and eastern mountains and southeast plains of southern Colorado. South Fork (Rio Grande County).
Every event with a place to put it; 32 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 PUB wrote it up.
Heavy snow and blizzard conditions occurred over the western mountains...and eastern mountains and southeast plains of southern Colorado. The following are some of the highest reported snow totals and snow drifts...10 to 15 inches Lamar (Prowers County)...Springfield and Two Buttes (Baca County)...Fort Lyon (Bent County)...Kim (Las Animas County)...Eads and Sheridan Lake (Kiowa County)...La Junta (Otero County)...Cripple Creek and Florissant (Teller County)...Rosita (Custer County)...Penrose (Fremont County)...Fort Garland (Costilla County)...Maysville (Chaffee County) and...Creede (Mineral County)...16 to 19 inches at Walsenburg and La Veta (Huerfano County)...Trinidad and Aguilar (Las Animas County)...Peyton and Black Forest (El Paso County)...Beulah and Colorado City (Pueblo County)...San Isabel (Custer County)...South Fork (Rio Grande County). Four foot snow drifts were common at Trinidad...while snow drifts up to 7 feet were experienced around Black Forest...22 inches at Rye and Colorado City (Pueblo County)...around 2 feet over the Spanish Peaks (Huerfano County)...Silver Cliff (Custer County)...around 2 feet at Black Forest (El Paso)...Woodland Park (Teller County)...and 28 inches at Cuchara (Huerfano County) and Monument (El Paso County).
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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 17, 10:57 PM MST, 6 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1057 PM MST SUN DEC 17 2006 .UPDATE... ...SNOW TO RETURN TO SOUTHEAST COLORADO... HAVE UPDATED FORECAST THIS EVENING TO ISSUE WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE LA GARITA AND EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. CURRENTLY...LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUE TO FALL OVER THE MOUNTAINS. RADAR INDICATES LIGHT RETURNS OVER PUEBLO CNTY...BUT WITH BROKEN DECKS AROUND 10K FT...SEEMS LIKELY THAT ONLY THE WETS AND SANGRES ARE SEEING ANY SNOWFLAKES OUT OF THIS. UPCOMING STORM IS NOW TAKING SHAPE OVER THE GRAND CANYON REGION...WITH UPPER LOW TO CUTOFF TONIGHT OVER SRN CA. COLD AIR CU EVIDENT ON IR SAT IMAGERY ALL THE WAY TO THE CENTRAL BAJA. WELL DEFINED CIRRUS BAND FROM SUBTROPICAL JET EXTENDS TO THE NE THRU CENTRAL CO. NO REAL DILEMMA IN ISSUING THE WATCH...AS IT APPEARS NEARLY CERTAIN THAT WARNING CRITERIA WILL BE MET OVER THE HYR ELEVATIONS OF THE SAN JUANS AND LA GARITAS. FAIRLY DEEP MOIST LAYER WILL COMBINE WITH PERSISTENT SRLY FLOW LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUE MORNING...AND BY THE TIME THINGS WIND DOWN TUE NIGHT...SHOULD SEE WIDESPREAD ACCUMULATIONS IN EXCESS OF ONE FOOT...POSSIBLY AS HIGH AS TWO FEET OVER WOLF CREEK REGION. AS MENTIONED IN UPDATED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...STILL A MAJOR HEADACHE IN TRYING TO PIN DOWN SNOWFALL TIMING AND AMTS FOR THE POPULATION CENTERS ALONG INTERSTATE 25. SNOWFALL IS ALMOST CERTAIN...BUT WHETHER IT WILL BE A MINOR NUISANCE SNOWFALL OR TRAFFIC-STOPPER IS STILL UP IN THE AIR. BEST GUESS AT THIS POINT IS MODERATE ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM 3 TO 6 INCHES...BASED ON AN ENSEMBLE OF RECENT MODEL RUNS. AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TRICKY THE FORECAST IS...MOST RECENT WRF/NAM PRODUCES THE EQUIVALENT OF AROUND 2 INCHES FOR PUEBLO AND EL PASO COUNTIES...WHILE PREVIOUS 18Z RUN WAS IN THE 8 TO 10 INCH RANGE. DIFFERENCE IS LARGELY IN THE TIMING OF THE WAA SNOWBAND AHEAD OF THE UPPER LOW. EARLIER RUN WAS SLOWER...BRINGING IN THE HEAVY QPF LATE TUE AND CONTINUING THRU WED MORNING. LATEST RUN IS FASTER...BEGINNING SNOWFALL EARLY TUE MORNING BUT THEN CUTTING OFF THE PRECIP AS FLOW ALOFT RAPIDLY SHIFTS TO THE NW BEHIND THE LOW. WILL HAVE TO WATCH THIS SYSTEM ON AN HOURLY BASIS. DOES NOT APPEAR THAT THE TROWEL WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR...AS CONSENSUS SHOWS IT WILL BE TOO FAR TO THE N AND E OF THE REGION. HOWEVER...WITH GOOD