Another winter storm brought moderate to heavy snow, strong winds and very cold wind chill temperatures to the mountains, foothills and northeast plains of colorado. The strong winds and heavy snow produced blizzard conditions over the far northeast plains, namely Logan, Sedgwick and Phillips Counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 20 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 BOU wrote it up.
Another winter storm brought moderate to heavy snow, strong winds and very cold wind chill temperatures to the mountains, foothills and northeast plains of colorado. The strong winds and heavy snow produced blizzard conditions over the far northeast plains, namely Logan, Sedgwick and Phillips Counties. Peak wind gusts ranged from 30 to 45 mph and produced extensive blowing and drifting snow along with whiteout conditions. Train spotters near Iliff, Peetz and Sterling, reported snow drifts from 3 to 5 feet in depth.
Across the northeast plains, storm totals included: 10 inches at Iliff, 9.5 inches at Peetz, 8 inches, 5 miles south of Sedgwick; 7 inches, 4 miles south of Ovid; 6.5 inches near Akron, Amherst, 14 miles of Arriba and Brush; 6 inches, 12 miles southeast of Aurora, near Hillrose and 4 miles east-northeast of Shaw; 5 inches, 6 miles northwest of Greeley and Holyoke.
Across the Urban Corridor, storm totals included: 6 inches at Boulder and 2 miles north of Loveland; 5 inches, 2 miles east of Elizabeth and 5 miles west of Littleton; with lesser amounts of 2 to 4 inches elsewhere. In the mountains and foothills, storm totals generally ranged from 5 to 10 inches.
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 30, 3:24 AM MST, 5 hours 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 324 AM MST THU DEC 30 2010 .SHORT TERM...SEASONS FIRST WINTER STORM FOR THE NORTHEASTERN PLAINS OF COLORADO IS STILL ON TRACK. ARCTIC COLD FRONT IS APPROACHING THE COLORADO BORDER AS OF 3 AM...AND IS ON SCHEDULE TO PUSH SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE DENVER METRO AREA AROUND DAYBREAK. THERE IS A BAND OF SNOW TRAILING THE FRONT...SO WITH THE SHALLOW UPSLOPE AND INCREASING LIFT THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD/DEVELOP SLOWLY SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE MORNING HOURS. MOST OF THIS MORNING SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TO BE OF THE LIGHTER VARIETY...WITH HEAVIER SNOW DEVELOPING LATER THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING AS Q-G VERTICAL MOTION ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW INCREASES DRAMATICALLY. WHILE THERE ARE STILL DIFFERENCES AMONGST THE VARIOUS MEDIUM RANGE MODELS...THEY ALL POINT TO AN ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. THE GFS IS THE STRONGEST AND MOST COMPACT OF ALL...WHILE THE ECMWF AND CANADIAN ARE STILL SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE...AND THE 00Z NAM THE MOST UNORGANIZED. THE 06Z NAM DID TREND TOWARD A SLIGHTLY STRONGER SOLUTION. OVERALL...A STRONGER SOLUTION IS PREFERRED GIVEN THE CURRENT Q-G ANALYSIS AND WATER VAPOR LOOP. THE GOING FORECAST HAS CHANGED VERY LITTLE IN THE LAST 12 HOURS... WITH SNOW SPREADING SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE PLAINS TODAY AND INCREASING IN INTENSITY THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING. ALL EXISTING HIGHLIGHTS WILL REMAIN UNCHANGED...WITH THE WARNING FIRST STARTING IN/NEAR THE FOOTHILLS LATER THIS MORNING AND THEN ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS BY MID AFTERNOON. THE SNOW ACCUMULATION FORECAST HAS CHANGED SLIGHTLY...PLACING MORE SNOWFALL IN TONIGHTS PERIOD WHEN THE BEST LIFT MOVES ACROSS. STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ACROSS MOST OF THE PLAINS WITH A FOOT OR MORE IN FAVORED LOCATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN FOOTHILLS AND PALMER DIVIDE ARE STILL ON TRACK. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR SNOW RATIOS CAREFULLY...ESPECIALLY WITH COLD AIRMASS AND POTENTIAL DENDRITIC CRYSTAL GROWTH AS BEST VERTICAL MOTION OCCURS THROUGH THE -15C LAYER. THAT MAY LEAD TO SNOW/LIQUID RATIOS CLOSER TO 20 TO 1. ANOTHER POTENTIAL PROBLEM AREA IS THE AMOUNT OF WIND ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS. IF THE GFS STRENGTH VERIFIES...THEN THERE WOULD BE POTENTIAL FOR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS TONIGHT AS SNOWFALL INTENSITY AND GUSTY WINDS JOIN FORCES. WE WILL NOT ISSUE A BLIZZARD WARNING YET...BUT MENTION NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS POSSIBLE IN THE LATEST STATEMENTS. VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WITH LOWS DROPPING TO AROUND ZERO TONIGHT AND WIND CHILL READINGS OF 20 BELOW ZERO. CERTAINLY HAZARDOUS WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS. .LONG