Monarch Pass received 12 inches of snow and gusty winds, while Wolf Creek pass noted 17 inches of snow with a passing storm system.
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 PUB wrote it up.
Monarch Pass received 12 inches of snow and gusty winds, while Wolf Creek pass noted 17 inches of snow with a passing storm system.
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 Feb 18, 10:56 PM MST, 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1056 PM MST Sun Feb 18 2018 .UPDATE... Issued at 601 PM MST Sun Feb 18 2018 Update for expiration of the Red Flag Warning. Incorporated latest obs data. Remainder of forecast package looks good at this time. Moore && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday) Issued at 346 PM MST Sun Feb 18 2018 ...Damaging wind gust potential increasing for the southeast mountains...Wet Mountain Valley and southern I-25 corridor... ...Critical fire weather conditions continue through 6 PM for the lower elevations of the southeast mountains and plains... High impact weather expected in the short term...mainly in the form of wind at the outset. Have extended high wind warnings for the higher peaks and the Wets, Sangre De Cristos, Wet Mountain Valley and southern I-25 corridor in Huerfano county through tonight and Monday morning. Model cross-sections show another potential round of mountain wave activity this evening through the overnight hours...with high res models suggesting the western Wet Mountain Valley and the lee of the southern Sangre De Cristo mountains could be hit the hardest. The farther south one goes, the better the cross-sections look, and NAM soundings show a decent mountain top inversion around the TAD area which is not as pronounced as far north as PUB. Gusts to around 85 mph or even a little more will be possible if the local 4 km WRF is correct for the mountains...with gusts to around 65 mph for the adjacent lower elevations. Forward shear increases Monday afternoon so although mountain peaks will continue to gust...gusts over the lower elevations shouldn't be quite as strong. Moisture will feed into the southwest mountains this evening with snow ramping up across the Continental Divide after midnight. Heaviest snow will fall through Monday into Monday night. Still looking at up to 18 inches through Monday afternoon for the Eastern San Juan mountains with up to 8 inches across the Sawatch range. Lesser amounts will be possible for the La Garita mountains. Host of Winter Weather Advisories and Warnings still look good. Upgraded the Sawatch range to a Winter Storm warning as there will be considerable blowing snow associated with this system which could result in a greater impact to travel than what snow totals suggest. Additional snow will fall Monday night into Tuesday...see discussion below for more details. As the upper trof approaches western CO Monday afternoon...the Sangre De Cristo mountains and top of Pikes Peak will get into the action, as spill over moisture upslope along the western slopes and over the Peaks. The southern San Luis valley will also pick up an quick inch or two along the valley edges during the afternoon. Across the plains a cold front will drop through during the morning and will likely hang up just south of highway 50. To the north of this front expect a sharp temperature gradient with temperatures possibly topping out in the 40s. Nudged temperatures down several degrees over model blends and guidance values...and appears NamNest may be picking up on this best. Later shifts may need to nudge temperatures down further. Meanwhile...southern I-25 corridor and southern portions of the plains could see near critical fire weather conditions return as gusty southwest winds spread across the area during the afternoon. It appears that relative humidity values will come up just shy of the 15% or lower threshold needed for a Red Flag Warning, so will hold off for now...however fire weather threat will remain elevated. -KT .LONG TERM...(Monday night through Sunday) Issued at 346 PM MST Sun Feb 18 2018 ...Pacific Conveyor Belt will keep an active pattern in place for Colorado... Monday night and Tuesday...Strong upper level trough will sweep across the region through Tue, bringing heavy snow and blowing snow to the higher terrain, and predominantly wind to the eastern plains. The trough axis is forecast to be over the Great basin Mon night, with a very strong upper jet carving out the base of the trough and laying across the Four Corners and Continental Divide. As the trough continues east on Tue, snowfall will begin to diminish by midday. Total snow amounts vary, but localized 1 foot amounts will be possible for the mts, and up to 2 feet for the sw mountains. In addition wind gusts of 55 to as high as 70 mph will be possible, so travel will be difficult at times over mt passes. Another tough aspect of the forecast through Tue will be the temps. A cold front will drop south to the Palmer Divide Mon night, but models disagree on whether this front will continue south, or stall until early Tue morning. Positioning of the front will dictate what the overnight lows will be Mon night. Currently, forecast lows are in the teens for the high valleys and along the Palmer Divide, and 20s for the remainder of the plains. Highs on Tue will be in the upper 20s and 30s, to around 40F near the Raton Mesa. Wednesday...Light upslope flow across the plains will keep temperatures cool, but much of the upper dynamics will have moved to the east so look for dry conditions through the day. As the next upper trough approaches from the west Wed night, isolated snow showers return to the continental Divide. Highs are expected to only climb into the upper 20s and 30s, to perhaps around 40F across the southern foothills, which is nearly identical to Tue. Thursday through Sunday...Models show multiple upper shortwaves dropping out of the Pacific Nw, crossing the Great Basin and streaming across Colorado through the extended period. This conveyor belt of activity should provide