An upper level storm system in combination with cold air generated heavy to very heavy snow accumulations over sections of southern Colorado. and 27 to 33 inches around 22 miles west-northwest of Canon City (northern Fremont County).
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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 PUB wrote it up.
An upper level storm system in combination with cold air generated heavy to very heavy snow accumulations over sections of southern Colorado. Some of the higher reported snow totals were...6 to 10 inches across eastern Teller and northern El Paso Counties, and eastern Fremont and western Pueblo Counties...10 to 20 inches near Antonito (Conejos County), South Fork (Rio Grande County)...northern Teller and far northern El Paso Counties, and central Fremont, Custer, and southwestern Pueblo Counties...and 27 to 33 inches around 22 miles west-northwest of Canon City (northern Fremont County).
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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 21, 4:36 AM MST, 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 436 AM MST WED DEC 21 2011 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) LOOKS LIKE A DRY DAY MOST AREAS TODAY...WITH JUST SOME SHOWERS BEING POSSIBLE OVR THE CONTDVD LATER THIS AFTERNOON AS A NEW UPR TROF DROP SOUTH TOWARD THE AREA. TEMPS FORECAST FOR TODAY IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN AREAS WHERE THERE IS SNOW COVER. MADE FEW CHANGES TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST WHICH WAS ALREADY BELOW GUIDANCE TEMPS IN THOSE AREAS WITH SNOW. FOR TONIGHT A LOW CLOSES OFF OVR ERN UT AND THIS SYSTEM CONTINUES DROPPING SOUTH TOWARD THE FOUR CORNERS. AS THIS HAPPENS...SNOW IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD FROM NORTH TO SOUTH OVER MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA. OVERNIGHT A FAIRLY DEEP LAYER OF UPSLOPE WINDS DEVELOPS ALONG THE I25 CORRIDOR AND THE ERN MTS. THE NAM CONTINUES TO SHOW THE BEST OVERNIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OCCURRING OVER TELLER AND PORTIONS OF EL PASO COUNTY...THE WET MOUNTAINS...PORTIONS OF FREMONT COUNTY AND MOSTLY WRN PORTIONS OF PUEBLO COUNTY...AS WELL AS THE CENTRAL CO MTS. .LONG TERM... (THURSDAY THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY) UPPER LOW MOVES TOWARD THE 4 CORNERS DURING THE DAY THU...WITH MOST OF THE AREA COVERED BY WEAK TO MODERATE EASTERLY FLOW. FOCUS FOR HEAVIEST SNOW WILL SHIFT SOUTH FROM TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE IN THE MORNING TO THE WET/SANGRES BY MIDDAY...WHILE MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA SEES PERSISTENT LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL. LATEST MODEL CYCLE SUGGESTS A WEAKER BUT MORE EASTERLY FLOW FROM THE SURFACE THROUGH 700 MB THURSDAY...WHICH MAY INCREASE SNOW AMOUNTS OVER COLORADO SPRINGS AND PUEBLO...AND ALSO OVER THE ARKANSAS VALLEY WEST OF CANON CITY...THOUGH FORECAST AMOUNTS ARE STILL SUB-ADVISORY. LOOKS LIKE HIGH END ADVISORY SNOWFALL OVER MOST MOUNTAIN AREAS...EXCEPT THE SAN JUANS WHERE FLOW IS FAIRLY WEAK UNDER THE UPPER LOW AND AMOUNTS LOOK FAIRLY LIGHT. SUPPOSE A FEW OF THE USUAL SUSPECTS IN THE WETS/SANGRES COULD APPROACH WARNING CRITERIA...THOUGH AT THIS POINT FLOW LOOKS A LITTLE TOO WEAK FOR WIDESPREAD WARNING CRITERIA SNOWFALL. PLAINS EAST OF I-25 WILL SEE SNOW...THOUGH WITH BEST FORCING STAYING WEST...AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT...MAINLY LESS THAN 3 INCHES. UPPER LOW DROPS SLOWLY SOUTH INTO NEW MEXICO THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH SNOWFALL GRADUALLY ENDING OVER ALL BUT SOUTHERN BORDER ZONES BY MIDNIGHT. SUSPECT CLOUDS WILL CLEAR QUICKLY ENOUGH TO ALLOW LOW TEMPS OVER SNOW COVERED AREAS TO DROP BELOW ZERO...WITH SOME MOUNTAIN VALLEYS COLDER THAN 10 BELOW. FROM FRIDAY THROUGH CHRISTMAS AND INTO NEXT WEEK...MAINLY A TEMPERATURE FORECAST PROBLEM AS SLOWLY WARMING TEMPS ALOFT FIGHT WITH DEEP SNOW COVER MANY AREAS. GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK TOO WARM THROUGH THE PERIOD...THOUGH SUNDAY COULD SEE ENOUGH DOWNSLOPE FLOW AHEAD OF A WEAK NORTHERN STREAM WAVE TO BOOST TEMPS INTO THE 40S ALONG AND WEST OF I-25. IN GENERAL...FOLLOWED THE TREND OF PREVIOUS FORECASTS AND KEPT MOST AREAS COLDER THAN NUMERICAL GUIDANCE WOULD SUGGEST THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION... LIFR OR IFR CIGS AND REDUCED VSBYS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AT KALS THRU ABOUT 16Z...WITH IFR CIGS THEN EXPECTED FOR THE AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH AFTER ABOUT 08Z TONIGHT THERE WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF -SHSN IN THE VCNTY. KCOS WILL HAVE VFR CONDITIONS TODAY...BUT THEN THIS EVENING WE SHOULD SEE CIGS DROP AND SNOW START...WITH CONDITIONS LIKELY BECOMING MVFR OR IFR BY 04Z. KPUB WILL HAVE VFR CONDITIONS TODAY AND THEN BY ABOUT 05Z TONIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA WITH IFR OR MVFR CONDITIONS DEVELOPING. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 PM MST THURSDAY FOR COZ058-060-061-063-072>080-087-088. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM MST THURSDAY FOR COZ081-082-084. && 28/10
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 327 PM MST TUE DEC 20 2011 COZ058>089-093>099-212230- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- 327 PM MST TUE DEC 20 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE ROCKIES WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS. THE COMBINATION OF THESE TWO SYSTEMS WILL BRING LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL TO THE MOUNTAINS AND IMMEDIATE ADJACENT PLAINS THROUGH THURSDAY AFERNOON. AT THIS TIME...THE GREATEST SNOW ACCUMULATIONS LOOK TO BE ACROSS EASTERN MOUNTAINS...WITH 6 TO 12 INCHES POSSIBLE ACROSS PIKES PEAK AND THE RAMPART RANGE...AS WELL AS THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO AND WET MOUNTAINS. SNOW ACCCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE PALMER DIVIDE AND NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY...THE WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY AND THE SOUTHERN I-25 CORRIDOR...INCLUDING WALSENBURG AND TRINIDAD. SNOWFALL OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WILL ALSO BE POSSSIBLE ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS ALONG AND WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...WITH 1 TO 4 INCHES POSSIBLE ACROSS THE HIGH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS AND THE REST OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR...INCLUDING PUEBLO AND COLORADO SPRINGS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. 34/23
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2011
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: 358773, 356932, 356930, 356934, 356926, 356927, 358775, 356928, 356929, 358776.