A combination of a moist zonal flow and strong upper level jet stream brought extensive blowing and drifting snow to the North-Central Mountains of Colorado. Wind sensors above timberline measured peak gusts from 75 to 92 mph.
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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.
A combination of a moist zonal flow and strong upper level jet stream brought extensive blowing and drifting snow to the North-Central Mountains of Colorado. Wind sensors above timberline measured peak gusts from 75 to 92 mph. The combination of snow and wind resulted in whiteout conditions and a high avalanche danger along the Interstate 70 Corridor, from Floyd Hill to Vail. As a result, the interstate was closed for approximately 24 hours. Other closures included: Berthoud and Rabbit Ears Passes on U.S. Highway 40; Loveland Pass on U.S. Highway 6; Cameron Pass on State Highway 14; Kenosha Pass on U.S. Highway 285; U.S. Highways 287 and 85 near the Wyoming Border.
The American Red Cross opened 9 shelters in Summit County for stranded motorists; where more than 2,000 people took shelter. Loveland Ski Area was forced to close for the day because employees and skiers couldn't get to it. Tow truck drivers spent much of their time rescuing stranded motorists. In Grand County, a snowmobiler was injured when he triggered an avalanche. He was knocked unconscious and buried under 3 feet of snow. Fortunately, he suffered only a separated shoulder.
Peak wind gust reports included: 92 mph at Niwot Ridge; 89 mph at Mines peak; 87 mph at Georgetown; 80 mph at Berthoud and Loveland Passes; 75 mph at Gunsight; 60 mph at Copper Mountain. Storm totals during the 2-day period were light to moderate with amounts ranging from 5 to 10 inches. The exception occurred at the Columbine Snotel where 15 inches of snowfall was measured.
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 29, 3:45 AM MST, 8 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 345 AM MST SAT DEC 29 2007 .SHORT TERM...CONCERN THROUGH TONIGHT SHIFTS TO POTENTIAL HIGH WIND EVENT ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE. CROSS MOUNTAIN FLOW INCREASES TO AROUND 40-45 KNOTS AND STRONG UPPER JET RACES ACROSS THE CO/WY BORDER AREA. THIS WILL PUT US IN SUBSIDENT RIGHT EXIT REGION OF UPPER JET. ONLY THING GOING AGAINST A HIGH WIND EVENT IS THE LACK OF A STRONG MOUNTAIN TOP STABLE LAYER. HOWEVER...THE BRUTE FORCE ALONE MAY BE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A HIGH WIND THREAT ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THEREFORE HAVE ISSUED A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS STARTING AT 9 PM TONIGHT AND CONTINUED THROUGH SUNDAY PER LONG TERM DISCUSSION BELOW. STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO PRODUCE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...AND IF STRONGER WINDS CAN WORK OUT ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS LIKE JEFFERSON AND BOULDER COUNTIES THEN A BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY MAY BE REQUIRED THERE AS WELL. WITH REGARD TO ACTUAL SNOWFALL...MODELS MOISTEN THE ATMOSPHERE LATER THIS AFTERNOON WITH BEST MOISTURE TONIGHT. THERE IS SOME EVIDENCE THIS MAY OCCUR AS SATELLITE SHOWS A STREAM OF MOISTURE ORGANIZING OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC INTO OREGON AT THIS TIME. OROGRAPHICS AND GOOD...LAPSE RATES AROUND 5-6 C/KM...AND AS A RESULT SNOW MODEL SPITS OUT SOME DECENT NUMBERS BUT MAINLY IN ZONE 31 WITH SO MUCH WESTERLY COMPONENT. EXPECT 2 INCHES OR LESS TODAY WITH MOSTLY SCATTERED SHOWER ACTIVITY AND THEN MORE LIKELY SNOWFALL TONIGHT WITH ROUGHLY 1-4 INCHES TONIGHT AND SLIGHTLY HIGHER AMOUNTS IN ZONE 31. TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE SOME TODAY WITH CONTINUED DOWNSLOPE EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS...BUT STILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL AS 700 MB TEMPS SUPPORT HIGHS MAXING OUT ONLY IN THE UPPER 30S IN FAVORED DOWNSLOPE AREAS. MEANWHILE...PLACES FARTHER NORTHEAST IN DEEPER INVERSIONS LIKE GREELEY AND FORT MORGAN WILL STRUGGLE INTO THE 20S. .LONG TERM...STG W WNDS WL CONTINUE THRU THE MRNG HRS BEFORE SWITCHING TO