A potent weather system produced snow, heavy at times, across the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains. Some of the higher reported snow totals included: over 8 inches across the higher terrain of the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains, 5 inches near Rye (Pueblo County), Rosita and Westcliffe (Custer County), Walsenburg (Huerfano County), and 12 inches near the Spanish Peaks (Huerfano County).
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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 PUB wrote it up.
A potent weather system produced snow, heavy at times, across the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains. Some of the higher reported snow totals included: over 8 inches across the higher terrain of the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains, 5 inches near Rye (Pueblo County), Rosita and Westcliffe (Custer County), Walsenburg (Huerfano County), and 12 inches near the Spanish Peaks (Huerfano County).
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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 28, 4:36 PM MST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 536 PM MDT Tue Mar 28 2017 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Wednesday) Issued at 250 PM MDT Tue Mar 28 2017 Models in fairly good consensus with the upper low taking the more southern track across central NM. This is still a favorable track for southeast CO...and it still appears best forcing and isentropic upglide will affect southern portions of the southeast mountains tonight. Have shaded down snow amounts for Teller county and Pikes Peak a bit...though it still looks like a good 8 to 14 inches of snow will be possible with the heaviest falling across the northeast facing slopes. Higher elevations of Pikes Peak should fair a little better. The big winners with this event still appears to be the Sangre De Cristo and Wet mountains where a combination of dynamics and northeast upslope flow should push snowfall totals into the 1-2 foot range though local areas could see up to 3 feet from this storm. The Palmer Divide and Raton Ridge should also see some appreciable amounts of snow with amounts in the 5 to 12 inch range. Have added Eastern Las Animas county into a winter weather advisory for late tonight through Wednesday morning as latest models show a rain snow switch with a window for heavy snowfall late tonight through Wednesday morning. As for snow levels...model soundings still suggest rather high snow levels this afternoon and evening...around 8500-9000 feet...and given the convective nature to the event through this evening...with CAPE up to 400 j/kg...will still need to monitor the lower elevations of the newer burn scars until snow levels drop through this evening. By 06z...snow levels should be dropping to around 6000 feet...and by 12z...could see snow levels drop briefly to around 5500-5000 feet by morning. Still looks like an all rain event for the greater Pueblo area...though some flakes mixing in during the morning will still be a possibility. After 07z-08z...high res models show northerly flow off the Palmer Divide winning out over the dynamics aloft...with precipitation waning off during the early morning hours north of highway 50. Precipitation will hang on longer down along the Raton and eastern plains as the upper low pulls eastward through the TX Panhandle into NW OK and southern KS. Snow levels will rise again so eastern Las Animas county will probably shift back over to rain...so advisory will come down by noon. Overall QPF totals should range between .75 to 1.5 inches across the southeast mountains and plains...with some areas picking up 2.0 inches or a little more. A good precipitation event to help mitigate the recent drought conditions. -KT .LONG TERM...(Wednesday night through Tuesday) Issued at 250 PM MDT Tue Mar 28 2017 Active weather pattern continues through the extended as the next closed low drops through NV/UT Thursday night and tracks more slowly eastward across NM and southern CO through the weekend. Still some differences with the storm track with this one...but looks like another potential heavy precipitation producer for southern CO...with the current track suggesting the higher amounts may be shifted a bit northward from the current storm. Once again...heavy mountain snows and lower elevation rain will accompany this storm. GFS suggests heaviest snow for the southeast mountains in the Saturday-Saturday night period. Have shaded pops upwards into the likely category for these periods. This storm lingers a little longer than the past couple...then another system takes a more northern track across CO in the Monday night early Tuesday period. Overall the active pattern continues. -KT && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Wednesday evening) Issued at 516 PM MDT Tue Mar 28 2017 Overview... There is a low pressure system currently located over north central New Mexico propagating easterly as time progresses. The major weather concern is precipitation, which will affect ALS, COS, and PUB. ALS... Generally there will be northerly/northeasterly flow throughout most of the forecast period. Precipitation will start out as rain, transitioning to snow during the late evening/ overnight hours. Conditions will deteriorate to MVFR conditions overnight. Flight categories improve to VFR in the late morning hours. COS... Rain will transition to snow during the late evening/overnight hours. During the precipitation event, MVFR conditions will be experienced, improving to VFR in the late morning hours. The northerly winds become gusty during the late evening and will continue to be gusty throughout the forecast period. PUB... Rain will be observed during the evening and the overnight hours. Flight conditions will degrade to MVFR conditions until the late morning hours when the flight category becomes VFR. The northerly winds remain constant throughout, becoming gusty later this evening and remain gusty for the rest of the forecast period. Skelly && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until noon MDT Wednesday for COZ058>061- 063-065>068. Winter Storm Warning until noon MDT Wednesday for COZ072-076-078- 079-081-084. Winter Storm Warning until noon MDT Wednesday for COZ073-080-082. Winter Storm Warning until 6 PM MDT Wednesday for COZ075. Winter Storm Warning until 6 PM MDT Wednesday for COZ074. Winter Storm Warning from midnight tonight to 6 PM MDT Wednesday for COZ087-088. Winter Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to noon MDT Wednesday for COZ094. && SHORT TERM...KT LONG TERM...KT AVIATION...SKELLY
