February and winter climate information, a look back at the last storm

February Climate Review

Meteorological Winter Review

February 26-28 Winter Storm Summary

Forecast Page to be Updated!

February 2017 brought very warm weather to much of eastern Utah and western Colorado for the first three weeks of the month. In fact, several record high temperatures were recorded at several sites from February 8th through the 11th. The month was even on track to be the warmest on record in Grand Junction. However, a strong cold front arrived early on week four, sending temperatures plummeting. After the dust (actually snow) settled, Grand Junction ended the month as the 4th warmest on record for average temperatures.

Precipitation varied across the region with below normal precipitation recorded near Moab, near normal conditions around Grand Junction and slightly above normal over the mountains where snow continued to pile up.

The outlook for March shows odds favoring warmer than normal conditions with precipitation leaning toward drier conditions.

With Meteorological Winter coming to an end and Spring moving into the picture, it's time to look back at this past Winter Season. The slides below show the highest and lowest temperatures from December 1, 2016 through February 28, 2017. In addition, precipitation totals and departures from normal are presented.

Temperature Extremes from December 1, 2016 through February 28, 2017

Precipitation Totals and Departures from Normal (Dec 1, 2016 to Feb 28, 2017)

Overview

A strong winter storm brought widespread rain and snow to much of Eastern Utah and Western Colorado between February 26 and 28, 2017. This complex storm system arrived over the region from two different areas. Moisture, associated with another "atmospheric river" got swept northeast across our region, bringing rain and snow to Southeast Utah and Southwest Colorado.

At the same time, a strong cold front was moving very slowly south across Northeast Utah and Northwest Colorado. The moisture streaming northeast rode over the top of the cold air, resulting in a band of heavy snowfall along and just south of the front. The cold front slowly sagged into the Interstate 70 Corridor early on February 28th, bringing moderate snowfall to the valleys with heavy snow for the central mountains. Grand Junction got in to the snow game as well with spotters reports ranging from 1 to 3 inches.

The cold front and snow continued pushing south in the Montrose area and eventually slid through Cortez, Durango and Pagosa Springs Tuesday night (Feb 28, 2017). The entire time the cold front was moving south, rain and snow was falling over the mountains and valleys of Southwest Colorado, where snowfall amounts exceeded 3 feet in a few mountain locations with up to 10 inches for the valleys.

Radar Loop showing cold front moving slowly south through I-70 Corridor

Radar image showing cold front aligned near Interstate 70 (I-70) during the early morning hours of February 28, 2017. Moderate to heavy snow was reported under the darker green bands.


Dolores, CO (Credit: Mike Hill)	Highway 160 near Cortez (Credit: CDOT)	Near Pagosa Springs, CO (Credit: Jenny Lynn Heckmann)

Photos & Video
Storm Reports

Photos & Video:

Snow photos from around the area


Collbran, CO (Credit: Karen Clifton)	Fruitvale, CO (Credit: John Painter)	Rifle, CO (Credit: Patti Huffmon-Soles)	Mancos, CO (Credit: Krista Boardman)

More snow images from around the region


Pagosa Springs, CO (Credit: Jenny Lynn Heckmann)	Snow falling at the Weather Forecast Office in Grand Junction, CO (Credit: Jeff Colton)	After the Storm photo of fresh snow along Highway 65 on the Grand Mesa (Credit:CDOT)	Near Pagosa Springs, CO (Credit: Jason Coward)

Storm Reports

Total snowfall map from February 26-28 Winter Storm

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Unsettled Weather in the Western U.S.; Snow in the Upper Midwest

February and winter climate information, a look back at the last storm