As the upper trough moved east, it left breezy northwesterly winds over most of southeast Colorado. Good orographic lift allowed for some enhanced snow formation, while gusty winds continued over portions of the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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.
As the upper trough moved east, it left breezy northwesterly winds over most of southeast Colorado. Good orographic lift allowed for some enhanced snow formation, while gusty winds continued over portions of the area.
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 5, 10:20 PM MST, 40 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1020 PM MST Wed Mar 5 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - As a new storm system moves in, steady snow will begin over the mountains, particularly the Sawatch Range and the eastern San Juans. - Strong southwest winds blanket the area tomorrow. High Wind Warning issued over the San Luis Valley, while areas of blowing dust move across the eastern plains. - Red Flag conditions expected tomorrow afternoon over the far southeast plains. - Period of snow and strong winds through much of the extended period. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 220 PM MST Wed Mar 5 2025 Rest of Today and Tonight... Upper ridge will remain in place through tonight, just ahead of our next incoming system. With ample moisture in place, snow showers will push into the Continental Divide. Looking at the wind orientation, strong WSW flow will favor orographics into the San Juans and parts of the Central Mountains, which will net us the heaviest accumulations in those areas. Have upgraded the San Juans to a Winter Storm Warning, considering the consistent moderate to heavy snow and the strong winds, and have issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the Sawatch Range as well. Amounts will be slightly less there than the San Juans, but still impactful. However, the snow will fall slower, lasting into the long-term period. Regardless, locally heavier amounts will be possible over some of the mountain peaks, and blowing snow will still result in travel impacts, especially in/around mountain passes. Lighter amounts are expected across the rest of the higher terrain, including a few inches across the peaks of the Sangres. Interestingly, the Wet Mountains should remain largely dry, as will most of the eastern plains. Thursday... A deep upper trough will dig down over the western states on Thursday, with strong and moist southwest winds funneling into our region out ahead of it. These strong winds are expected to downslope into the San Luis Valley, with southwest gusts approaching 50 knots for several hours in the afternoon. The strong winds will also bring in spotty blowing dust, particularly in areas that remain dry and snow expands across the nearby terrain. The strongest gusts will be on the east side of the valley, and as a result we may also see some strong winds through La Veta Pass and into Huerfano County. However, only about 30% of NBM members currently show Huerfano County meeting High Wind criteria tomorrow afternoon, and even fewer of the HREF members, so chose not to expand the wind highlight, though we did upgrade the valley itself to a High Wind Warning. However, gusty gap flow winds will still be possible across Huerfano, and travel could be hazardous on N-S oriented roads, including I-25. Looking out over the plains, gusty southwest winds will spread across the rest of our CWA by late tomorrow morning, though no locations are expected to hit warning criteria. Visibility may be lowered in places throughout the afternoon due to blowing dust, and caution is advised when traveling. Meanwhile, RH values over our far southeast counties will dip to around 15 percent, and with the winds coming in consistently strong have decided to upgrade yesterday's Fire Weather Watch to a Red Flag Warning, for the same zones/times. High temperatures will still be fairly warm across the area, in the 40s-50s across the valleys and in the 60s to near-70 over the plains. As such, any precipitation that manages to escape the higher terrain should just fall as rain, if it hits the ground at all. There are some isolated POPs across the San Luis Valley through the day tomorrow, but the snow should stick close to the mountains, unless a few showers blow off towards the east. For the plains, best chance of precip would be an isolated rain shower or two over the Palmer Divide during the afternoon tomorrow. However, most current model guidance, both deterministic and ensemble, as well as the grand majority of NBM members, keep everything lee of the mountains dry through tomorrow. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 220 PM MST Wed Mar 5 2025 Models are in decent agreement through early next week, with some differences into next week. An active pattern looks to remain across Colorado through the extended period, with a lull in activity Sunday into Monday. Thursday night through Saturday...two upper storm system will impact southern Colorado for late this week into the weekend. The first will be shifting east across the region Thursday night, while the second move across the Desert Southwest Friday into Saturday. The main impacts on Thursday night will be continued Mountain snowfall, along with winds through midnight. Periods of moderate to possibly heavy snow will continue through much of the overnight Thursday, dissipating by Friday morning ahead of the next upper system. Snow looks to be heaviest across the San Juan Range, where 3 to 7 inches may be possible by Friday morning. Further north into the Central Mountains, accumulations of 1 to 4 inches