Winter Storm — Yuma County, Colorado

2022-03-21 · Yuma County, Colorado

Event narrative

A significant snowband impacted Yuma County, and more specifically southern and eastern Yuma County. Amounts ranged from around an inch in far northwestern Yuma County to 10 or higher inches across southern Yuma County. The highest amounts reported were 9.5 inches in Wray, Colorado, but with amounts over a foot reported in far northern Kit Carson County, it's quite possible storm totals approached one foot along the southern Yuma County border, between the Joes/Kirk area and Highway 385. Some snow drifts were also observed with this event. Key impacts: heavy snow, snow drifts, transportation delays, road closures.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system developed across the High Plains in the very early morning hours of March 21st. As the low progressed slowly east then northeast, a significant band of heavy snowfall developed across eastern Colorado. This core of the heaviest snow within the band was around 20-30 miles wide, and the impacts within that heaviest snow were extreme. 15 to 18 inches of snow were measured in portions of central Kit Carson County with lower amounts spread out across the rest of eastern Colorado.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1017523. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.