Near the end of March, a low moved south down the western coast of the US, as part of a broad upper trough. This brought gusty, synoptically-forced winds to SE Colorado.
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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.
Near the end of March, a low moved south down the western coast of the US, as part of a broad upper trough. This brought gusty, synoptically-forced winds to SE Colorado.
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 29, 2:56 AM MST, 7 hours 5 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 356 AM MDT Fri Mar 29 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Snow showers are expected across the mountains today, particularly across the central mountains. - Critical fire weather conditions are anticipated across the far southeastern plains today through Sunday. - Dry and cool conditions for most Friday night, with isolated snow showers along the central mountains. - Cooler and unsettled weather returns next week. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Issued at 355 AM MDT Fri Mar 29 2024 Today: Friday will bring some active weather to the region, with snow in the mountains, and fire weather for parts of the plains. Synoptically, southwesterly flow will continue to be in place, with an embedded shortwave ejecting to the northeast over the region. This wave will bring increased synoptic forcing/support, while helping to keep orographic forcing in place. With the uptick in forcing, snow showers are anticipated to blossom in coverage over the mountains, especially the central mountains, where forcing will be maximized. Given the broader support with the wave, some showers are expected to push off the higher terrain areas and spread across the valleys, particularly the upper Arkansas River Valley. Elsewhere across the area, dry conditions are anticipated as southwesterly flow doesn't overly support precipitation development away from the higher terrain. Across lower elevations, critical fire weather conditions will be a concern. As southwesterly winds increase throughout the day, and some dry air mixes to the surface, critical fire weather conditions are anticipated to materialize, mostly across the far southeastern plains where winds will be strongest. Looking at temperatures, a warm day is expected for south central and southeastern Colorado. A minor cold front will try to sag southward over the area early in the day, but the increasing flow will help to shunt this front back to the northeast throughout the day. With downsloping southwesterly winds prevailing, and mostly clear skies, the plains will warm into the 60s to mid 70s, the valleys rising into the upper 40s to 50s, and the mountains reaching into the mid 20s to 30s. Tonight: Friday night brings some quieter weather to the region. The aforementioned shortwave will exit the area, with southwesterly flow and minor height rises taking place behind it. Given the lack of any major forcing with this flow, dry conditions are expected for south central and southeastern Colorado. The exception to this will be along the central mountains, where minor orographic forcing will help to develop isolated light snow showers. As for temperatures, a cool night is anticipated for the area. The previously mentioned cold front will finally drop southward during the early evening, and along with that, mostly clear skies will allow for better radiational cooling. Given all of that, the plains will drop into the 30s, the valley sinking into the 20s, and the mountains cooling into the mid 10s to 20s. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 355 AM MDT Fri Mar 29 2024 Saturday-Sunday... Increasing fire danger will be our main forecast concern for this weekend as an upper-level jet begins to move in over our area. Winds aloft will be from the west-southwest on Saturday, with gusts mixing down to the surface as downsloping winds warm the eastern plains above seasonal averages. Afternoon highs will actually be close to or a few degrees cooler than Friday as a weak cold front moves in from the north very early in the day, mainly in the 60s to low-70s across the plains. Winds will be consistently strong across and near the higher terrain, especially around our gap flow areas, along with parts of the New Mexico border/Raton Mesa area. Humidities in the afternoon will be marginal for critical conditions, mostly around 20 percent, but portions of our far southeast plains will reach low enough to warrant the Red Flag Warning. Eastern Las Animas into Baca Counties will be the areas that experience that perfect overlap of low humidities and continuous gusty winds. On Sunday, winds will greatly increase aloft as the upper-jet moves overhead. Strong southwest winds will set in across our entire CWA, strongest over the mountains but still gusty over the lower elevations as well. The NBM came in exceedingly strong tonight, so have blended in more of the 10th percentile to make things more realistic. Even so, portions of the San Luis Valley, southern I-25, and our southeast mountains may approach High Wind criteria Sunday afternoon, though it is still a bit too early to know how consistent those conditions will be. Either way, widespread critical fire weather conditions are expected across the eastern plains Sunday afternoon. Looking at precipitation chances, the