Colorado, 1997Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 24 to 25, 1997
December 24 to 25, 1997 · NWS BOU · 13 events in 13 counties and zones
A rare Christmas snowstorm blanketed much of northeastern Colorado. Snowfall in and near the Front Range Foothills and Monument Ridge ranged from 5 to 8 inches with accumulations of 3 to 5 inches across Logan, Sedgwick and Phillips Counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 13
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.
A rare Christmas snowstorm blanketed much of northeastern Colorado. Snowfall in and near the Front Range Foothills and Monument Ridge ranged from 5 to 8 inches with accumulations of 3 to 5 inches across Logan, Sedgwick and Phillips Counties. Elsewhere accumulations generally ranged from 1 to 3 inches.
Heavy Snow, Denver Metropolitan Area / E Jefferson / W Adams / Denver / W Arapahoe / N Douglas
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Denver Metropolitan Area / E Jefferson / W Adams / Denver / W Arapahoe / N Douglas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.714, -104.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Eastern Adams and Eastern Arapahoe Counties
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Eastern Adams and Eastern Arapahoe Counties forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.762, -104.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Eastern Boulder County/Boulder and Vicinity / E Boulder / X Sw Weld
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Eastern Boulder County/Boulder and Vicinity / E Boulder / X Sw Weld forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.878, -105.220 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Eastern Douglas and Western Elbert Counties/Castle Rock and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Eastern Douglas and Western Elbert Counties/Castle Rock and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.422, -104.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Eastern Elbert and Northern Lincoln Counties/Limon and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Eastern Elbert and Northern Lincoln Counties/Limon and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.138, -103.825 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Eastern Larimer and Northwestern Weld Counties / Fort Collins and Vicinity / E Larimer / Nw Weld
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Eastern Larimer and Northwestern Weld Counties / Fort Collins and Vicinity / E Larimer / Nw Weld forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.611, -104.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Logan County/Sterling and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Logan County/Sterling and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.725, -103.110 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Morgan County/Fort Morgan and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Morgan County/Fort Morgan and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.263, -103.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Weld County/Greeley and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Southern Weld County/Greeley and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.555, -104.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Washington County/Akron and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Washington County/Akron and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.971, -103.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Northern Front Range Foothills/Upper Laramie and Cache la Poudre River Basins / C Boulder / Ne Gilpin / C Larimer
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Northern Front Range Foothills/Upper Laramie and Cache la Poudre River Basins / C Boulder / Ne Gilpin / C Larimer forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.380, -105.410 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Front Range Foothills/Clear Creek Basin / W Jefferson / Ne Park / E Clear Creek / Se Gilpin / Sw Douglas
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Southern Front Range Foothills/Clear Creek Basin / W Jefferson / Ne Park / E Clear Creek / Se Gilpin / Sw Douglas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.516, -105.413 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Lincoln County
- When
- December 24, 8:00 PM MST to December 25, 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Southern Lincoln County forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.138, -103.825 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, December 24, 19971 death · 9 injured · $60,000 · 23 events
- Tornadoes in Alabama, December 24, 199710 injured · $1.0 million · F2 · 3 events
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 24 to 25, 19971 death · 7 events
- Flooding in Georgia, December 24 to 28, 1997$200,000 · 13 events
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 24, 1997$56,000 · 10 events
- Flood in Florida, December 24 to 26, 1997$50,000 · 1 event
- Dense Fog in Oregon, December 24 to 25, 19974 injured · 1 event
- Winter Weather in New York, December 24 to 25, 199724 events
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 24, 199719 events
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 24, 199712 events
- Winter Storm in Missouri, December 24, 19979 events
- Winter Storm in Michigan, December 24 to 25, 19978 events
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: 5620075, 5620076, 5620077, 5620078, 5620383, 5620384, 5620385, 5620386, 5620387, 5620388, 5620389, 5620390, 5620391.