Locations in and near the northeast foothills received their best snowfall of the year as a winterlike storm system moved through eastern Utah. The storm originated in the Pacific Northwest and plunged south into Arizona by late in the afternoon.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
Locations in and near the northeast foothills received their best snowfall of the year as a winterlike storm system moved through eastern Utah. The storm originated in the Pacific Northwest and plunged south into Arizona by late in the afternoon. As the system moved through Utah, a strong and deep easterly upslope flow developed over northern Colorado for several hours. East to southeast winds from 15 to 30 mph were common with even stronger wind gusts above 9 thousand feet. Snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour as deep upslope combined with a moist and unstable airmass. The snow began in the mountains and foothills above 7500 feet during the evening hours of the 23rd. By sunrise however, the snow level had dropped to nearly 5000 feet.The hardest hit areas extended from roughly I-25 west into the foothills. Snowfall totals in the Front Range Foothills ranged from 1 1/2 to over 3 1/2 feet. Allenspark and Silver Spruce Ranch near Ward reported 38 inches of snow. In the northern mountains, snowfall ranged from 10 to 17 inches. Along much of the Urban Corridor west of I-25, snowfall ranged from 8 to 18 inches. The snowfall quickly dropped over eastern portions of the Urban Corridor with snowfall ranging from 1 to 3 inches. In the northeast plains, the rain never changed over to snow with areas reporting moderate to heavy rain showers at times.A summary of the snowfall totals from around the area include: 38 inches at Allenspark and Silver Spruce Ranch, 36 inches at Coal Creek Canyon,31 inches at Nederland and Wondervu,20 to 24 inches near Blackhawk, Carter Lake, Eldorado Canyon, the Mount Evans Research Station at Echo Lake, North Turkey Creek and Risk Canyon near Buckhorn Mountain,15 to 19 inches at Boulder, Central City, Conifer, Evergreen, Georgetown, Horsetooth Reservoir, Louisville, Loveland Ski Area, Poudre Park, Table Mesa and Virginia Dale,8 to 14 inches in the western suburbs of Denver (including Arvada, Broomfield, Westminster and Wheatridge), Castle Rock, Ken Caryl Ranch, Keystone, Longmont and Loveland,4 to 7 inches in and around Fort Collins.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 1997
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5592222, 5592223, 5592224, 5592225, 5592226, 5592227, 5592228, 5592229.