A quick moving upper level disturbance brushed northwest Colorado. The northern mountains, favored in the northwesterly flow, received a quick shot of moderate snowfall.
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The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
A quick moving upper level disturbance brushed northwest Colorado. The northern mountains, favored in the northwesterly flow, received a quick shot of moderate snowfall.
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 2, 5:57 AM MST, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 557 AM MST Thu Mar 2 2023 .UPDATE... Issued at 554 AM MST Thu Mar 2 2023 Webcams are showing mostly clear skies over the San Juans and southern valleys which matches up well with the latest HRRR and NAMNEST guidance. Went ahead and cancelled the remaining winter weather highlights. && .SHORT TERM...(Today through Friday) Issued at 249 AM MST Thu Mar 2 2023 Satellite imagery clearly shows circulation around the low pressure center located over central Arizona with deep moisture still streaming up from the south. Hi res guidance has shown through the late evening and early morning hours that precip will come to an end across most of our area and this looks to be holding true. A band of heavier snow setup overnight and brought a quick inch or two along portions of the I-70 corridor before dissipating. The NAMNEST picked up on this feature well and following its lead, a marked downturn in activity was expected after 9Z...which is exactly what happened. Local obs and webcams are showing plenty of fog around but little to no snow (except down south). With that in mind, went ahead and cancelled the advisories and warnings north of the San Juans and kept the remaining highlights in place. Wouldn't be surprised if they come down early as well but with snow being reported at the Durango airport, will keep everything in place for this morning's package. As mentioned, plenty of fog has setup across the region with visibilities varying between 1/4 mile to 1 mile. Toyed with the idea of a dense fog advisory for the Grand Valley down to Montrose but webcams in town don't look 'too' bad so will hold off for now. That being said, be aware of some fog for the morning commute. By the afternoon, the low will have moved to eastern New Mexico as precip comes to an end for the area and a weak, transitory ridge builds in. Look for more clouds over the higher terrain while most valleys should see partly sunny to sunny skies. Despite generally northerly flow across the area, high temperatures will be very similar to yesterday. Heading into Friday, a shortwave will approach from the northwest and while available moisture won't be excessive, enough will accompany the wave to bring accumulating snow to the northern mountains, and to a lesser extent the central mountains. An argument could be made for an advisory for the Park/Gore Ranges but amounts remain just...barely...sub-advisory. One more look can't hurt and wouldn't be surprised if an advisory does get issued later today. Look for light snow to begin Friday morning, persisting through early Saturday morning. Widespread 4 to 6 inches will be common across the northern mountains and lesser amounts for the Flat Tops and central mountains. The northern valleys might see a quick inch or two as will the Roan/Tavaputs. Looks like another mostly cloudy day over and north of the San Juans with more sun than cloud for the southern valleys. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Wednesday) Issued at 249 AM MST Thu Mar 2 2023 Some fairly large discrepancies continue to pop up with regards to the long term. Will it be unsettled? Yep, sure looks it. It's the finer details that haven't resolved themselves yet. Snow comes to an end Saturday morning up north but it won't last long. The next storm system sets up just off the PacNW as a closed low. It won't move much but it will eject pieces of energy that will move across our CWA. It also helps that the jet stream will be right on top of us aiding in wide scale lift from Saturday through Thursday. This will also allow some gustier winds to reach the surface over the weekend...but only in the 20 to 30 mph range, a little higher in the mountains. As of now, another round of snow looks promising north of I-70 from Saturday evening through most of the week. It looks to be Wednesday or Thursday until snow tapers off. There aren't any particularly heavy times of snow, it just doesn't want to stop. Both the EC and GFS are indicating this scenario but the evolution of the PacNW low has a lot to be desired. For now, confidence remains in the low to maybe medium range but it sure looks like another week of unsettled weather coming up. Some good news is temperatures. Highs Sunday look to be right about normal from I-70 south, below up north thanks to increased cloud cover. This general trend of colder up north, seasonal or above south remains in place through the week. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Friday morning) Issued at 430 AM MST Thu Mar 2 2023 Low clouds and some dense fog continue across the area this morning. Do expect both fog and clouds to lift as the morning progresses so once the sun rises, expect conditions to start improving. Some snow continues for KDRO but this should also end in the next few hours. Expect widespread VFR conditions after 17 to 18Z. Some mid to high level clouds make a return tonight. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && UPDATE...TGR SHORT TERM...TGR LONG TERM...TGR AVIATION...TGR
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 403 AM MST Thu Mar 2 2023 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-031300- Lower Yampa River Basin-Central Yampa River Basin- Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus-Elkhead and Park Mountains- Upper Yampa River Basin-Grand Valley-Debeque to Silt Corridor- Central Colorado River Basin-Grand and Battlement Mesas- Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys- Central Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basin- West Elk and Sawatch Mountains-Flat Tops- Upper Gunnison River Valley-Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide- Northwest San Juan Mountains-Southwest San Juan Mountains- Paradox Valley/Lower Dolores River- Four Corners/Upper Dolores River-Animas River Basin- San Juan River Basin-Southeast Utah-Eastern Uinta Mountains- Eastern Uinta Basin-Tavaputs Plateau-Arches/Grand Flat- La Sal and Abajo Mountains-Canyonlands/Natural Bridges- 403 AM MST Thu Mar 2 2023 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Winter Storm Warnings and Advisories remain in effect from the San Juans southward. However, snow is expected to end this morning so these highlights are not expected to last past noon. In fact, they will probably fall off sooner than that. High pressure then builds in bringing a return to more sunny skies for much of the area. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday Another round of snow is expected for the northern mountains and surrounding areas Friday morning through Saturday morning. 4 to 6 inches of new snow looks probable. After that, unsettled weather sets up for much of next week especially for the northern valleys and mountains where more precipitation is expected. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected today or tonight, however spotters are encouraged to report snowfall amounts to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Generally 5 to 6 inches of snow fell across the area.
Generally 4 to 9 inches of snow fell across the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2023
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: 1075048, 1075047.