A storm system brought moderate, locally heavy snowfall to parts of the north central mountains and Front Range Foothills. Storm totals included: 15 inches at Columbine SNOTEL; 11 inches at Deadman Hill SNOTEL; 10 inches at Buckhorn Mountain; 9 inches at Zirkel SNOTEL; 8 inches at Long Draw Reservoir SNOTEL, with 7 inches at Willow Park SNOTEL.
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.
A storm system brought moderate, locally heavy snowfall to parts of the north central mountains and Front Range Foothills. Storm totals included: 15 inches at Columbine SNOTEL; 11 inches at Deadman Hill SNOTEL; 10 inches at Buckhorn Mountain; 9 inches at Zirkel SNOTEL; 8 inches at Long Draw Reservoir SNOTEL, with 7 inches at Willow Park SNOTEL.
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 Mar 1, 9:42 PM MST, 2 hours 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 942 PM MST SUN MAR 1 2015 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 942 PM MST SUN MAR 1 2015 TRACKING A BAND OF SNOW THAT HAS MOVED NORTH OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE. THIS BAND IS MOVING SLOW AND DISSIPATING AS IT HITS DRIER AIR. OVER THE PLAINS...NOT EXPECTING MUCH MORE THAN HALF AN INCH FROM THE BAND...WITH THE BETTER CHANCES HAS IT HEADS NORTH TOWARDS LARIMER COUNTY AND THE CHEYENNE RIDGE. WARNING FOR ZONE 31 STILL LOOKS ON TRACK FOR STARTING TONIGHT. AS FOR THE WATCH OUT FOR ZONE 34...WILL LEAVE THIS ALONE AS CONFIDENCE IS STILL NOT HIGH ENOUGH WHETHER IT WILL SEE ADVISORY OR WARNING AMOUNTS. NEWEST NAM RUN HAS HINTED AT MORE OF A BANDING SIGNATURE OVER JACKSON AND LARIMER COUNTIES TONIGHT THEN DECREASING. THIS COULD PUSH IT OVER THE WARNING AMOUNTS....BUT HAVEN'T SEEN AS MUCH OF THIS IN ANY OTHER MODELS. && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 325 PM MST SUN MAR 1 2015...CORRECTED A MOIST WEST TO SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BE OVER COLORADO TONIGHT. SNOWFALL ACTIVITY WILL BE LIMITED IN THE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF I70 THIS EVENING...WITH THE MAIN PLUME OF MOISTURE FURTHER SOUTH OVER THE CENTRAL COLORADO MTNS. LATER TONIGHT THE PLUME OF MSTR SHIFTS NORTHWARD INTO ZONES 31 AND 33. THE SWLY OROGRAPHIC COMPONENT WILL FAVOR THOSE MOUNTAIN ZONES THE MOST. SINCE A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CARRYOVER INTO TUESDAY...WL GO AHEAD AND HOIST A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ZONE 31 AFTER MIDNIGHT. IN ZONE 34...THE SNOWFALL WILL BE LIMITED BY LESS FAVORABLE OROGRAPHIC COMPONENT AND MID LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION. ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS...WL KEEP A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW IN THE DENVER AREA ESPECIALLY THROUGH 06Z W/ BETTER MOISTURE IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS RIDING OVER THE ARCTIC AIRMASS. SNOWFALL WILL BE LIMITED...MAYBE AN INCH WEST OF I25 AND SOUTH OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE. LESSER POPS NORTHEAST OF DENVER. THE FOCUS OF PCPN BY 12Z MONDAY WILL SHIFT NORTH TO NEAR THE WYOMING/NEBRASKA BORDER. ON MONDAY...THERE WILL BE A BIT OF A BREAK IN THE SNOW COVERAGE OVER THE MOUNTAINS IN THE MORNING THEN BY THE AFTERNOON...MOISTURE WILL INCREASE AS THE TROUGH OVER SRN CA MOVES EASTWARD INTO EASTERN NV/WESTERN UT. THE BEST MID AND UPPER LEVEL QG ASCENT WILL BE IN THE AFTN...WITH SNOW AGAIN INCREASING IN THE MOUNTAINS AT THAT TIME. ACROSS THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND NORTHEAST PLAINS...COULD AGAIN SEE SOME PATCHY FOG IN AND AROUND DENVER EARLY. THE ARCTIC AMS WILL LOOSEN ITS GRIP ON DENVER THROUGH THE DAY BUT IT MAY BE A LITTLE SLOER TO MOVE OUT THAN THE MDLS SUGGEST. WL KEEP SOME LOW 40S OVER SRN/SWRN PARTS OF THE DENVER AREA WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES FURTHER NORTH. IN THE FOOTHILLS AND PARTS OF THE URBAN CORRIDOR...THERE COULD BE MORE OF A MIX OF RAIN/SNOW WITH PCPN IN THE AFTERNOON WITH WARMER MID LEVEL AIR FILLING INTO THE AREA AND THE ARCTIC AMS SHIFTING EAST. .LONG TERM...(MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 158 PM MST SUN MAR 1 2015 ON MONDAY NIGHT...A PIECE OF THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE SOUTHWEST PART OF THE COUNTRY WILL EJECT NORTHEAST ACROSS COLORADO. THIS WILL KEEP SNOW GOING IN THE MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT. DEEP MOISTURE COMBINED WITH THE STRONG FLOW ALOFT AND THE JET MOVING OVERHEAD...WILL PRODUCE HEAVY SNOW AT TIMES...MAINLY OVER NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. FLOW ALOFT WILL TURN WESTERLY BEHIND THE EJECTING WAVE AND KEEP SNOW GOING IN THE MOUNTAINS TUESDAY. FOR THE PLAINS...A SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE ACROSS EASTERN COLORADO MONDAY NIGHT. STILL