A storm system brought strong winds to the mountains and foothills, along with light to moderate snowfall. In the mountains, storm totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 strong winds to the mountains and foothills, along with light to moderate snowfall. In the mountains, storm totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches. In the mountains and foothills, peak wind gusts included: 88 mph, 3 miles southwest of Rocky Flats; 85 mph near Aspen Springs and 4 miles northeast of Nederland; 84 mph near Pleasant View; 82 mph near Berthoud Pass; 79 mph near Glen Haven and Gold Hill; 77 mph at Floyd Hill with 75 mph atop Loveland Pass.
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 13, 4:24 AM MST, 21 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 424 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 424 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019 Flow aloft over Colorado is on the increase with satellite imagery also showing a lot of clouds and moisture heading our way. A 100+ knot jet stream overnight is going to be replaced by a 180+ knot jet stream later tonight along with a surge of Pacific moisture that has been producing heavy snows in the Sierra Nevada for the past couple days. These two ingredients will make for a very active next 24 hours in the Colorado mountains. Winds have been blowing over ridges and passes overnight and will be continuing through today. The High Wind Warning will remain in place through midnight. When the Pacific moisture arrives this evening, moderate to heavy snow is expected, especially to the north of the Interstate 70 corridor. Short and medium range model runs from overnight have been showing an increasing trend in the mountain QPF amounts. It looks like zones 31 and 33 could see snow falling at rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour overnight with accumulations up to a foot by midday Thursday, when a lull in snowfall is expected. Zone 34 will see lesser amounts. Will issue a Winter Storm Warning for zones 31 and 33 and and Winter Weather Advisory for zone 34. Moderate to heavy snow along with the continuing winds should make for poor travelling conditions overnight and Thursday morning. On the plains it will be dry and mild, albeit a little breezy due to the strong winds aloft. No precipitation is expected due to the strong downsloping in the lee of the mountains. Typically windy locations west of Interstate 25 could see gusty winds at times this afternoon, but below High Wind Criteria. A Red flag Warning will be in effect for southern Lincoln County this afternoon, since they will have the warmest temperatures and lowest humidities. .LONG TERM...(Thursday through Tuesday) Issued at 424 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019 Orographic snow will continue in the mtns on Thu with westerly flow aloft. The heaviest snow will be in the morning hours with lighter snow expected by midday. Across the plains it will be dry, however, a cold front will move across the far nern plains by midday and then move westward into the front range by late aftn. Thus highs will range from the upper 30s over the far northeast corner with 55 to 60 near Denver. For Thu night a disturbance will move across nrn CO with a decent amount of QG ascent. The flow aloft will become more southwest which would favor zns 31 and 33 for the best snowfall with lighter amounts in zn 34. Across the plains the low level flow will be mainly easterly Thu night and as the disturbance and associated QG ascent move across. Thus could lead to a good chc of precip generally north of a Denver to Akron line mainly in the 06z-12z time period. Depending on how things evolve some places could see a few inches of snow. By Fri drier air will spread across the area with westerly flow aloft. Thus expect snow chances will decrease in the mtns. Across the plains there still could be a good chc of snow early Fri morning over the far nern corner with dry conditons expected the rest of the day. As far as highs, readings will range from the 30's over the far nern corner with 50's along the front range. On Sat another disturbance embedded in nearly zonal flow aloft may affect the area bringing more snow to the mtns. QG fields show favorable QG ascent along with rather steep lapse rates as well. Across nern CO there is some disagreement between the ECMWF and GFS. The GFS has a bora type front moving across the plains while the ECMWF has more a northerly component behind the front. In addition the GFS has a drier airmass while the ECMWF has more moisture available to produce some light precip across the far ern plains. As for highs readings will drop back into 40s over nern CO with 30s near the WY-NE border area. By Sun a stg upper level trough will develop over the wrn US and eventually move into the Great Basin by Sun night. Cross-sections show limited moisture over the area so will only mention a chc of snow in the mtns. Across nern CO a cold front will move across the area bringing colder temperatures as readings drop into the upper 20s to mid 30s. For Sun night and Mon the upper level trough over the Great Basin will begin to move eastward as another shot of colder air moves into nern CO. Best QG ascent with this trough is fcst to stay south of the area, however, as another shot of colder air moves into nern CO this may allow for some light upslope driven snow. Highs on Mon will only be in the 20s over the plains. By Tue the upper level trough continues to linger over the area. The ECMWF shows a drier airmass with very little pcpn over the area while the GFS continues to produce some light snow. As for highs readings will continue well below normal. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Thursday morning) Issued at 424 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019 VFR conditions with varying amounts of middle and high level moisture and mountain wave conditions through the period. Light south to southeast winds this morning will shift shift to westerly by mid to late morning as the boundary layer deepens and the momentum from the strong flow aloft mixes to the surface. Main impact will be an amplifying mountain wave that leads to strong and gusty westerly winds through this afternoon, especially at KBJC with potential gusts up to 40 knots. Expect lighter winds at KDEN, but still up to 30 knots possible. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from noon today to 6 PM MST this evening for COZ247. High Wind Warning until midnight MST tonight for COZ033>036. Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 11 AM MST Thursday for COZ034. Winter Storm Warning from 5 PM this afternoon to 11 AM MST Thursday for COZ031-033. && SHORT TERM...Dankers LONG TERM...RPK AVIATION...Dankers
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 629 PM MST Tue Feb 12 2019 COZ030>051-131300- 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- 629 PM MST Tue Feb 12 2019 ...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE HIGH MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS LATE TONIGHT AND THROUGH WEDNESDAY... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED OVER SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY WEDNESDAY... This hazardous weather outlook is for northeast and north central Colorado. .DAY ONE...Tonight Strong winds will continue to strengthen over the mountains and higher foothills tonight. Peak gusts in these areas will likely reach into the 60 to 80 mph range, with stronger gusts in higher wind prone areas later tonight. For the lower elevations, there may be periods of winds gusting to 40 mph near the foothills late tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Critical fire weather conditions are expected Wednesday over southern Lincoln County as the strong winds will combine with warm and very dry weather as well with dry cured fuels. Outdoor burning of any kind is strongly discouraged. High winds are also expected in the mountains and higher foothills Wednesday into the evening which could make travel difficult for drivers of high profile vehicles. Mountain areas will also see snow increasing Wednesday night as a plume of moisture from the Pacific arrives. Winds will remain strong enough over the higher elevations to produce areas of blowing snow. Additional Pacific moisture is expected to arrive Friday with more snow in the mountains through Saturday. Cool and unsettled weather will continue Sunday and Monday. Light to moderate amounts of snow will come with each surge of moisture that moves over the state. On the plains, temperatures will be mild through Friday, but the weekend will be colder, especially Sunday and Monday. There will also be a chance of snow from Saturday through Monday, after the passage of a cold front. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Reports of strong winds will be appreciated.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind, 3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Storm totals included 9 inches at Tower SNOTEL with 7 inches at Zirkel SNOTEL.
Storm totals included 7 inches at Longs Peak and Columbine SNOTELs with 6 inches, 9 miles northeast of Cameron Pass.
Storm totals included 8 inches at Winter Park with 7 inches at Arapahoe Ridge SNOTEL.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2019
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: 808869, 808870, 808871, 808872, 808874, 808875.