are possible through Friday morning. As for wind, strong winds will be present Thursday evening, and will decrease for much of the San Luis Valley, and areas south of Highway 50 through the evening hours. Higher elevations of the southern Sangre de Cristo Range will remain gusty, with winds near 60 to 65 mph possible overnight. Expect a brief lull in activity for Friday morning. An upper low is forecast to take shape across Arizona and track east across New Mexico through Saturday morning. At the surface, a cold front will arrive by Friday afternoon, with wind turning northerly through the afternoon into the evening. Upslope, moisture and decent lift associated with the storm passing to the south will lead to a period of snow and rain late Friday afternoon through the overnight period. Precipitation type will be dependent on temperatures. As colder air advects into the region, snow levels will fall to near 5 kft Friday night. This will be a quick burst of precipitation, with up to 2 inches possible along and west of the I-25 corridor. If rain can change to snow quickly, totals may need to be brought up slightly. Higher amounts are expected along the Eastern Mountains. Near continuous light snow is expected along the Continental Divide, with several more inches of accumulation. All told, snow amounts of 6 to 12 inches with locally higher amounts are forecast across the San Juan range, with 4 to 8 inches forecast over the Central Mountains. The upper low will quickly shift east into Texas on Saturday. Expected precipitation to come to an end from north to south by Saturday afternoon as the upper system moves away. High temperatures Friday and Saturday will be cool, with 40s and 50s across the Plains. Sunday into Monday...upper level high pressure will shift east across Colorado late in the weekend into early next week. Dry conditions are forecast, and temperatures are expected to warm nicely. Highs on Sunday will top out in the 60s across the Plains. As for shifts more southwesterly on Monday, enhanced mixing will help boost temperatures through the 60s into the lower 70s. Spotty, near critical fire weather concerns are possible on the Plains. Tuesday into Wednesday...the next upper wave will move into the area Tuesday into Wednesday with another round of mountain snowfall and elevated fire weather concerns. Currently, strong westerly winds look possible on the Plains along with low humidity values. We will continue to monitor the possibility of dangerous fire weather conditions. Snow will also be possible across the higher terrain, mainly along the Continental Divide. Temperatures will remain warm, with 60s and 70s across the Plains. Mozley && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 1016 PM MST Wed Mar 5 2025 Strong winds are going to be main issue starting early afternoon and may last through the rest of the taf fcst period for all 3 taf sites, KPUB, KCOS and KALS. VFR is likely through most of the period but blowing dust may be an issue at times once the winds get cranked up. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM Thursday to 11 PM MST Friday for COZ060. Winter Storm Warning until 5 AM MST Friday for COZ067-068. High Wind Warning from 11 AM to 6 PM MST Thursday for COZ069>071. Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 6 PM MST Thursday for COZ233- 236-237. && SHORT TERM...GARBEROGLIO LONG TERM...MOZLEY AVIATION...HODANISH
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 336 AM MST Wed Mar 5 2025 COZ058>089-093>099-061045- 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- 336 AM MST Wed Mar 5 2025 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Snow will move into the Continental Divide region after sunset and last through the night. The snow may become moderate over the San Juans after midnight. Two to four inches of snow will be possible over the Continental Divide by sunrise Thursday. Strong gusty southwest winds will develop over the San Juans towards sunrise. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday A system passing through from late tonight into Saturday will bring a variety of weather hazards to the area. Hazardous travel due to wind driven snow, low visibilities, and slick and snow covered roads will be possible across the high country through this period, especially for tonight through Friday night over the San Juans, where 12 to 18 inches of snow is expected. Strong southwest winds are expected across the area, with damaging wind gusts in excess of 60 mph possible over the San Luis Valley on Thursday. High fire danger is also possible over our far southeast plains on Thursday, due to low relative humidity values and gusty winds in excess of 25 mph. Please avoid activities that could start a fire on Thursday, especially on the southeast plains! This system continues into Friday and Saturday, bringing rain and snow chances eastward onto the plains through the end of the week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will be likely over portions of the region. 34/EHR
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 heavy snow, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
There was 5.0 inches of snow measured.
There was 12.0 inches of snow measured.
There was a 63 mph wind gust measured.
There was a 61 mph wind gust measured at the ALS ASOS.
There was 4.9 inches of snow measured.
There was 4.5 inches of snow measured.
There was 4.6 inches of snow measured.
There was 4.0 inches of snow measured.
There was 4.5 inches of snow measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2025
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: 1248915, 1248921, 1248924, 1248925, 1248917, 1248919, 1248920, 1248922, 1248923.