Heavy snow fell across parts of the north-central mountains. 5 inches at Lake Eldora.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 BOU wrote it up.
Heavy snow fell across parts of the north-central mountains. Snowfall totals included: 16 inches at the Colombine Snotel site, 12 inches at the Zirkel Snotel site, and 11.5 inches at Lake Eldora.
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 Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 8, 3:25 PM MST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 325 PM MST WED DEC 8 2004 .SHORT TERM...PRESSURE GRADIENTS ACROSS THE STATE HAVE BEEN INCREASING ALL AFTERNOON...IN ANTICIPATION OF THE APPROACHING STORM. KGJT-KDEN GRADIENT IS OVER 8.5 MB AT 22Z. RADARS OVER NRN UTAH AND SOUTHERN IDAHO SHOW THAT THE SYSTEM WILL EVENTUALLY BRING A FAIR AMOUNT OF MOISTURE TO THE MOUNTAINS. MODEL GUIDANCE FROM BOTH THE ETA AND GFS CONTINUE TO INDICATE A WINTER STORM EPISODE FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND AN AMPLIFIED MOUNTAIN WAVE HIGH WIND EVENT ALONG THE FOOTHILLS. A 140 KT UPPER LEVEL JET WILL BE DRIVING THE WHOLE THING...WHICH IS AN INDICATOR FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE SYSTEM. VERTICAL CROSS SECTIONS ACROSS THE STATE SHOW THAT BY 06Z THE WIND PROFILE OVER THE FRONT RANGE WILL BE UNI-DIRECTIONAL WITH LITTLE VERTICAL SHEAR. LAPSE RATES ALSO SHOW THE STABLE LAYER AT MOUNTAIN TOP LEVEL AND THE WELL MIXED AIRMASS ABOVE THAT. WILL UPGRADE THE HIGH WIND WATCH TO A HIGH WIND WARNING. STRONG WINDS WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF TOMORROW...SINCE PLAN VIEW FIELDS SHOW NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO UNDER THE NOSE OF THE JET THROUGH 18Z TOMORROW. WILL ALSO UPGRADE THE WINTER STORM WATCH IN THE MOUNTAINS TO A WINTER STORM WARNING. OROGRAPHIC SNOW MODEL OUTPUT YIELDS SNOW AMOUNTS AROUND 6-10 INCHES OVERNIGHT. 700 MB WINDS ARE FORECAST TO BE AROUND 40 KTS...SO OROGRAPHIC IMPACT WILL BE QUITE STRONG. BESIDES THE SNOW FALLING...STRONG WINDS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE PLENTY OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THE MAIN QUESTION FOR THE WARNING IS WHEN THE SNOW WILL BEGIN IN OUR FORECAST AREA. BEST INDICATIONS FROM CROSS SECTIONS ARE THAT DEEPER MOISTURE WILL NOT GET INTO OUR MOUNTAINS UNTIL AROUND MIDNIGHT. THEREFORE...WILL RUN THE WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH TOMORROW. .LONG TERM...THU NGT-SAT...MDLS BUILD UPR RDG OVR WRN U.S. WHILE MAINTAINING NWLY FLO ALF ACRS CNTRL RCKYS. WITH RISING HGTS AND PASSAGE OF UPR JET TO E OF AREA WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE IN MTNS AND ALG ERN SLPS. ENUF MSTR AND WND IN NWLY FLO ALF ON THU NGT AND FRI TO MENTION AREAS OF BLWG SNOW IN MTNS...BUT WITH STG WARMNG ALF CHANCE OF OROGRAPHIC SNW SHWRS WILL DIMINISH. PLAINS WILL REMAIN DRY THRU PRD AS WILL MTNS ON FRI NGT AND SAT. TEMPS WILL BE ON UPSWING WITH WARMING ALF AND CONTD DWNSLP FLO ALG ERN SLPS AND PLAINS. WILL MAKE ONLY SML ADJSTMNTS TO MOS TEMP GDNC. IN EXTENDED PERIOD...SUN-WED...MDLS IN GUD AGREEMENT ON WRN U.S. UPR RDG ON SUN BUT THEN START TO DIFFER CONSIDERABLY FM MON THRU WED. ECMWF IS FASTER THAN GFS ON MOVING UPR TROF FROM PAC COAST ACRS RCKYS ONTO GREAT PLAINS ON MON NGT. BOTH MODELS FAIRLY GUD ABOUT SHOWING CANADIAN SFC HI PRES MOVG S OVR HIGH PLAINS ON SUN INTO MON. DUE TO UNCERTAINTY IN MODELS ATTM...WILL MAKE ONLY SML CHNGS TO CURRENT FCST...WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE HANDLE ON CURRENT WX TRENDS. TEMPS MAY BE COOLR OVR PLAINS THAN CURRENT GFS MOS TEMP GUIDANCE INDICATES FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK...DUE TO SHALLOW COLD AIR WHICH MDLS DO NOT PICK UP ON VRY WELL. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES ...HIGH WIND WARNING FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS AND URBAN CORRIDOR NEAR THE FOOTHILLS FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...ZNS..35..36..38..39. ...WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...ZNS 31..33..34. && KDRBY/GARD...WFO BOULDER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1107 AM MST WED DEC 08 2004 COZ030>051-091300- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/ SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/ EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 1107 AM MST WED DEC 08 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE HIGH COUNTRY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. A HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR THE EAST SLOPES OF THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS AND THE ADJACENT PLAINS WEST OF I-25. WEST WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE ABOVE TIMBERLINE AND ON THE EAST SLOPES OF THE FOOTHILLS AFTER 4 PM. TONIGHT...AS A STORM SYSTEM MOVES OVER WESTERN COLORADO...WIND WILL CONTINUE INCREASING WITH GUSTS TO 75 MPH POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW SHOWERS WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD IN THE MOUNTAINS LATE TONIGHT WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF A COUPLE INCHES POSSIBLE BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY. A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY IN THE MOUNTAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE QUICKLY ACROSS NORTHERN COLORADO ON THURSDAY AND PRODUCE WIDESPREAD SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS BEFORE DIMINISHING THURSDAY NIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS AT SPEEDS OF 25 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 75 MPH WILL PRODUCE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH VERY POOR VISIBILITIES AT TIMES OVER THE HIGH MOUNTAIN PASSES. STRONG WINDS GUSTING TO 75 MPH ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS ON THURSDAY. SNOW SHOWERS WILL LINGER IN THE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY...HOWEVER ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN THE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY NIGHT...BUT THE STRONG WINDS SHOULD BEGIN TO DIMINISH ON FRIDAY. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES OVER THE URBAN CORRIDOR ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. HOWEVER... REPORTS OF STRONG OR DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE APPRECIATED. DANKERS/GARD...WFO BOULDER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2004
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: 5429069, 5429070.