Winter Storm — West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

2025-02-13 to 2025-02-15 · West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

Generally 14 to 30 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts up to 43 inches at Schofield Pass. 37 inches of snow was reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N. Wind gusts were in the 45 to 55 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 57 mph at Irwin Guides Ridge Top.

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 1239643. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.