PLENTY OF UNCERTAINTY WHERE IT WILL TRACK. THE 12Z ECMWF HAS THE LOW GOING ACROSS LINCOLN COUNTY WHERE THE GFS IS CLOSER TO AKRON AND THE NAM12 TRACK IS NEAR THE WYOMING BORDER. A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO NORTHEAST COLORADO BEHIND THE LOW AS IT EXITS THE STATE. TIMING OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE IS UNCERTAIN DUE TO THE TRACK OF THE LOW. EVENTUALLY THE COLD FRONT WILL PUSH SOUTH THROUGH THE STATE. AN UPSLOPE NORTH TO NORTHEAST FLOW WILL DEVELOP BEHIND IT AND PRODUCE SNOW ALONG THE FRONT RANGE. OVER THE PLAINS EAST OF DENVER...SNOW WILL BE LIGHTER. WILL HAVE HIGHS POPS IN THE FORECAST FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT FOR THIS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COLD TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WITH READINGS 20 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. FOR WEDNESDAY...UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS WILL MOVE ACROSS COLORADO AND CAUSE FLOW ALOFT TO TURN NORTHWESTERLY THROUGH THE DAY. ALSO...THERE MAY BE A WEAK WAVE AND IT COULD BE SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE... SO WILL KEEP A MENTION OF SNOW IN THE FORECAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY. MODELS STILL DISAGREE ON HOW FAR SOUTH THE TROUGH WILL DIG AND THE AMOUNT OF COLD AIR THAT WILL MAKE IT INTO THE STATE. THE 12Z NAM HAS VERY COLD AIR OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO WEDNESDAY WHICH WOULD KEEP HIGHS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE NOT QUITE AS COLD...WITH HIGHS CLOSER TO 20 DEGREES. WILL KEEP WITH THE TREND OF THE CURRENT FORECAST WITH HIGHS MAINLY IN THE TEENS. FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...THE RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN STATES KEEPS GETTING SHIFTED WEST BY THE MODELS. THIS WILL KEEP A COOL AND DRY NORTHWEST FLOW OVER COLORADO LATE IN THE WEEK. NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL REMAIN OVER COLORADO NEXT WEEKEND. MODELS ARE SHOWING A WEAK WAVE EMBEDDED IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW MOVING ACROSS THE STATE SOMETIME NEXT WEEKEND. IF THIS PANS OUT...WOULD EXPECT A SHOT OF COOLER AIR AND PERHAPS SOME SNOW. WILL PUT LOW POPS IN THE FORECAST FOR SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT FOR THIS SYSTEM. WILL ALSO KEEP TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY EVENING) ISSUED AT 942 PM MST SUN MAR 1 2015 MAINLY MVFR CIG/VSBY THROUGH TONIGHT. LGT WINDS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR A WEAK DENVER CYCLONE COULD AGAIN BRING FOG INTO THE AIRPORTS LATE TONIGHT...SO HAVE ADDED TEMPO GROUP OF 1/2 MILE VSBY AFTER 12Z AT KDEN AND TO 2SM AT KAPA AND KBJC...COULD HOWEVER BE LOWER BUT WL HOLD OFF. CIGS/VSBYS WILL IMPROVE AT ALL THE AIRPORTS AFTER 15Z...WITH VFR CONDITIONS IN THE AFTN. WESTERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE MONDAY NIGHT AS A STRONGER COLD FRONT PUSHES DOWN FROM CANADA....EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE STATE TUESDAY MORNING. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST TUESDAY FOR COZ031. WINTER STORM WATCH FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON FOR COZ033. && UPDATE...KRIEDERMAN SHORT TERM...COOPER LONG TERM...MEIER AVIATION...KRIEDERMAN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 1101 AM MST SUN MAR 1 2015 COZ030>051-021815- 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- 1101 AM MST SUN MAR 1 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE IN THE MOUNTAINS TODAY AND THEN MAY BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD TONIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE 2 TO 4 INCH RANGE. AT LOWER ELEVATIONS THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SOME LIGHT SNOW REDEVELOPING IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS AND OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE MAINLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE UNDER 2 INCHES. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN WELL BELOW NORMAL OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY PERIODS OF WILL SNOW OCCUR IN THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS MAY BE SIGNIFICANT MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. A STRONG COLD FRONT WITH UPSLOPE FLOW WILL MOVE ACROSS EASTERN COLORADO LATE MONDAY NIGHT. SNOW IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COLD TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY BEHIND THE FRONT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 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 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2015
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: 564185, 564186, 564187, 564188.