A slow-moving upper level storm system brought over a foot of new snow to most mountain areas in northwest Colorado. Winds gusted to over 40 mph, creating near-blizzard conditions in some areas.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
A slow-moving upper level storm system brought over a foot of new snow to most mountain areas in northwest Colorado. Winds gusted to over 40 mph, creating near-blizzard conditions in some areas. The heaviest reported snow accumulations included 14 inches at Ripple Creek, 15 inches at Beaver Creek Ski Area, and 16 inches at the Tower SNOTEL site.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 6, 2:38 PM MST, 3 hours 22 minutes earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 238 PM MST THU DEC 6 2001 SNOW NOW FALLING OVER THE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF STEAMBOAT WITH SNOWFALL RATES UP TO 1/2 INCH AN HOUR PER SPOTTER REPORTS IN THE AREA. STEAMBOAT WEBCAM ALSO SHOWING SOME SNOW SHOWERS ACTIVITY OFF IN THE DISTANCE. LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE SLOWLY WORKING ITS WAY INTO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON...AND EXPECT SNOW TO FINALLY GET GOING IN THIS AREA BY EARLY THIS EVENING. HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH STRONGER WAA THAN WE WERE EARLIER ANTICIPATING...THUS THE LONG DELAY IN GETTING THE SNOW GOING. SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER EASTERN WASHINGTON WILL BE DIVING ESE TONIGHT...PUSHING THROUGH THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF OUR FORECAST AREA AFTER 06Z. THIS WILL BRING IN COLDER AIR ALOFT...BETTER DYNAMICS AND WITH STRONG WINDS STILL IN PLACE...WILL CONTINUE THE WINTER STORM WARNINGS THROUGH TONIGHT. BEST ACCUMULATING SNOWS WILL BE ABOVE 9K AND WILL WORD ZONES ACCORDINGLY. WHILE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE NOWHERE NEAR WHAT WE HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR...THE COMBINATION OF WIND AND SNOW WILL MAKE FOR HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. SNOW WILL LINGER INTO THE MORNING HOURS...WITH ACTIVITY DIMINISHING AS THE DAY WEARS ON. REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL SEE LITTLE CHANGE THROUGH FRIDAY WITH PARTLY CLOUDY CONDITIONS AND SEASONAL TEMPS. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS IN FOR SATURDAY AND EARLY SUNDAY PROVIDING DRY CONDITIONS AND SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPS. 7 EXTENDED (MON-THU)...MRF/EC/UK ALL SHOW SPLITTING FLOW FORMING A CLOSED LOW IN THE VICINITY OF SRN CA SUN NIGHT...BUT DIFFER IN LOCATION. NRN BRANCH LOOKS A LITTLE STRONGER THAN BEFORE...AND WITH FAST FLOW ACROSS PAC SEEMS REASONABLE SO WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE OF PCPN FOR NRN MTNS ON MON. THIS ENERGY ALSO AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCING STRONGER TROUGHING OVER THE GREAT BASIN BY TUE...WHICH MRF THEN SLIDES EASTWARD WITH COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE LOOKING LIKE LATE TUE. AS THIS TROUGH FORMS...CLOSED LOW SHOULD SLIDE EAST ACROSS AZ/NM ON MON/MON NIGHT. BEST CHANCE OF PCPN LOOKS LIKE TUE-WED WITH SURFACE FRONT/UPPER TROUGH PASSAGE. COLDER NW FLOW SHOULD KEEP A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS FOR MAINLY NRN AND CNTRL MTNS ON THU. 22 .GJT...WINTER STORM WARNING CO ZONES 4/10/13 THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2001
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: 5276109, 5276110, 5276111.