incoming upper low from the west coast will advect moisture and synoptic lift into the Continental Divide throughout the weekend. Snow showers will begin to spread across our western mountain peaks late on Saturday, increasing in coverage on Sunday to the Palmer Divide and the southeast mountains as well. As of now, accumulations don't look very heavy, though blowing snow could result in some travel issues given the winds. Monday Onwards... There is still a good amount of uncertainty to work through with the incoming system for the first half of next week. Through the end of the weekend, the upper low off of the west coast will move inland, splitting into two separate lobes of energy embedded within the broad upper-level trough. The southern low will dive south towards the mexican border, while the northern low will push eastwards towards our area. This northern low is where most of the uncertainty in the forecast exists, with different long-range models giving different strengths and speeds to the incoming system. Right now, there exists little consistency between the deterministic EC, GFS, and Canadian, and the blended guidance tends to smooth out some of the details as a result. However, a few things do remain clear. First, the system will begin to move into our area on Monday, brining a strong cold front, gusty north winds, and a big drop in high temperatures for Monday afternoon (around 20 degrees). As the front moves in, precipitation will spread from the higher terrain and quick move over the plains. The mountains and most of the valleys will largely get snowfall, but the far eastern plains should stay warm enough to only see rain. Spaces along the mountains/plains interface will likely face a mix. Finally, the system should be fairly quick-moving, meaning that by the end of the day on Tuesday we dry out and start to warm up again. For the remainder of the long- term period, an upper ridge will begin to build in, leading to quieter and warmer weather for at least a few days. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 355 AM MDT Fri Mar 29 2024 KCOS and KPUB, VFR conditions are expected over the next 24 hours. Winds this morning and tonight will remain relatively light, with southwesterly wind increasing by late morning for both TAF sites. A weak cold front will meander around both sites early in the morning, especially KCOS, and may cause dramatic wind shifts from light northeasterly flow to gusty southwesterly. This front is expected to be shunted to the northeast during mid to late morning, which is when the gusty southwesterly winds will prevail. Otherwise, dry conditions with relatively clear skies are expected, with mid to high level clouds increasing late in the TAF period. KALS: VFR conditions are expected over the next 24 hours. Winds this morning and tonight will remain relatively light, with southwesterly wind increasing by late morning for the TAF site. Otherwise, dry conditions with relatively clear skies are expected, with mid to high level clouds increasing late in the TAF period. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM MDT Saturday for COZ060. Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 7 PM MDT this evening for COZ233-237. Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 7 PM MDT Saturday for COZ233- 237. && SHORT TERM...SIMCOE LONG TERM...GARBEROGLIO AVIATION...SIMCOE
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 412 AM MDT Fri Mar 29 2024 COZ058>089-093>099-301015- 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- 412 AM MDT Fri Mar 29 2024 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Scattered snow showers are expected over the mountains throughout today, especially over the central mountains. Showers will decrease in coverage during the overnight hours, with isolated showers remaining over the central mountains. Snow accumulations of 3 to 8 inches are expected, which could cause snow covered roads along mountain passes. Critical fire weather conditions are expected across Baca and eastern Las Animas Counties today. Conditions will support easy fire ignition and spread. Near to spotty critical fire weather conditions are expected elsewhere in gap flow prone areas and the rest of the plains. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Critical fire weather conditions are expected across portions of the eastern plains both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, with Sunday being much more widespread. Mountain snow will pick up Sunday through at least Tuesday. While some uncertainty exists with the incoming system, precipitation is expected across most of the area, with a wintry mix over the plains/mountains interface and more rain over our far eastern counties. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters will not be needed today or tonight. SIMCOE/GARBEROGLIO
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
535 AM MDT Fri Mar 29 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0435 PM Landspout 6 NNE Pueblo West 38.39N 104.73W
03/26/2024 Pueblo CO Storm Chaser
Weak landspout captured on video shown on
social media. Lasted around 2 to 3 mins. No
damage reported.
&&
CSThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust of 59 mph was measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2024
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: 1168224.