Winter Weather — West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

2025-03-18 to 2025-03-19 · West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

Generally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell across the area with 7 inches reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N. Winds generally gusted in the 70 to 80 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 83 mph at Cinnamon Mountain at the storm onset.

Wider weather episode

A low pressure trough and associated cold front brought mild air ahead of it and much colder air behind it to result in light to moderate snowfall across most mountain areas of eastern Utah and western Colorado with rain changing over to snow in many lower valley locations even though accumulations remained light. Heavier snowfall seemed to favor the La Sal Mountains of southeast Utah as well as the northwest San Juans and Grand Mesa mainly due to the colder northerly flow behind the cold front. Winds were also fairly strong leading to blowing and drifting snow in some mountain areas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1248806. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.