Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 8 to 10, 1997

Name: Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 8 to 10, 1997
Start: 1997-12-08T16:00
End: 1997-12-10T23:45
Location: Colorado

December 8 to 10, 1997 · NWS PUB · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

from the 8th through the 10th. and to the southeastern plains the morning of the 9th through the 10th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 18

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.

A moist Pacific weather system moved across the Rockies and into the central plains of the U.S.from the 8th through the 10th. Abundant moisture was wrapped around the system, and brought snow to the southwestern and south central mountains the afternoon of the 8th through the 10th...and to the southeastern plains the morning of the 9th through the 10th. Totals from a persistent band of snow ranged from 4 inches at the Pueblo Memorial Airport to 7 inches at Manzanola and Swink in Otero county. Fort Reynolds in Pueblo county reported 9 1/2 inches of accumulation by the afternoon of the 9th. Across Monument Ridge, north of Colorado Springs, storm totals ranged from 10 to 18 inches in the Monument and Black Forest region east into northeast El Paso county. Near blizzard conditions were experienced during the afternoon of the 10th in eastern El Paso county, forcing U.S. Highway 24 to close for a time. Other snowfall totals included around one foot at Beulah and 20 to 25 inches around Rye in Pueblo county in the Wet Mountains. Twenty two inches fell at Aspen Acres Campground in Custer county, and a remarkable 44 inches at Cuchara at 9,000 feet in the Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, La Garita Mountains

When: December 8, 4:00 PM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM MST
Where: La Garita Mountains forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.677, -106.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern San Juan Mountains

When: December 8, 4:00 PM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM MST
Where: Eastern San Juan Mountains forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.747, -106.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains

When: December 8, 9:00 PM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM 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, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains

When: December 8, 9:00 PM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM 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, Teller County/Rampart Range/Pikes Peak

When: December 8, 9:00 PM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM MST
Where: Teller County/Rampart Range/Pikes Peak forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Crowley and Otero Counties/La Junta and Vicinity

When: December 9, 3:00 AM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM MST
Where: Crowley and Otero Counties/La Junta and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.473, -105.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wet Mountains

When: December 9, 3:00 AM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM 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 9, 3:00 AM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM MST
Where: Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.867, -105.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity

When: December 9, 3:00 AM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM 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 9, 3:00 AM MST to December 10, 11:45 PM 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 9, 5:00 AM MST to 4:30 PM MST
Where: Eastern Las Animas County forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.473, -105.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Kiowa County

When: December 9, 5:00 AM MST to 4:30 PM MST
Where: Kiowa County forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.897, -105.164 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bent County/Las Animas and Vicinity

When: December 9, 5:00 AM MST to 4:30 PM MST
Where: Bent County/Las Animas and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.110, -105.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Prowers County/Lamar and Vicinity

When: December 9, 5:00 AM MST to 4:30 PM MST
Where: Prowers County/Lamar and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.989, -104.947 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Baca County/Springfield and Vicinity

When: December 9, 5:00 AM MST to 4:30 PM MST
Where: Baca County/Springfield and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.729, -105.043 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Fremont and Northern Custer Counties

When: December 10, 12:00 AM MST to 11:45 PM MST
Where: Western Fremont and Northern Custer Counties forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge

When: December 10, 12:00 AM MST to 11:45 PM MST
Where: Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.992, -105.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity

When: December 10, 12:00 AM MST to 11:45 PM MST
Where: Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.240, -105.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Colorado in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5626598, 5626599, 5626600, 5626601, 5626602, 5626592, 5626603, 5626606, 5626607, 5626608, 5626593, 5626594, 5626595, 5626596, 5626597, 5626591, 5626604, 5626605.