THE NW AND DCRSG A BIT IN THE AFTN. WATCH NUMBERS SEEM WARRANTED THRU NOON UP HIGH...BUT WINDS SHUD DCRS MARKEDLY IN THE FOOTHILLS SUN AFTN. SKIES WL STAY CLDY...NEVERTHELESS TEMPS WL BE WARMER ON THE PLAINS DUE TO DOWNSLOPING WNDS. SOME SNOW SHOWERS WL REDEVELOP ALONG THE W FACING SLOPES IN THE AFTN. AS UPR LVL CDFNT SINKS SWD INTO THE AREA...PRECIP SHUD INCRS IN THE HIGH COUNTRY AS DPR MSTR ARRIVES OVERNIGHT. THERE WL BE STG JET STREAK OVR WY DURING THE NIGHT WHICH WOULD PLACE CWFA IN A FVRBL AREA FOR UPR LVL DYNAMICS. SOME COLD AIR ADVECTION OVERNIGHT...BUT LAPSE RATES ARE NOT TOO STEEP DURING THE DURATION OF THIS EVENT. BEST SNOW ACCUMULATION IN THE HIGH COUNTRY WL BE W OF DIVIDE AND NORTH OF I-70 WHERE NWLY WNDS GENERATE GOOD OROGRAPHIC COMPONENT. AS FOR THE PLAINS...A FEW STRAY SNOW SHWRS WILL QUICKLY MOVE THRU THE AREA SUN NIGHT BUT NO ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED. PRECIP SHUD DCRS MONDAY MORNING LEAVING THE REST OF THE DAY PTLY CLDY AND COOL. A WARMING TREND WILL FINALLY DEVELOP FOR TUES AND BEYOND AS A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BLDS ACRS THE REGION. BY WED AND THURS TEMPS WL BE IN THE UPR 40S AND LWR 50S...QUITE A CHANGE FROM THE COLD WX OF THE PAST FEW WEEKS. WK UPR TROF MAY MOVE INTO THE AREA FRIDAY... BUT LTL WX WL ACCOMPANY THIS. FEW CHANGES NEEDED TO DAYS 5 AND BEYOND. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH TONIGHT. MAINLY SW SFC WINDS EXPECTED...ALTHOUGH THEY MAY SWITCH MORE WESTERLY AND BE SLIGHTLY GUSTY FOR BRIEF PERIODS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...HIGH WIND WATCH FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS 9 PM TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON... ZONES 33>36. && BARJENBRUCH/046
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1056 AM MST SAT DEC 29 2007 COZ030>051-301300- 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- 1056 AM MST SAT DEC 29 2007 ...HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL BE LIKELY IN THE MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 6 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED BY DAWN SUNDAY MORNING. STRONG WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WILL CAUSING BLOWING SNOW. GUSTS TO 70 MPH ARE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT AND SUNDAY. WEST WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN FOOTHILLS THIS AFTERNOON CONTINUING INTO SUNDAY. SPEEDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WILL CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW IN THE FOOTHILLS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE HIGH COUNTRY THROUGH THE DAY SUNDAY. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT WHICH WILL SPREAD SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE HIGH COUNTRY SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING. UP TO 5 INCHES OF ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS...MAINLY ACROSS AREAS NORTH OF I-70. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF MONDAY MORNING. A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE WEST BRINGING DRY AND WARMER WEATHER... WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW RETURNING TO THE MOUNTAINS ON FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. RJK/GIMMESTAD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind, 1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong winds caused whiteout conditions, forcing the closure of Rabbit Ears Pass on State Highway 14.
Strong winds caused whiteout conditions, forcing the closure of Cameron Pass on State Highway 14.
The combination of snow and wind resulted in whiteout conditions and a high avalanche danger along the Interstate 70 Corridor, from Floyd Hill to Vail. As a result, the interstate was closed for approximately 24 hours. Others closures included: Loveland Pass on U.S. Highway 6, Kenosha Pass on U.S. Highway 285, and Berthoud Pass on U.S. Highway 40.
A snowmobiler was injured when he triggered an avalanche. He was knocked unconscious and buried under 3 feet of snow. Fortunately, he suffered only a separated shoulder.
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: 65755, 65756, 65757, 65758.