TERM...AT 12Z FRIDAY MORNING...THE UPPER CLOSED LOW IS CENTERED AROUND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO ON THE ECMWF AND GFS...THE NAM HAS IT OVER NORTHEASTERN COLORADO. THE FLOW ALOFT IS STILL SOUTHERLY FOR THE FORECAST AREA. BY EARLY FRIDAY EVENING...THE UPPER LOW IS WELL NORTHEAST OF COLORADO...WITH THE UPPER TROUGH AXIS OVER THE FORECAST AREA. BY 12Z SATURDAY...WEST-NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT IS PROGGED OVER THE CWA. THIS CONTINUES THROUGH MUCH OF SATURDAY NIGHT. EARLY ON FRIDAY...THERE IS STILL UPWARD VERTICAL VELOCITY PROGGED FOR MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA. BY AFTERNOON...IT'S MAINLY DOWNWARD...WITH WEAK UPWARD MOTION STILL OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST CORNER. IT'S MAINLY ALL DOWNWARD FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. AT 12Z FRIDAY MORNING...THE SURFACE CYCLONE IS PROGGED OVER SOUTHWEST TO SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS...WITH A FAIRLY DECENT HIGH PRESSURE SURGE BUILDING SOUTHWARD INTO COLORADO. THE BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW IS NORTH-NORTHWESTERLY ALL DAY FRIDAY...WITH FAIRLY DECENT SPEEDS OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST CORNER. BY FRIDAY NIGHT ...WEAKER MORE WESTERLY FLOW IS PROGGED. THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE FORECAST AREA MAY HAVE NORMAL DIURNAL WIND TRENDS. NORMAL TRENDS LOOK TO CONTINUE SATURDAY AND SATURDAY EVENING...WITH MORE DOWNSLOPE DOMINATED FLOW BY 12Z SUNDAY MORNING. FOR MOISTURE...IT IS STILL PROGGED TO BE DEEP OVER ALL THE FORECAST AREA MUCH OF FRIDAY...WITH IT DECREASING SOME OVER THE PLAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON. ALL OF THE PLAINS DRY OUT PRETTY WELL FRIDAY NIGHT... WITH QUITE A BIT OF MOISTURE STILL OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THE PLAINS ARE DRY SATURDAY...WITH MOISTURE SLOWLY DECREASING OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THE NAM KEEPS MORE MOISTURE IN THE MOUNTAINS COMPARED TO THE GFS. SATURDAY NIGHT IS DRY ALL OVER THE CWA...WITH THE NAM... ONLY...HANGING ON TO SOME MOISTURE IN THE MOUNTAINS. THE QPF FIELDS HAVE MINIMAL AMOUNTS OF MEASURABLE SNOW OVER THE FORECAST AREA FRIDAY...THEN ONLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS FRIDAY NIGHT. THERE IS TAD OVER THE MOUNTAINS...WEST OF THE DIVIDE...SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT AS WELL. SO FOR MOUNTAINS POPS...WILL KEEP "LIKELY"S GOING ALL OF FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING...WITH DECENT MOISTURE AND WEST-NORTHWESTERLY MOUNTAIN TOP FLOW IN MIND. WILL DECREASE POPS AFTER MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT KEEP SOME "SLIGHT CHANCES"S GOING SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. FOR THE PLAINS...WILL GO WITH "LIKELY'S FRIDAY MORNING...EVENING HIGHER OVER THE NORTHEAST CORNER ALONG WITH BLOWING SNOW. WILL DECREASE EVERYTHING FRIDAY AFTERNOON ...AND KEEP A "SLIGHT CHANCE" GOING OVER THE NORTHEAST CORNER FRIDAY EVENING. THE PLAINS WILL BE DRY AFTER THAT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. WILL KEEP ALL HIGHLIGHTS STATUS QUO AND ALTER SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SLIGHTLY UPWARD ON FRIDAY. FOR TEMPERATURES...FRIDAY'S MOS GUIDANCE NUMBERS MAY BE A BIT HIGH. FOR SATURDAY...READINGS ONLY WARM 2-3 C FROM FRIDAY'S. WILL LOWER FRIDAY NIGHT'S LOWS AND SATURDAY NIGHT'S AS WELL. OF NOTE...WE EXPECT A SNOW COVER FOR SOUTH PARK...SO I WILL LOWER FUTURE HIGHS AND LOWS THERE CONSIDERABLY. FOR THE LATER DAYS ...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MODELS HAVE WEST-NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT FOR THE CWA SUNDAY. WESTERLY FLOW IS PROGGED SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY NIGHT. THE GFS HAS A WEAK UPPER TROUGH TO MOVE ACROSS COLORADO EARLY TUESDAY...THE ECMWF HAS WEAK UPPER RIDGING AT THE SAME TIME. THE FLOW ALOFT IS PRETTY WEAK WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY ON BOTH MODELS...WITH AN UPPER CLOSED LOW PROGGED IN AND AROUND NORTHWESTERN MEXICO. EITHER WAY...MOISTURE IS NOT GREAT AND TEMPERATURES ONLY MODERATE SLOWLY. && .AVIATION...ALTHOUGH THE ARCTIC COLD FRONT HAS SLOWED A BIT...THE FRONT IS STILL EXPECTED TO PUSH THROUGH THE FRONT RANGE AIRPORTS BETWEEN 13Z AND 14Z THIS MORNING. SHOULD SEE LIGHT SNOW AND IFR CONDITIONS DEVELOPING BY 15Z-17Z GIVEN TIMING OF RADAR ECHOES IN EASTERN WYOMING. IFR WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE DAY...WITH MOSTLY LIFR CONDITIONS LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND THROUGH MOST OF THE EVENING WHEN HEAVIER SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR. STORM TOTALS OF 5 TO 9 INCHES EXPECTED AT KBJC AND KDEN...WITH A COUPLE INCHES MORE THAN THAT POSSIBLE AT KAPA. GUSTY WINDS ESPECIALLY AT KDEN WILL IMPACT VISIBILITY AND RUNWAY CONDITIONS WITH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW THROUGH TONIGHT. SNOW WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE WITH SLOWLY IMPROVING VISIBILITIES INTO THE 1-3 MILE RANGE FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. VISIBILITY BECOMING UNRESTRICTED AROUND NOON FRIDAY. CEILINGS ALSO LIFTING TO MVFR BY THAT TIME. