Blizzard in Colorado, October 24 to 25, 1997

Name: Blizzard in Colorado, October 24 to 25, 1997
Start: 1997-10-24T21:15
End: 1997-10-25T20:00
Location: Colorado

October 24 to 25, 1997 · NWS PUB · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

9 blizzard, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 5
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $1.2 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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 radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 6:00 PM MST
Where: Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 37.832, -106.332 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 6:00 PM MST
Where: Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 37.778, -106.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Teller County/Rampart Range/Pikes Peak

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Teller County/Rampart Range/Pikes Peak forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Wet Mountains

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Wet Mountains forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 37.578, -106.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity forecast zone
Deaths: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 37.240, -105.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge forecast zone
Property damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 37.992, -105.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 37.867, -105.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity forecast zone
Property damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Upper Purgatoire River Basin/Trinidad and Vicinity

When: October 24, 9:15 PM MST to October 25, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Upper Purgatoire River Basin/Trinidad and Vicinity forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 37.426, -104.809 (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
Blizzard, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity	1997-10-25	29	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Blizzard, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity	1997-10-25	30	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Blizzard, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity	1997-10-25	20	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Blizzard, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity	1997-10-25	63	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Blizzard, Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity	1997-10-24	31	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

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, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5621979, 5621980, 5621981, 5621982, 5621983, 5621984, 5621985, 5621986, 5621987.