|
March 1, 2004 Winter Storm
Hits the Tri-State Area |
Winter Storm Blows Through Tri-State Area
A major winter storm slowly developed over southeast Colorado Saturday into early Sunday. During the day Sunday, February 29th, the storm began moving very slowly northeast, reaching southern Nebraska by late Sunday evening. East of the storm track, southerly winds brought mild air northward, producing widespread rain and even a few thunderstorms from Salina northward.
The big weather news occurred west of the storm track across Colorado, extreme northwest Kansas and western and central Nebraska, where snow and strong wind brought blizzard conditions. In the Tri-State area, snowfall ranged from 1 to 4 inches generally west of a Benkelman, Nebraska to Edson, Kansas to Cheyenne Wells, Colorado line. Although snow totals were not impressive, the accompanying wind reaching 50 to 60 mph in many areas brought whiteout conditions, and closed Interstate 70 from Colby to Denver. The peak wind in the area was reported at Flagler Colorado, where a gust of 66 mph occurred, and blew 2 inches of snow into 3-4 foot drifts.
The best news is that a general soaking rainfall preceded the snow and colder weather. Highest precipitation totals fell across Cheyenne, Rawlins and Decatur counties in Kansas from Bird City to Norcatur, where over 1 inch of water equivalent precipitation was reported. Although this precipitation is welcomed by all and will help the winter wheat crop, it will have only a small effect on the overall drought situation across the region.
Dave Floyd
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Goodland, KS |
| |
|
|
| Peak Wind |
24 Hour SnowFall |
24 Hour Precip (Snow/Rain) |
 |
 |
 |
| Click Maps to Enlarge... |
| |
| |
| A few pictures from the event... |
 |
|
 |
| Even 3-4 foot snowdrifts couldn't keep the SOO home following the storm. |
|
The morning drive to NWS Goodland. |
|
