A cold front brought heavy snow and strong winds to the mountains and high valleys of northwest Colorado.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 cold front brought heavy snow and strong winds to the mountains and high valleys of northwest 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 29, 4:25 AM MST, 7 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 425 AM MST SAT DEC 29 2007 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT... PLENTY OF CHALLENGES WITH THE MORNING FORECAST AS RELATIVELY MILD AND MOIST AIR POURS OVER THE TOP OF COLD AIR TRAPPED IN MOST VALLEYS. TEMPERATURES: MOST MOUNTAIN TEMPS HAVE BEEN STEADY PAST MIDNIGHT SHOWING THE INFLUENCE OF SW-NW GRADIENT WINDS...CLOUD INSOLATION AND LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS. VALLEYS ARE GENERALLY MILDER THIS MORNING EXCEPT FOR THE STRONG INVERSIONS IN THE UINTA AND GUNNISON BASINS. ONE EXCEPTION IS MEEKER WHERE SW MIXING WINDS BROUGHT ABOUT 25 DEGREES OF WARMING COMPARED TO FRIDAY MORNING. GENERALLY SHOWED A SLOW WARMING TREND FOR THE VALLEYS AND A DRAMATIC WARM-UP FOR THE SLOPES. BUT AS MIXING OCCURS...SOME VALLEY LOCATIONS MAY SEE DRAMATIC TEMP RISES. VERNAL MAY BREAK OUT OF THEIR COLD POOL LATE SUNDAY AS THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE BRINGS MILDER AIR DOWN TO THE SFC. LESS CERTAIN GUNNISON WILL BREAK THEIR INVERSION. SNOWFALL: THE MOIST WARM ADVECTION IN NW FLOW ALOFT HAS KEPT LIGHT SNOW FALLING OVER MOST MTN SENSORS OVERNIGHT. MT WERNER AT STEAMBOAT MTN RESORT HAS CARRIED SNOW ALL NIGHT. LAW ENFORCEMENT IN CRAIG REPORTS A DUSTING THERE. SNOTEL SENSORS INDICATE 1-2 INCH AMOUNTS OVERNIGHT IN THE NORTHERN MTNS. BELIEVE THIS PATTERN TO CONTINUE TODAY WITH MTN SNOW LIKELY FAVORING THE NW-FACING SLOPES BUT ONLY LIGHT SNOW BELOW 7500FT OR SO...AND WORDED THE FORECAST THIS WAY. STRONGER WARM ADVECTION TONIGHT MAY FORCE SOME BETTER ACCUMULATIONS. THEN A COLD FRONT DROPS OUT OF WYOMING LATE SUNDAY AND PASSES THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA SUNDAY NIGHT. BEST FORCING AND OROGRAPHICS TO OCCUR IN THE PARK/GORE/FLATTOPS/ELKS/NW SAN JUANS OVERNIGHT WITH POTENTIAL HIGHLIGHTS NEEDED THERE. HAVE INCREASED POPS AND SNOW AMOUNTS FOR THOSE ZONES. EASTERN UTAH IS NOTICEABLY DRY IN THIS FRONTAL PASSAGE AND DID NOT BUY OFF ON THIS TOTALLY. WINDS: GUSTY MTN WINDS WILL ONLY INCREASE INTO SUNDAY AS THE FRONT APPROACHES. THIS WILL CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. VALLEYS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET WINDS WILL SEE MILDER TEMPERATURES. THANKS TO BOU AND PUB FOR COORDINATION. .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... GOOD LARGE SCALE MODEL AGREEMENT. NORTHWEST FLOW ON THE BACK SIDE OF A DEPARTING TROUGH AND AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL YIELD SOME LIGHT OROGRAPHIC SNOWFALL ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN HIGH VALLEYS MONDAY...ESPECIALLY TOWARD THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. A TRANSITION TO DRIER AND MORE STABLE CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES OVER THE FORECAST AREA. GOOD RADIATIONAL COOLING WILL OCCUR AT NIGHT UNDER THE RIDGE WITH VERY COLD OVERNIGHT LOWS ON TAP MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY NIGHT. A WARMING TREND WILL OCCUR THROUGH MID WEEK BUT STRONG INVERSIONS WILL TEMPER THE WARMING IN THE VALLEYS AND BASINS ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTH. LATE IN THE WEEK...THE UPPER RIDGE IS PROGGED TO SHIFT EAST OF THE AREA WITH A MOIST WESTERLY FLOW AND EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE TROUGHS BRINGING A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION BACK INTO THE PICTURE. STRENGTH AND TIMING OF SHORTWAVES UNCERTAIN SO ONLY LOW POPS IN THE FORECAST THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. && AVIATION...MVFR TO LOCAL IFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WILL CONTINUE OVER THE MOUNTAINS TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY. IN ADDITION GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL CREATE MODERATE TURBULENCE WITH POCKETS OF LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR MAINLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE-70. NORTHERN VALLEYS MAY SEE PERIODS OF MVFR CONDITIONS IN SNOW SHOWERS. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. SHORT TERM.....JOE LONG TERM......TAL AVIATION.......JOE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MST SAT DEC 29 2007 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-301245- 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 SAT DEC 29 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LIGHT...MAINLY MOUNTAIN...SNOWFALL WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT AND MAINLY ON WEST- FACING SLOPES. IN ADDITION...GUSTY WEST WINDS OVER HIGH EXPOSED TERRAIN MAY CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY...MOUNTAIN SNOW...ESPECIALLY OVER THE WEST FACING SLOPES OF THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS WILL BE POSSIBLE. STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE SNOW OVER THE MOUNTAIN PASSES AND RIDGES. A COLD FRONT WILL PASS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH LATE SUNDAY PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL. THURSDAY...SNOWFALL MAY AGAIN RETURN TO THE REGION AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT...BUT YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION. TGJT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather, 2 winter storm, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Widespread snowfall of 12 to 32 inches occurred with a locally higher amount of 4 feet at the Tower SNOTEL. Frequent wind gusts of 25 to 40 mph produced blowing and drifting snow. A wind gust of 61 mph was recorded at Storm Peak Lab.
Widespread snowfall of 1 to 2 feet occurred while wind gusts of 25 to 40 mph produced blowing and drifting snow.
Widespread snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred with locally higher amounts up to 2 feet. Wind gusts of 25 to 40 mph produced blowing and drifting snow.
Widespread snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred with locally higher amounts of 14 inches around Crested Butte Ski Area and 2 feet around Schofield Pass. Wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph produced blowing and drifting snow.
Widespread snowfall of 6 to 12 inches occurred while wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph produced blowing and drifting snow.
Around 1 foot of snow fell across the area while wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph caused blowing and drifting snow.
Widespread snowfall of 5 to 11 inches occurred. Frequent wind gusts of 25 to 45 mph produced blowing and drifting snow. A wind gust of 54 mph was recorded on Mount Abrahms.
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: 121366, 121369, 121375, 121378, 121381, 121362, 121382.