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING 9 AM TODAY UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY DENVER METRO AREA...FOOTHILLS...AND PALMER DIVIDE...ZONES 35..36..39>41 AND 45. WINTER STORM WARNING 2 PM TODAY UNTIL NOON FRIDAY FROM FORT MORGAN AND LIMON EASTWARD...ZONES 44..46>51. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY 9 AM TODAY UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY FOR WELD AND EASTERN LARIMER COUNTIES...ZONES 38..42..AND 43. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY 2 PM TODAY UNTIL NOON FRIDAY FOR SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY...ZONE 47. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY FOR THE HIGH MOUNTAINS... ZONES 31..33 AND 34. && BARJENBRUCH/RJK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 534 AM MST THU DEC 30 2010 COZ030>051-301800- 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- 534 AM MST THU DEC 30 2010 ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS...DENVER METRO AREA...AND MOST OF THE NORTHEASTERN PLAINS OF COLORADO... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...EASTERN LARIMER AND WELD COUNTIES...AND SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WINTER STORM IS TAKING AIM ON NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO WITH SNOW...BLOWING SNOW...AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES. AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH ACROSS THE PLAINS THIS MORNING...WITH TEMPERATURES FALLING THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL ALSO OVERSPREAD THE REGION WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT AS THE STORM TRACKS ALONG THE COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO BORDER. NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS TONIGHT WHEN THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL COMBINES WITH GUSTY NORTH WINDS AROUND 35 MPH. TOTAL SNOWFALL FROM THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO RANGE BETWEEN 5 AND 10 INCHES ACROSS MOST OF THE PLAINS...WITH UP TO A FOOT OF SNOW OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE AND FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS. SIMILAR AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS... WITH 3 TO 7 INCHES IN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS. THIS STORM SYSTEM IS VERY COLD. IF YOU HAVE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES OR ARE TRAVELING ACROSS COLORADO...PLAN ACCORDINGLY. WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES WILL DROP TO BETWEEN 10 AND 20 BELOW ZERO TONIGHT... WITH AIR TEMPERATURES FALLING CLOSE TO OR JUST BELOW ZERO. DRESS WARMLY IN SEVERAL LAYERS OF CLOTHING...AND IF TRAVELING TAKE ALONG A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH EXTRA DRY CLOTHES...FOOD...AND A SNOW SHOVEL. IN ADDITION...VISIBILITIES OVER THE PLAINS MAY BE REDUCED TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES TONIGHT DUE TO CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SNOW WILL BE LIKELY ON FRIDAY MORNING ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA...THEN DECREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. MOST AREAS WILL SEE ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES AT BEST. THE CHANCE OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE IN THE MOUNTAINS FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY BEFORE DECREASING. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT. ALL THE FORECAST AREA WILL BE DRY SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW WILL RETURN TO MOUNTAINS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...THEN THEY WILL SLOWLY MODERATE FROM SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...BUT STILL REMAIN BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION FOR SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IS REQUESTED TODAY AND TONIGHT. BARJENBRUCH/RJK
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 winter weather, 6 winter storm, 3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2010
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: 272358, 272359, 272360, 272361, 272362, 272363, 272372, 272395, 272396, 272371, 272375, 272377, 272379, 272380, 272381, 272382, 272383, 272384, 272385, 272387.