A series of disturbances embedded in a moist Pacific flow brought 12 to 19 inches of snow to the West Elk and Sawatch Mountains.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 series of disturbances embedded in a moist Pacific flow brought 12 to 19 inches of snow to the West Elk and Sawatch Mountains.
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 17, 2:59 PM MST, 9 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 259 PM MST SAT DEC 17 2005 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY)... A MODERATE SHORTWAVE IN MOIST WEST-NORTHWEST FLOW BROUGHT A BLANKET OF CLOUDS TO ALL BUT THE SOUTHERNMOST ZONES TODAY. MEANWHILE... LIGHT SNOW FELL OVER MUCH OF THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND HIGH NORTHERN VALLEYS FROM MID-MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON. .TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY: LITTLE CHANGE IN THE PATTERN INDICATED IN THE NEAR TERM WITH MOIST NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUING THROUGH THE PERIOD. A NUMBER OF DISTURBANCES ROLLING OVERHEAD WILL BRING PERIODS OF SNOW...MAINLY TO THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. TEMPERATURES WILL SLOWLY WARM IN RESPONSE TO WARM AIR ADVECTION AT LOW TO MID- LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. CONTINUED WEAK WAA...MARGINAL DYNAMICS AND OROGRAPHICS POINTS TO LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THOUGH UP TO 10 INCHES OF NEW SNOW IS POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER REACHES OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS...NO 12 HOUR PERIOD APPEARED TO FAVOR MORE THAN A 1 TO 3 INCH ACCUMULATION. THEREFORE...IN ACCORDANCE WITH PREVIOUS SHIFTS...WILL NOT ISSUE ANY HIGHLIGHTS AT THIS TIME. TEMPERATURES WILL UNDERGO A SLOW WARMING TREND AS COLDER AIR RETREATS TO THE EAST AS RIDGE BEGINS TO FORM OVER THE WESTERN U.S. AS SUCH... CONTINUED TREND ALREADY INDICATED IN GOING FORECASTS. IN GENERAL STAYED BELOW MOS GUIDANCE WHICH APPEARED A BIT OPTIMISTIC WITH BOTH HIGHS AND LOWS. IN PARTICULAR...OVERHAULED TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR THE GUNNISON BASIN WHICH PREVIOUSLY INDICATED SHALLOW COLD POOL ERODING TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. FELT STRONGLY THAT THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN AND THEREFORE SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERCUT MOS FORECAST...THOUGH DID INCLUDE SOME WARMING OF THE STAGNANT COLD AIRMASS. .LONG TERM (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY)...AN UPPER RIDGE AMPLIFIES OVER THE GREAT BASIN THROUGH WED RESULTING IN NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE FORECAST AREA. A COUPLE OF SHORTWAVES EMBEDDED IN THE THIS FLOW WILL BRUSH MAINLY THE NORTHEAST. HOWEVER THESE WAVES LOOK FAIRLY WEAK AT THIS TIME AND WILL TRACK WELL TO OUR EAST. SO HAVE ONLY MADE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO THE LOW MOUNTAIN POPS IN THE FORECAST. LATER IN THE WEEK...THE RIDGE BEGINS TO FLATTEN AND SHIFT TO THE EAST FOR A LIGHT AND MORE ZONAL FLOW REGIME. HOWEVER MODEL SOLUTIONS TEND TO DIVERGE AT THIS POINT. WITH THE HIGH DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY HAVE LEFT THE DRY FORECAST BEYOND THU. FOR TEMPS...HAVE GENERALLY GONE BELOW GUIDANCE AS VALLEYS WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE A HARD TIME MIXING OUT...ESPECIALLY THE UPPER GUNNISON VALLEY THAT SHOULD REMAIN PRETTY MUCH IN THE DEEP FREEZE. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. && NL/EH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2005
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: 5480074.