DEGREE OF SATURATION AND PERSISTENT LIGHT TO MODERATE UPSLOPE FLOW...SHOULD STILL SEE SOME RESPECTABLE SNOWFALL FROM THIS SYSTEM. AND...THERES STILL PLENTY OF TIME FOR SURPRISES SNOW LOVERS...IF WE DO NOT END UP WITH A MAJOR SNOWFALL FROM THIS MIDWEEK STORM...DO NOT DESPAIR...AS THERE LOOKS TO BE AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF UNSETTLED WEATHER AHEAD THROUGH THE NEW YEAR. IR IMAGERY TONIGHT SHOWS A STRING OF INCIPIENT STORMS LINED UP THROUGH THE N PACIFIC...AND AN ACTIVE ITCZ WITH EVIDENCE OF ERLY TRAVELLING WAVES...ALL RECIPES FOR SOME REAL WINTER WEATHER. AFTER STORM NUMBER ONE...ANOTHER...EVEN COLDER...SYSTEM COULD HIT THE REGION LATE FRI INTO SATURDAY. THEN...LATEST GFS PROGS YET ANOTHER SYSTEM FOR LATE IN THE WEEKEND...POTENTIALLY CAUSING SOME SERIOUS HOLIDAY HEADACHES. WHILE THE STORM ON TUE WILL FEATURE RELATIVELY TAME TEMPS OF AROUND MINUS 8 AT H7...THE LATER SYSTEMS WILL COME WITH H7 TEMPS IN A PRIME DENDRITIC ZONE OF AROUND MINUS 13-15. SO...PLENTY OF HOLIDAY SNOW POTENTIAL TO COME ROSE && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 334 PM MST SUN DEC 17 2006/ SHORT TERM... (TONIGHT AND MONDAY) MAIN CONCERN IS PCPN POTENTIAL. TONIGHT AN UPR TROF WL BE OVR UT AND SRN NV AND INTO SRN CA. BY 12Z MON A CLOSED LOW IS EXPECTED TO BE CENTERED OVR SRN CA WHERE IT WL REMAIN THRU THE DAY. AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM...SW FLOW WL CONTINUE TO BRING MID AND HIGH LEVEL MSTR OVR THE FORECAST AREA. QG ASCENT LOOKS FAIRLY GOOD OVR THE AREA ESPECIALLY THE WRN HALF...ALONG WITH UPR JET LYING OVR THE AREA. A LOBE OF PV WL LIE OVR AREAS FROM ABOUT THE PIKES PEAK REGION SWWRD TO THE SW MTS...AND THIS WL SHIFT EWRD ACRS THE AREA ON MON. BEST PCPN POTENTIAL TONIGHT AND MON WL BE IN AREAS MOST AFFECTED BY THE UPR DYNAMICS WHICH WL MAINLY BE OVR THE MTS AND HIGH VALLEYS. SNOW WILL CONTINUE FALLING ACRS THE SW AND PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL MTS TONIGHT AS THE MSTR LAYER REMAINS FAIRLY DEEP AND OROGRAPHICS ARE STILL GOOD FOR THE SW MTS. WL KEEP THE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORIES IN EFFECT FOR ZONES 66 AND 68...BUT ONLY A FEW ADDITIONAL INCHES SHOULD FALL TONIGHT. BY MON MORNING THE MSTR LAYER BECOMES VERY S51OW AND REMAINS THAT WAY THRU THE DAY...BUT SOME ISOLD TO SCT SHOWERS WL STILL BE POSSIBLE. OVR ERN AREAS MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW LOW LEVEL MSTR INCREASING LATE TONIGHT AND REMAINING OVR THE AREA THRU MON....SO THERE SHOULD BE A LOT OF CLOUDS. ALONG WITH THAT THE LOW LEVEL FLOW WL BE UPSLOPE...SO SOME SNOW ALONG AND NR THE ERN MTS WL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. TEMPS AT H7 ON MON WL BE SEVERAL DEGREES COOLER THAN TODAY AND MAX TEMPS WL NOT BE ALL THAT WARM...AROUND 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL OVR ERN AREAS. LONG TERM... (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY) TIMING/MAGNITUDE OF POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENT FOR MON NIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT STILL THE MAIN FCST CONCERN. SHORT RANGE MODELS AND GFS ENSEMBLES APPEAR TO BE COMING INTO BETTER CONSENSUS WITH TRACK OF CLOSED UPPER LOW WHICH MOVES FROM SRN CA/SW AZ MON MORNING ACROSS AZ ON TUES THEN ACROSS NRN NM INTO ERN CO ON WED. GFS ELONGATES THE UPPER LOW TUES NIGHT AS IT MOVES INTO ERN CO...WHILE NAM KEEPS UPPER LOW MORE CONSOLIDATED AND FARTHER TO THE SOUTH ACROSS CEN NM TUES NIGHT...THEN JUMPS THE LOW INTO ERN CO ON WED TO A SIMILAR POSITION WITH THE GFS. THUS WAA SHOULD SPREAD SNOW UP FROM THE SOUTHWEST MON NIGHT...WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOW ACROSS THE SW MTS. H7 FLOW IS MORE SOUTHERLY TO SOUTHEASTERLY...SO ANY OROGRAPHICS WOULD FAVOR THE NRN PORTIONS OF THE SAN LUIS VALLEY...AND EAST SLOPES OF THE ERN SAN JUANS AND LA GARITAS. HOWEVER...WITH STRONG DIFLUENCE ALOFT...MUCH OF SOUTH WEST CO COULD SEE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS MON NIGHT/TUES. THIS AREA WILL LIKELY NEED A WINTER STORM WATCH...BUT WITH HIGHLIGHTS ONGOING...AND ONSET OF HEAVY SNOW BEING A LATE 3RD PERIOD EVENT...PREFER TO HOLD OFF FOR