Winter Weather — Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus, Colorado

2025-02-13 to 2025-02-15 · Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus, Colorado

Event narrative

Generally 10.5 inches of snow was reported at Douglas Pass. Wind gusts mostly stayed below 45 mph but there was a peak gust of 45 mph at Douglas Pass at the onset or just before the snow started.

Wider weather episode

A deep closed low pressure system moved into the Great Basin, bringing a surge of strong Atmospheric River moisture on the order of 200 to 300 percent of normal ahead of it. Some colder air moved in after trough passage as the flow shifted from southwest to northwest, changing rain over to snow in lower elevations. Strong dynamics and high moisture content resulted in widespread moderate to heavy snowfall in most mountain areas of eastern Utah and western Colorado where at least 1 to 2 feet of snow fell with locally higher amounts over 3 feet in some mountain areas. In terms of the lower elevations, the southwest Colorado valleys benefitted the most from the southwest flow with up to a foot or so while other lower valleys saw light to moderate snowfall accumulations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1239621. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.