Winter Weather — Central Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basin, Colorado

2024-01-13 to 2024-01-15 · Central Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

Generally 5 to 8 inches of snow fell across the Hotchkiss and Paonia areas in the northern part of the zone with less than an inch from Delta to Montrose across the western and southern parts of the zone.

Wider weather episode

A moderately strong atmospheric river coming in from the west in conjunction with a low pressure system dropping southward out of the Pacific Northwest tracked along a strong northwest to southeast oriented jet. This led to significant snowfall across all mountain ranges of western Colorado with lesser amounts across the La Sals in southeast Utah. Some lower northwest and west-central higher valleys even saw moderate snowfall. Strong winds in the higher elevations continued to bring blowing and drifting snow as well as whiteout conditions and road closures to most mountain passes. A strong arctic front dropped in from the north late in the storms period, leading to some of the whiteout concerns and bringing continued snow in the Uncompahgre Gorge and north facing slopes. Snowfall was limited in the lower valleys due to cold arctic air being scoured out from the winds leading up to this system.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1162117. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.