an almost daily shot of snow for the higher terrain, while keeping the eastern plains mainly dry and breezy. However, models do not necessarily agree on timing, so pinning down exact timing of these systems will be problematic. Look for highs each day in the upper 30s and 40s for the high valleys, and 40s to mid 50s for the plains. Moore && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Monday night) Issued at 1037 PM MST Sun Feb 18 2018 Cold front already across the Palmer Divide at 0530z, and will continue to push quickly south through the plains with large surface pressure rises over nern CO. Once winds go E-NE at KCOS and KPUB, stratus will fill in fairly quickly, with at least MVFR cigs by around 09z at both sites, and potentially a period of IFR 10z-18z. Clouds should begin to break Mon afternoon as south winds increase, with VFR cigs after 20-22z. At KALS, -shsn should stay mainly over the higher terrain until afternoon, then some patchy MVFR cigs/vis after 22z as better lift moves across the valley. SW winds at KALS will remain gusty overnight, then increase through the day Mon, and some gusts of 40-50 kts look possible after 17z. Haven't included a mention of blowing dust, but at least some patchy MVFR vis may develop over the valley during the day as winds strengthen. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until noon MST Monday for COZ072>075-078>080- 082-087. Winter Weather Advisory from 2 PM Monday to 8 AM MST Tuesday for COZ073-075-082. Winter Weather Advisory until 8 AM MST Tuesday for COZ058-061- 065>067. Winter Storm Warning until 8 AM MST Tuesday for COZ060-068. && UPDATE...MOORE SHORT TERM...KT LONG TERM...MOORE AVIATION...PETERSEN
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 325 PM MST Sun Feb 18 2018 COZ058>089-093>099-192230- Western Mosquito Range/East Lake County Above 11000 Feet- Leadville Vicinity/Lake County Below 11000 Feet- Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Western Chaffee County Between 9000 and 11000 Feet- Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Feet- Western Mosquito Range/East Chaffee County Above 9000 Feet- Saguache County West of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- Saguache County East of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Upper Rio Grande Valley/Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Feet-Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Del Norte Vicinity/Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Alamosa Vicinity/Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Southern San Luis Valley- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Feet- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Northwestern Fremont County Above 8500 Feet- Western/Central Fremont County Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000 Feet- Wet Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Teller County/Rampart Range Above 7500 Feet/Pikes Peak Between 7500 And 11000 Feet-Pikes Peak Above 11000 Feet- Canon City Vicinity/Eastern Fremont County- Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge/Rampart Range Below 7500 Feet- Colorado Springs Vicinity/Southern El Paso County/Rampart Range Below 7400 Feet-Pueblo Vicinity/Pueblo County Below 6300 Feet- Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Feet- Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Feet- 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- 325 PM MST Sun Feb 18 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Strong and locally damaging winds will continue this evening and overnight across the Wet Mountains, Sangre De Cristo mountains and the adjacent lower elevations. West to southwest winds could gust up to 85 mph across the higher peaks and eastern slopes of these mountains...with gusts to around 65 mph across the adjacent lower elevations of the Wet Mountain Valley and Huerfano county. Snow and wind will increase across the Continental Divide tonight with the heaviest snow impacting the Eastern San Juan mountains overnight. Up to 5 inches of wind driven snow will be possible across the eastern San Juans by morning with additional heavy snow expected Monday and Monday night. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Snow, heavy at times, will continue in the mountains through Tuesday morning. Winds gusting to around 60 mph will cause widespread blowing and drifting snow and poor visibilities through the mountain passes. The heaviest snow will fall over the eastern San Juan Mountains where up to around 2 feet of snow is expected by Tuesday morning. The La Garita, eastern Sawatch and Mosquito Ranges farther north could see up to a foot of snow with locally higher amounts possible particularly over the Sawatch range. The higher terrain of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Pikes Peak could see 4 to 8 inches of snow. Across the valleys and plains, amounts will be much less. The San Luis valley could see an inch or 2 of snow. The Upper Arkansas and Wet Mountain Valleys could see maybe an inch of snow. The plains, particularly over the Pikes Peak Region, could see some snow showers move across Monday night into early Tuesday. However, any accumulations should be pretty spotty and light, generally coming in well under an inch. Very strong winds will continue across the region on Monday. Across the higher elevations and east facing slopes of the Sangre De Cristo and Wet mountains, gusts to around 80 mph will be possible. Along the southern I-25 corridor gusts up to 65 mph will be possible through late morning. Another weather system could impact the region late in the week, bringing another chance of snow to the area. However, details of the storm are very uncertain at this time due to a high level of variability in models. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will be likely tonight across the mountains and southern I-25 corridor. 31/27
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2018
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: 732418, 732573.