Heavy Snow, Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains
- When
- December 24, 6:00 AM MST to December 25, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.832, -106.332 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 24 to 25, 1997
An upper level low pressure system combined with upslope northerly winds at the surface to produce widespread snow across the southeast mountains and adjoining plains starting the morning of the 24th and lasting into Christmas morning. Storm totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches in and around the Wet Mountains.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 7
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
An upper level low pressure system combined with upslope northerly winds at the surface to produce widespread snow across the southeast mountains and adjoining plains starting the morning of the 24th and lasting into Christmas morning. Storm totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches in and around the Wet Mountains. However, 12 inches of snow fell in Cuchara in the Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains and in Walsenburg in Huerfano county. One to three inches of snow fell on Monument Ridge, north of Colorado Springs, and in parts of the adjacent plains in southeast Colorado. One fatality was attributed to this storm. James Hall, 83, of Wetmore in Custer county, was found Christmas Eve after apparently falling outside of his home and dying of exposure.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains
- When
- December 24, 6:00 AM MST to December 25, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.778, -106.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 6:00 AM MST to December 25, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Upper Purgatoire River Basin/Trinidad and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 6:00 AM MST to December 25, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Upper Purgatoire River Basin/Trinidad and Vicinity forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Eastern Las Animas County
- When
- December 24, 6:00 AM MST to December 25, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Eastern Las Animas County forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.473, -105.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Wet Mountains
- When
- December 24, 6:00 AM MST to December 25, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Wet Mountains forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.578, -106.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity
- When
- December 24, 6:00 AM MST to December 25, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 37.867, -105.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Snow, Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity | 1997-12-24 | 83 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- 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.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, December 24, 1997
- Tornadoes in Alabama, December 24, 1997
- Flooding in Georgia, December 24 to 28, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 24, 1997
- Flood in Florida, December 24 to 26, 1997
- Dense Fog in Oregon, December 24 to 25, 1997
- Winter Weather in New York, December 24 to 25, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 24, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 24 to 25, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 24, 1997
- Winter Storm in Missouri, December 24, 1997
- Winter Storm in Michigan, December 24 to 25, 1997
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 1997
Sources
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5626625, 5626626, 5626627, 5626628, 5626629, 5626630, 5626631.