Colorado, 1998

Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 9, 1998

December 9, 1998 · NWS BOU · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Locations in and near the Front Range Foothills received the first significant snowfall in more than a month. The upslope snow event deposited up 17 inches of snow in the foothills.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 BOU wrote it up.

Locations in and near the Front Range Foothills received the first significant snowfall in more than a month. The upslope snow event deposited up 17 inches of snow in the foothills. Along the Urban Corridor, west of Interstate 25, amounts ranged from 4 to 8 inches.Some of the more impressive snowfall totals included: 17 inches at Crescent Park, 16 inches at Coal Creek Canyon and Tiny Town, 14 inches at Chief Hosa, Evergreen and Gennesee, 13 inches at Conifer, 12 inches at Nederland, 11 inches at Eldorado Canyon and Rist Canyon, 10 inches near Buckhorn Mountain, 9 inches at Allenspark, 4 miles west of Boulder and Hohnholz Ranch, 8 inches at Boulder, 7 inches at Broomfield and Golden with 6 inches reported 2 miles north of Loveland. .

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Front Range Foothills/Upper Laramie and Cache la Poudre River Basins / C Boulder / Ne Gilpin / C Larimer

When
December 9, 5:30 AM MST to 11:30 PM MST
Where
Northern Front Range Foothills/Upper Laramie and Cache la Poudre River Basins / C Boulder / Ne Gilpin / C Larimer forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
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 9, 5:30 AM MST to 11:30 PM MST
Where
Southern Front Range Foothills/Clear Creek Basin / W Jefferson / Ne Park / E Clear Creek / Se Gilpin / Sw Douglas forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.516, -105.413 (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 9, 5:30 AM MST to 11:30 PM MST
Where
Eastern Larimer and Northwestern Weld Counties / Fort Collins and Vicinity / E Larimer / Nw Weld forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.611, -104.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Boulder County/Boulder and Vicinity / E Boulder / X Sw Weld

When
December 9, 5:30 AM MST to 11:30 PM MST
Where
Eastern Boulder County/Boulder and Vicinity / E Boulder / X Sw Weld forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.878, -105.220 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Denver Metropolitan Area / E Jefferson / W Adams / Denver / W Arapahoe / N Douglas

When
December 9, 5:30 AM MST to 11:30 PM MST
Where
Denver Metropolitan Area / E Jefferson / W Adams / Denver / W Arapahoe / N Douglas forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.714, -104.707 (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

More

Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 1998

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: 5676861, 5676964, 5676965, 5676966, 5676967.