW AMOUNTS A BIT...BUT OVERALL...ACCUMULATIONS FOR THE DAY WILL BE LIGHT. .AVIATION...BAND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW CONTINUES TO MOVE SOUTH ACROSS THE DENVER AREA WITH IFR CONDITIONS AT DEN AND BJC. THIS BAND SHOULD BE SOUTH OF DEN AND BJC BY 18Z WITH CONDITIONS GRADUALLY IMPROVING. BAND COULD AFFECT APA AROUND 18Z IF THE MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW HOLDS TOGETHER. WINDS TO BECOME MORE NORTHWEST DURING THE AFTERNOON AS THE TROUGH MOVES OVERHEAD. LOOKING LIKE MVFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON WITH OCCASIONAL IFR CONDITIONS WITH HEAVIER SHOWERS. ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND 1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE FOR DEN AND BJC ...WITH UP TO 3 INCHES AT APA. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 331 AM MST TUE FEB 26 2013/ SHORT TERM...MAIN CONCERN OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS IS SNOWFALL POTENTIAL WITH NEXT UPPER LEVEL WAVE TO MOVE ACROSS COLORADO. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWING A BROAD CIRCULATION MOVING ACROSS SOUTHWEST WYOMING AND EASTERN UTAH YET SEEMS OVERALL CIRCULATION RATHER BROAD AND DISORGANIZED. HOWEVER IT DOES HAVE A GOOD CHUNK OF UPWARD ASCENT AS NOTED ON LAYERED QG PROGS AS IT MOVES ACROSS COLORADO TODAY AND TONIGHT. OBSERVATIONS UPSTREAM SHOWS MOISTURE SOMEWHAT LIMITED HOWEVER JUST IN THE PAST HOUR OR SO CEILINGS ARE LOWERING ACROSS WESTERN COLORADO AND CENTRAL WYOMING WITH LARAMIE NOW REPORTING SNOW AS WELL AS VERNAL ON THE UTAH SIDE. THERE IS ALSO SOME GOOD INSTABILITY WITH THIS SYSTEM AND COUPLED WITH THE MODEST ASCENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO GENERATE DECENT AREAL COVERAGE OF SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT PLAINS. THE LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL INCREASE FROM THE NORTH AND NORTHWEST SO THERE WILL BE A BIT OF DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT ESPECIALLY NOTED ACROSS LARIMER AND WELD COUNTIES TODAY WITH LESS AREAL EXTENT OF SHOWERS. LOCATIONS SOUTH OF DENVER INTO DOUGLAS AND ELBERT COUNTIES WILL BE FAVORED FOR SNOW PRODUCTION DUE TO FAVORED OROGRAPHIC FLOW. GIVEN THE ABOVE...LOOKS LIKE UP TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW OVER THE ADJACENT PLAINS AND LESSER AMOUNTS AS YOU MOVE EAST OUT INTO THE EASTERN PLAINS. GIVEN THE CONVECTIVE NATURE THERE MAY BE SOME HEAVIER AMOUNTS ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN SOUTH AND WEST OF DENVER. ONLY MADE MINOR CHANGES TO CURRENT FORECASTS AS THE UPWARD TREND IN POPS TAKEN YESTERDAY SEEMS TO REFLECT CURRENT THINKING. THE SNOW SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL BE RAPIDLY DIMINISHING LATER THIS EVENING AS AIRMASS STABILIZES AND SUBSIDENCE MOVES IN BEHIND EXITING TROF. LONG TERM...NORTHWEST FLOW WILL BE ALOFT AS THE CURRENT TROUGH MOVES TO THE EAST AND RIDGING BEGINS TO BUILD IN FROM THE WEST. SOME LINGERING MOISTURE WEDNESDAY MORNING MAY ALLOW FOR ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE PLAINS...MAINLY SOUTH OF I-70...AND SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE MOUNTAINS. SOME INSTABILITY DURING THE AFTERNOON WILL ALLOW FOR THE SCATTERED SHOWERS TO CONTINUE OVER THE MOUNTAINS WITH ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS GENERALLY STAYING BELOW AN INCH. AS THE SUNS HEAT DIMINISHES IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING...SO WILL THE SHOWERS. HIGHS WEDNESDAY WILL BE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN TODAY. ANOTHER PIECE OF ENERGY WILL SEND A WEAK DISTURBANCE DOWN OVER THE STATE IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW THURSDAY. RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THE CHANCES FOR SNOW WILL STAY IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH OROGRAPHICS BEING THE MAIN GENERATOR AS QG VERTICAL VELOCITIES ARE ALL GENERALLY DOWN. THERE WILL BE A WEAK SURGE ON THE PLAINS BUT IT WILL BE QUITE SHALLOW AND SHOULDN'T HELP CONTRIBUTE TO ANY SORT OF UPSLOPE PATTERN. THIS DISTURBANCE SHOULD BRING A GOOD CHANCE OF SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY THEN BECOMING A SLIGHT CHANCE FRIDAY AS MOISTURE REMAINS IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL THESE TWO DAYS. THE RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD AND MOVE OVER THE STATE SATURDAY TO BRING WARMER AND DRIER CONDITIONS WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THE PLAINS WILL LIKELY SEE TEMPERATURES AROUND 50 DEGREES WITH THE MOUNTAINS IN THE 30S. SUNDAY IS BEGINNING TO HAVE BETTER AGREEMENT WITHIN THE MODELS FOR THE NEXT SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE STATE. AN UPPER TROUGH WILL DIG DOWN FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TO BRING A CHANCE FOR SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS BEGINNING SUNDAY THEN SPREAD ONTO THE PLAINS MONDAY MORNING WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN AS TEMPERATURES WOULD STILL BE WARM ENOUGH FROM UNDER THE RIDGE. RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY WITHIN EACH MODEL HAS NOT BEEN SO GREAT...SO WILL KEEP THE CHANCE POPS FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THE PLAINS. AVIATION...CEILINGS WILL GRADUALLY LOWER THIS MORNING LEADING TO SNOW SHOWERS BY LATE MORNING AND CONTINUING THROUGH EARLY EVENING. ILS APPROACHES LIKELY BY MID MORNING AND POSSIBLE MVFR CIGS/VSBYS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN SNOW SHOWERS. INCREASING NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS BY AFTERNOON WITH SPEEDS IN THE 15-25KT RANGES...ESPECIALLY AT KDEN. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS LOOK TO BE FROM 1-2 INCHES...HIGHEST AMOUNTS AT APA. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...D-L LONG TERM....KRIEDERMAN AVIATION...D-L
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 1041 AM MST TUE FEB 26 2013 COZ030>051-271745- 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- 1041 AM MST TUE FEB 26 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS COLORADO TODAY AND THIS EVENING WITH SNOW AND CONTINUED COLD TEMPERATURES. LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT PLAINS THROUGH THIS EVENING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE FRONT RANGE URBAN CORRIDOR WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS SOUTH OF DENVER ACROSS JEFFERSON...DOUGLAS AND WESTERN ELBERT COUNTIES. OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH VALLEYS...EXPECT 2 TO 8 INCHES BY LATER TONIGHT. OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS ONLY SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON WITH ANY ACCUMULATIONS UNDER AN INCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SNOW FOR THE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY INTO EARLY FRIDAY AS A WEAK DISTURBANCE PASSES OVERHEAD. THE WEATHER WILL THEN TURN WARMER AND DRIER BEFORE ANOTHER SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE AREA SUNDAY INTO MONDAY BRINGING A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION TO THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT...HOWEVER SNOWFALL REPORTS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather, 2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2013
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: 436307, 436308, 436311, 436312.