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 600 AM MDT Tue Mar 28 2017 COZ058>089-093>099-291200- Western Mosquito Range/East Lake County Above 11000 Ft- Leadville Vicinity/Lake County Below 11000 Ft- Eastern Sawatch Mountains above 11000 Ft- Western Chaffee County Between 9000 and 11000 Ft- Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Ft- Western Mosquito Range/East Chaffee County above 9000Ft- Saguache County West of Continental Divide Below 10000 Ft- Saguache County East of Continental Divide below 10000 Ft- La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Ft- Upper Rio Grande Valley/Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Ft- Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft- Del Norte Vicinity/Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft- Alamosa Vicinity/Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft- Southern San Luis Valley- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Ft- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains above 11000 Ft- Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Ft- Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Ft- Northwestern Fremont County Above 8500Ft- Western/Central Fremont County Below 8500 Ft- Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Ft- Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000Ft- Wet Mountains above 10000 Ft- Teller County/Rampart Range above 7500fT/Pike's Peak Between 7500 And 11000 Ft-Pikes Peak above 11000 Ft- Canon City Vicinity/Eastern Fremont County- Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge/Rampart Range Below 7500 Ft- Colorado Springs Vicinity/Southern El Paso County/Rampart Range Below 7400 Ft-Pueblo Vicinity/Pueblo County Below 6300 Feet- Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Ft- Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Ft- Crowley County-La Junta Vicinity/Otero County- Eastern Las Animas County-Western Kiowa County- Eastern Kiowa County-Las Animas Vicinity/Bent County- Lamar Vicinity/Prowers County-Springfield Vicinity/Baca County- 600 AM MDT Tue Mar 28 2017 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight A moist spring storm system will track slowly east across central New Mexico into Texas today through Wednesday. This system will bring heavy amounts of snow to the eastern mountain ranges of southern Colorado and lighter, more modest amounts to the western mountain areas along the Continental Divide. It will also bring heavy snow to elevations above 6500 feet across the plains, including the Palmer Divide and the Raton Mesa areas. There may even be some brief heavy, wet snow down to about 4500 feet by late tonight with some light accumulations possible on grassy areas. The snow will likely have a major impact on travel in the mountains and along portions of the I-25 corridor starting late this afternoon and continuing tonight. Elevations above 6500 feet along the I-25 corridor could see major travel impacts, with lesser impacts below 6500 feet. If possible, avoid traveling during the storm. If you must travel, leave early, travel slowing and don't follow too close. Carry winter survival gear such as food, water, extra clothes, blankets, a shovel, flashlight, cell phone and portable charger. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Widespread rain and higher elevation snowfall will be ongoing across South Central and Southeast Colorado early Wednesday morning, with precipitation diminishing from northwest to southeast through Wednesday afternoon. The passing Spring storm system is expected to bring wet heavy snowfall to the mountains, especially the Wet Mountains and Sangre de Cristo Range where 1 to 2 feet of snow accumulation can be expected by Wednesday afternoon, with locally higher amounts possible. The higher elevations in the Pikes Peak region will likely see 10 to 20 inches with the rest of the mountains and higher valleys seeing snow accumulations around 5 to 10 inches. Snow across the lower elevations will depend on how where the rain snow line develops. Current temperatures profiles indicate snow levels will fall to around 6000 feet by Wednesday morning over the Palmer Divide, into the Colorado Springs area. Areas over Monument Hill into northern Colorado Springs will likely see 5 to 10 inches of snowfall by Wednesday afternoon. Locations under 5000 feet will likely see all rain, including Pueblo. Further south, heavy snow will be possible over the southern Interstate 25 corridor. Expected heavy precipitation is forecast to drive the snow level down to the surface, and combine with upslope flow to produce prolonged moderate to heavy snowfall. Current forecast amounts of 5 to 10 inches are expected, but more may be possible, especially along and west of Interstate 25. Another potentially significant Spring storm is forecast to affect all of the region Friday through Sunday. This storm will also have the potential to bring another round of heavy snow to the mountains and the higher elevations on the Plains. Thunderstorms, some possibly strong, will be possible on Friday on the plains. Heavier rainfall across the lower elevations are expected with another 1 to 2 inches possible. Rivers and streams will need to be monitored. The active weather pattern looks to continue into early next week. Please stay abreast of the latest weather forecast during this week as the weather is forecast to become quite active. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will be likely tonight at elevations above 6,000 feet. 50/23
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
652 PM MDT TUE MAR 28 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0652 PM HEAVY RAIN 1 SE PUEBLO WEST 38.30N 104.74W
03/28/2017 M1.00 INCH PUEBLO CO NWS EMPLOYEE
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NWS PUEBLO CO
IRIS SYSTEMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2017
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: 683927, 683929, 683931, 683932, 683935, 683937.