An upper level disturbance and cold front moved across the area and produced significant snowfall across most of the mountains and many valleys of western Colorado.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
An upper level disturbance and cold front moved across the area and produced significant snowfall across most of the mountains and many valleys of western Colorado.
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 13, 3:54 AM MST, 5 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 354 AM MST THU DEC 13 2007 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... UPPER LEVEL CLOUD COVER INCREASED OVERNIGHT AND CONTINUES TO SPREAD OVER THE REGION EARLY THIS MORNING. CLOUD TOPS COOLING ENHANCED ON THE EXITING WEAK JET. HAVE HAD PATCHY FOG IN THE VALLEYS OVERNIGHT... SO WILL KEEP IN THE FORECAST THROUGH MORNING. NEXT STORM IS ON TRACK. A VERY WEAK WAVE EMBEDDED IN THE WESTERLY/NORTHWESTERLY FLOW MOVES OVERHEAD TODAY AND ALONG WITH OROGRAPHICS SHOULD START LIGHT PRECIP THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE CWA. COVERAGE WILL INCREASE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. MODELS SLIGHTLY LESS IMPRESSIVE WITH THIS NEXT STORM AND CONTINUE TO INDICATE A PROGRESSIVE SYSTEM WITH FAIRLY GOOD LIFT. MODELS DIFFER ON SNOW AMOUNTS WITH THE NAM HAVING THE LOWEST AMOUNTS. EXPECT MORE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THAN THE MODELS ARE PUMPING OUT BUT BELOW ADVISORY FOR MOST PLACES WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS AT A FEW LOCATIONS...SO ONLY VERY MINOR TWEAKS TO THE CURRENT FORECAST. SNOW SHOWERS WILL LINGER OVER THE DIVIDE INTO FRIDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES STAY PERSISTENT TODAY BUT COOL DOWN FRIDAY BEHIND THE FRONT. .LONG TERM (SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)... A FEW WEAK RIPPLES ROLL THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA OVER THE WEEKEND IN NWLY FLOW. THESE WAVES WILL BRING A FEW SNOW SHOWERS TO THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...OTHERWISE DRY CONDITIONS WILL BE EXPECTED. BY MONDAY...SHRTWV RIDGE BUILDS IN...BUT ADVANCES QUICKLY EAST WITH FLAT ZONAL PATTERN BECOMING ESTABLISHED LATER MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THIS WILL DRIVE A FEW MORE WEAK UPPER LEVEL WAVES INTO THE REGION...KEEPING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST FOR MOST MOUNTAIN AREAS. ANOTHER STRONGER AND DEEPER TROUGH IS THEN EXPECTED TO DIG INTO THE GREAT BASIN ON WEDNESDAY...BRINGING AN INCREASED CHANCE OF SNOW TO MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ECMWF SLOWER WITH BRINGING THIS STRONGER TROUGH INTO THE AREA. MODELS ARE ALSO INDICATING THIS SYSTEM WILL SPLIT AS IT MOVES THROUGH...SO NO MAJOR CHANGES TO POPS AT THIS TIME. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEASONAL NORMS THROUGH THE PERIOD. && AVIATION...LOCAL MVFR TO IFR CIGS AND VSBYS WILL CONTINUE IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN VALLEYS NEAR VERNAL UTAH...EAGLE AND MONTROSE EARLY TODAY...WITH CONDITIONS GRADUALLY IMPROVING THROUGH MID-AFTERNOON. VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED ELSEWHERE. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. SHORT TERM.....AS LONG TERM......JDC AVIATION.......JDC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MST THU DEC 13 2007 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-141245- ANIMAS RIVER BASIN-ARCHES/GRAND FLAT-CANYONLANDS/NATURAL BRIDGES- CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN- CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN- CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN-DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR- EASTERN UINTA BASIN-EASTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS- ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-FLAT TOPS- FOUR CORNERS/UPPER DOLORES RIVER- GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS- GRAND VALLEY-LA SAL AND ABAJO MOUNTAINS-LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN- NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-PARADOX VALLEY/LOWER DOLORES RIVER- ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS-SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN-SOUTHEAST UTAH- SOUTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-TAVAPUTS PLATEAU- UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE-UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY- UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS- 545 AM MST THU DEC 13 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT PATCHY FOG WILL CONTINUE IN SOME OF THE VALLEYS EARLY THIS MORNING. LOCALLY POOR VISIBILITIES AND SLICK ICY ROADS AND SIDEWALKS WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. SNOW SHOWERS WILL BEGIN THIS AFTERNOON MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. SNOW WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW ON FRIDAY...MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO. ANOTHER CHANCE OF SNOW MOVES IN ON TUESDAY...AND INCREASES ON WEDNESDAY AS ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 5 to 9 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 6 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 6 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 5 to 9 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 3 to 4 inches occurred with numerous traffic accidents.
Snowfall of 3 to 5 inches occurred over half of the area with 1 to 2 inch amounts elsewhere. The heaviest snow generally occurred east of Highway 50 from Delta to Montrose, and south of Montrose.
Snowfall of 3 to 4 inches occurred.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2007
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: 67783, 67781, 67782, 67784, 67785, 67787, 67788, 67786.