An upper level disturbance combined with orographic lift in northwest flow produced significant snowfall across the northern mountains of western Colorado.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 combined with orographic lift in northwest flow produced significant snowfall across the northern mountains 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 3, 3:30 AM MST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 330 AM MST WED DEC 3 2008 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT... LATEST SHORTWAVE HAS MOVED OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA EARLY THIS MORNING AND WILL MOVE EAST OF THE DIVIDE BEFORE DAWN. ANY REMAINING SHOWERS OVER THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS WILL QUICKLY DIMINISH DURING THE MORNING HOURS. BUT THE NORTHWEST FLOW BEHIND THIS WAVE WILL KEEP SNOW LIKELY OVER THE FAVORED NORTHWEST SLOPES OF THE NORTH AND CENTRAL DIVIDE AREA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE LARGER SCALE PATTERN KEEPS A PERTURBED NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE PERIOD AS A LONGWAVE LOW PRESSURE TROUGH REMAINS ANCHORED OVER THE MIDWEST...WITH RIDGING OFF THE WEST COAST. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE WILL DROP OUT OF WA/OR TONIGHT WITH THE UPPER JET SAGGING OVER THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE FORECAST AREA. AS A RESULT OROGRAPHIC SNOW...WITH SOME UPPER SUPPORT...WILL CONTINUE OVER THOSE SAME FAVORED NORTHWEST SLOPES OF THE NORTH AND CENTRAL DIVIDE. ON THURSDAY MOISTURE WILL INCREASE OVER THE NORTH AS THE NEXT SHORTWAVE APPROACHES. NOT A HUGE CHANGE TO THE AREA OF INTEREST...BUT WE SHOULD SEE A LITTLE MORE ACTIVITY ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE FAR NORTH AND IN THE OTHER CENTRAL COLORADO MOUNTAINS AS WELL. WHILE SNOWFALL COULD BE FAIRLY STEADY IN SOME LOCATIONS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME...SNOW INTENSITY SHOULD GENERALLY REMAIN ON THE LIGHT SIDE. ENERGY WILL EVENTUALLY SPLIT FROM THIS WAVE AND SHEAR ACROSS THE DESERT SOUTHWEST TO JOIN A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE SOUTHERN CA COAST. COOLING TREND BEGINS TODAY...THEN CONTINUES THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE SHORT TERM PERIOD IN THE COOL NORTHWEST FLOW. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... MODELS CONSISTENT IN SHOWING DRY NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE AREA FROM FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. AIRMASS BEHIND THURSDAYS FRONT LIKELY TO BRING COOLER TEMPERATURES THAN EARLIER FORECAST AND ADJUSTED HIGHS ACCORDINGLY. SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...GFS AND EC PART WAYS WITH EC LIFTING CLOSED LOW NORTHEAST INTO THE SOUTHWEST...WHILE THE GFS KEEPS THIS FEATURE OFFSHORE. HPC GUIDANCE VERY CLOSE TO GFS AND ACCEPTED. AS SUCH A DECREASE IN POPS OCCUR FROM PREVIOUS THINKING AS MOST ENERGY REMAINS EITHER NORTH OR SOUTH OF THE CWA. && .AVIATION... VFR CIGS AND VSBY WILL BE THE RULE ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT IN THE WAKE OF THE FAST MOVING STORM WHICH CROSSED THE AREA OVERNIGHT. THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS WILL BE THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE WITH LINGERING MOISTURE IN NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUING TO BRING WIDESPREAD SNOW. AS A RESULT...EXPECT AREAS OF MVFR CIGS AND VSBY IN SNOWFALL...OCCASIONALLY OBSCURING MOUNTAINS. IMPACT TO MOST MOUNTAIN VALLEY AIRPORTS WILL BE MINIMAL WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KSBS. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. SHORT TERM.....EH LONG TERM......NL/MC AVIATION.......NL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MST WED DEC 3 2008 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-041400- 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 WED DEC 3 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE CHANCE FOR SNOW WILL BE MAINLY LIMITED TO THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGHER VALLEYS OF WESTERN COLORADO THROUGH THIS MORNING. DURING THE AFTERNOON AND THROUGH THE NIGHT SNOW WILL BE LIMITED TO THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COLORADO MOUNTAINS...MAINLY NEAR THE DIVIDE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE THURSDAY ALONG THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COLORADO MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE DIVIDE...ENDING LATE THURSDAY NIGHT. THE CHANCE FOR MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL AGAIN DEVELOP EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT...BUT SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW AMOUNTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION. EH/NL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 6 to 9 inches occurred.
Snowfall of 4 to 9 inches occurred. The storm forced the cancellation of a World Cup skiing race at the Beaver Creek resort.
Snowfall of 7 to 14 inches occurred with a locally higher amount of 16 inches measured at Steamboat Springs Ski Area.
Snowfall of 5 to 8 inches occurred.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2008
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: 138076, 138075, 138074, 138073.