NOW. SNOW WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS MON NIGHT/TUES AS UPPER LOW APPROACHES SW CO AND AREA OF ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE SPREADS ACROSS THE REGION. ONCE AGAIN...APPEARS EVENT WILL BE DRIVEN MORE BY SYNOPTIC LIFT...HOWEVER SOME SE LOW LVL FLOW MAY LOCALLY ENHANCE SNOWFALL ALONG THE EASTERN MTS TUES MORNING. GFS WRAPS DRY SLOT AROUND THE UPPER LOW ACROSS ERN CO TUES NIGHT...WITH BEST UPGLIDE SHIFTING EAST OF THE AREA. THIS SHUTS DOWN THE SNOWFALL SOME TUES NIGHT...HOWEVER WITH TIGHTER UPPER LOW IN NAM12...NAM PORTRAYS MUCH HEAVIER SNOWFALL FOR EASTERN CO TUES NIGHT. OVERALL STILL LOOKS LIKE THE POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL EVENT FOR THE ERN PLAINS AS WELL...BUT DETAILS STILL TOO UNCERTAIN TO WARRANT A 4TH PERIOD AND BEYOND WATCH. FOR NOW...MODEL SOUNDINGS SUGGEST PCPN TYPE SHOULD STAY AS SNOW...THOUGH COULD SEE SOME ICE PELLETS BRIEFLY TUES NIGHT ACROSS THE FAR SE CORNER UNDER WAA ALOFT. UPPER LOW INTENSIFIES AS IT LIFTS TO THE NE WED/WED NIGHT...AND SE PLAINS COMING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE TROWAL. ONCE AGAIN...EXACT POSITION OF THE TROWAL STILL UNCERTAIN...AND GFS INDICATES SOME DRY WEDGES WILL BE WRAPPING AROUND THE UPPER LOW WHICH COULD SHUT DOWN SNOWFALL. BUT OVERALL SNOW SHOULD BE WINDING DOWN BY THURS. NEXT SYSTEM IS QUICK ON ITS HEALS WITH LATEST GFS NOW DIVING NEXT UPPER LOW SOUTHWARD ACROSS NV ON FRI...THEN SENDS CLOSED LOW SOUTHWARD INTO OLD MEXICO BY SAT MORNING. THIS TRACK IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM PREVIOUS RUNS...AND ENSEMBLE MEMBERS SHOW QUITE A BIT OF SPREAD. HOWEVER THIS SYSTEM SHOULD BE COLDER BRINGING ANOTHER SHOT OF SNOW ACROSS THE REGION FOR FRI NIGHT/SAT. LITTLE CHANGES MADE TO PREVIOUS GRIDS. -KT PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR COZ066-068. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WATCH FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT FOR COZ065>068. && 28/31
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1113 PM MST SUN DEC 17 2006 COZ058>089-093>099-190615- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- 1113 PM MST SUN DEC 17 2006 ...A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS AND THE LA GARITA MOUNTAINS FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS WILL GENERALLY BE LESS THAN TWO INCHES. LOCAL AREAS OF LOW VISIBILITY DUE TO BLOWING SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN POOR TRAVEL CONDITIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL AFFECT SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO FROM LATE MONDAY EVENING THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY. HEAVY SNOW WILL BEGIN FALLING OVER THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS LATE MONDAY...AND WILL SPREAD TO THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS BY TUESDAY MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF GREATER THAN ONE FOOT ARE EXPECTED OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SAN JUANS AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING WOLF CREEK PASS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR REMAIN UNCERTAIN. THE LATEST COMPUTER GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT ONLY LIGHT TO MODERATE ACCUMULATIONS WILL OCCUR OVER THE INTERSTATE METROPOLITAN AREAS...WITH GREATER ACCUMULATIONS OCCURRING OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN PLAINS. HOWEVER...IF THE STORM SLOWS DOWN SLIGHTLY...THEN MORE SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS COULD OCCUR CLOSER TO THE MOUNTAINS. STAY TUNED FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND ADVISORIES REGARDING THIS STORM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT. ROSE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
26 winter storm, 6 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2006
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: 7257, 7258, 7259, 7256, 7260, 7261, 7263, 7709, 7714, 7718, 7720, 7722, 7723, 7724, 8299, 8300, 7710, 7711, 7715, 7716, 7717, 7719, 7721, 8301, 8302, 8305, 8308, 8309, 8310, 7708, 7712, 7713.