An area of low pressure which originated off the coast of Baja, California moved inland and lifted across the Four Corners region. Favorable southwesterly orographics led to moderate and periods of wet, heavy snow across the higher elevations of the Southwest San Juan Mountains as well as over the Grand Mesa.
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 GJT wrote it up.
An area of low pressure which originated off the coast of Baja, California moved inland and lifted across the Four Corners region. Favorable southwesterly orographics led to moderate and periods of wet, heavy snow across the higher elevations of the Southwest San Juan Mountains as well as over the Grand Mesa.
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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 12, 4:01 PM MST, 59 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
1240 PM MDT THU MAR 12 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0700 AM SNOW 4 NNW MOUNT CRESTED BUT 38.97N 106.98W
03/12/2020 M3.5 INCH GUNNISON CO CO-OP OBSERVER
CO-OP OBSERVER STATION GTHC2 4.2 N MOUNT
CRESTED BUTTE.
0750 AM SNOW 1 NNE CRESTED BUTTE 38.88N 106.98W
03/12/2020 M1.4 INCH GUNNISON CO CO-OP OBSERVER
CO-OP OBSERVER STATION CBUC2 0.7 NE CRESTED
BUTTE.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
310 PM MDT THU MAR 12 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0800 AM DENSE FOG GRAND JCT. 3NW 39.14N 108.59W
03/12/2020 MESA CO NWS EMPLOYEE
1/4 MILE VISIBILITY.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
312 PM MDT THU MAR 12 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0806 AM DENSE FOG GRAND JCT. REDLANDS 39.09N 108.63W
03/12/2020 MESA CO TRAINED SPOTTER
300 FEET VISIBILITY SINCE SUNRISE.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Generally 6 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with up to 18 inches estimated at the Spud Mountain SNOTEL site.
Generally 3 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2020
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 871969, 871970.