The Weather Prediction Center

College Park, MD


Storm Summary Message



Storm Summary Number 1 for Rockies and Four Corners Storm
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
1100 AM EDT Thu Mar 14 2024

...Heavy snow is expected over portions of the Intermountain West,
Colorado, and the Rocky Mountains through Friday ...

A swath of Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for Wyoming,
Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.

Most of the high terrain in Arizona is under a Winter Weather
Advisory.

High Wind Warnings are active across parts of Utah and New Mexico.

For a detailed graphical depiction of the latest watches, warnings
and advisories, please see www.weather.gov

At 1000 AM EDT...A 1007 mb (29.74 in Hg) low was analyzed along a
stationary front draped from Arizona through the Great Plains. A
surface trough was also analyzed in Colorado with a couple of
embedded areas of low pressure. Heavy snowfall is ongoing across
much of Colorado, while Wyoming is currently seeing some lighter
snow showers. Additionally, winds are gusting in the 20-30 mph
range, which in conjunction with the aforementioned heavy
snowfall, will make travel conditions very tough. 

...Selected preliminary Storm Total Snowfall in inches from 700 AM
EDT Tue Mar 0 through 1000 AM EDT Thu Mar 0...

...COLORADO...
ASPEN SPRINGS                        38.5                    
ASPEN PARK                           36.0                    
NEDERLAND                            31.0                    
ELDORA                               30.0                    
PINECLIFFE                           28.0                    
GENESEE                              26.4                    
EVERGREEN                            20.7                    
CASTLE ROCK                          16.8                    
DENVER                                6.1                    

...NEW MEXICO...
CHANA                                 2.7                    
JEMEZ SPRINGS                         2.0                    
AZTEC                                 1.0                    

...WYOMING...
LANDER                               17.1                    
GREEN RIVER                           8.8                    
CHEYENNE                              1.0                    

...Selected preliminary Peak Wind gusts in miles per hour earlier
in the event...

...UTAH...
GUNNISON ISLAND                        33                    

...WYOMING...
ROCK SPRINGS                           53                    
CHEYENNE AIRPORT                       36                    
RAWLINS AIRPORT                        35                    


A cold high pressure settling over the northern Rockies in
conjunction with multiple lows across New Mexico and the Great
Plains will continue to foster a tight pressure gradient, keeping
winds strong out of the Northeast. This pattern will lead to
rising motion (upslope flow) over the Rockies and continue to lead
to heavy snowfall through the day on Friday. Once it is all said
and done, WPC key messages are expecting locally 2-4 feet of
snowfall across the Central/Southern Rockies and intense snowfall
rates of 2 inches per hour. Winds are also forecast to remain
high, gusting over 35 mph, and will make travel conditions nearly
impossible with the snow. Moreover, part two of this event will be
an upper level low and surface low moving eastward across the
Southwestern US. Heavy snowfall is expected across elevation in
the Four Corners Region, with high probabilities of eclipsing a
foot of snowfall. 

The next Storm Summary will be issued by the Weather Prediction
Center at 1100 PM EDT. Please refer to your local National Weather
Service office for additional information on this event.

Wilder




Last Updated: 1041 AM EDT THU MAR 14 2024