A storm system generated snow, heavy at times, across to portions of southern Colorado. Wind whipped snow occurred across the far eastern plains in portions of Kiowa and Las Animas Counties, and all of Prowers and Baca Counties causing major impacts.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
A storm system generated snow, heavy at times, across to portions of southern Colorado. Wind whipped snow occurred across the far eastern plains in portions of Kiowa and Las Animas Counties, and all of Prowers and Baca Counties causing major impacts. Elsewhere, heavier snow totals included...6 inches at Monarch Pass and Buena Vista (Chaffee County)...7 inches near Leadville (Lake County)...9 inches at the summit of Wolf Creek Pass (Mineral County)...Salida (Chafee County) and near Westcliffe (Custer County) and 12 inches at Maysville (Chaffee 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 11, 10:29 PM MST, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1029 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 847 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 UPDATED TO BRING IN THE LATEST OBS AND ADJUST TO TRENDS. ALSO MADE ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE STORM WIND DOWN SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. STARTING TO GET THE FIRST LOOKS AT THE 00Z MODEL RUNS AND WILL ASSESS FOR THE NEXT UPDATE. MOZLEY UPDATE ISSUED AT 613 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 RAN SOME MINOR UPDATES TO THE FORECAST THROUGH TOMORROW. ADJUSTED TEMPERATURES FOR TONIGHT BASED ON THE LATEST OBS AND HIGH-RES MODEL SOLUTIONS...WHICH KEEP TEMPERATURES A BIT WARMER INTO SATURDAY MORNING. ALSO ADJUSTED POPS ON THE PLAINS FOR SATURDAY MORNING. THE LATEST GUIDANCE SUGGESTS SNOW WILL MOVE DOWN THE I-25 CORRIDOR JUST AFTER MID DAY AND SPREAD EAST DURING THE AFTERNOON...WITH DRY CONDITIONS EARLY IN THE DAY. MOZLEY && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 353 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 ...UPPER LOW TRACKING FARTHER SOUTH INCREASING SNOW CHANCES... MODELS ARE TRACKING FARTHER SOUTH WITH THE UPPER LOW...TAKING IT ACROSS CENTRAL ARIZONA TONIGHT...AND INTO CENTRAL NEW MEXICO ON SATURDAY. GENERALLY SPEAKING...THIS SHOULD BE A BETTER TRACK FOR SNOW OVER MOST OF SOUTHERN COLORADO. RIGHT NOW...SYSTEM IS VISIBLE DIGGING SOUTH OVER THE GREAT BASIN REGION OF SOUTHERN NEVADA ON ITS WAY INTO ARIZONA. ONCE THE SYSTEM GETS INTO ARIZONA...IT IS THEN POISED TO TAKE AN EASTERLY TRACK ACROSS CENTRAL ARIZONA OVERNIGHT AND THEN INTO CENTRAL NEW MEXICO DURING THE DAY SATURDAY. AS THE SYSTEM APPROACHES...SNOW SHOULD PICK UP OVER THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING AND GRADUALLY DEVELOP NORTHWARD ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE OVERNIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY. THEN...ON SATURDAY...SNOW DEVELOPS OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS DURING THE MORNING...AND THEN WORKS GRADUALLY EASTWARD ACROSS THE PLAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY SATURDAY EVENING WILL GENERALLY RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS...INCLUDING THE HIGH VALLEYS AND I-25 CORRIDOR...1 TO 3 INCHES COULD BE IN PLACE BY 6 PM SATURDAY...WITH MORE TO FOLLOW DURING THE EVENING. ACROSS THE FAR EASTERN PLAINS...EAST OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR...MOST OF THE SNOW WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL AFTER 6 PM SATURDAY. THUS...ONLY A DUSTING UP TO A HALF INCH OR SO IS EXPECTED IN THESE AREAS THROUGH 6 PM SATURDAY. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES WILL GO INTO EFFECT ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TONIGHT...EXPAND EASTWARD TO THE EASTERN MOUNTAIN AREAS SATURDAY MORNING...AND THEN EXTEND ACROSS THE PLAINS ALONG THE I-25 CORRIDOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON. WINTER WEATHER TRAVEL CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP AS THE ADVISORIES GO INTO EFFECT. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL DURING THE TIMES OF THE ADVISORIES...MAKE SURE YOUR CAR IS IN GOOD WORKING ORDER...CARRY WINTER SURVIVAL GEAR...LEAVE EARLY...TRAVEL SLOWLY AND LEAVE PLENTY OF STOPPING DISTANCE AROUND YOUR VEHICLE AT ALL TIMES. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY) ISSUED AT 353 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 RELATIVELY ACTIVE METEOROLOGICAL PATTERN FOR THE FORECAST DISTRICT DURING THE LONGER TERM WITH PRIMARY ISSUES CONTINUING TO BE POPS/SNOW AMOUNTS...GUSTY WINDS AT TIMES AND TEMPERATURES. LATEST LONGER TERM FORECAST MODEL SOUNDINGS...PV ANALYSIS AND COMPUTER SIMULATIONS CONTINUE WITH UNSETTLED METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS FROM SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY AS VIGOROUS CLOSED UPPER LOW LOCATED OVER NORTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO AT 00Z SUNDAY SHIFTS INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE BY 12Z SUNDAY AND THEN MOVES INTO CENTRAL KANSAS BY 00Z MONDAY BEFORE MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST BY 00Z TUESDAY. IN ADDITION...NORTHERLY SURGE PUSHES ACROSS THE FORECAST DISTRICT SATURDAY EVENING. NUMEROUS WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED WITH THIS INCOMING SYSTEM(PLEASE SEE HIGHLIGHTS SECTION BELOW AS WELL AS WFO PUEBLOS MOST RECENT WSW STATEMENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS). AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL FOR HIGHER IMPACT SNOW AND WIND OVER SOUTHERN COLORADO DURING THE LONGER TERM SHOULD BE NOTED INTO SATURDAY NIGHT OVER THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO SUNDAY EVENING OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST DISTRICT. AS ALWAYS...PLEASE MONITOR LATEST HIGHLIGHTS/UPDATES/FORECAST DISCUSSIONS/ETC. WITH THIS INCOMING POTENTIALLY VIGOROUS SYSTEM. IT STILL APPEARS THAT A RETURN TO MORE TRANQUIL CONDITIONS(OUTSIDE OF GUSTY WINDS AND DEVELOPING PRECIPITATION OVER PORTIONS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BY MONDAY AFTERNOON AND THE DEPARTING SYSTEM IMPACTING FAR SOUTHEASTERN SECTIONS INTO SUNDAY AFTERNOON) SHOULD BE EXPERIENCED FROM LATER SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AS THE FORECAST DISTRICT IS BETWEEN WEATHER SYSTEMS. MODERATING BUT GENERALLY COOL TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE NOTED DURING THIS TIME-FRAME...WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES ANTICIPATED OVER DEEPER SNOW-PACK LOCATIONS. IT STILL APPEARS THAT NEXT SYSTEM IS WILL IMPACT PRIMARILY THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST DISTRICT FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY AS A CLOSED UPPER LOW LOCATED OVER NORTHERN UTAH AT 00Z TUESDAY MOVES INTO FAR NORTHEASTERN COLORADO 12Z TUESDAY BEFORE SHIFTING INTO NORTHERN WISCONSIN BY 18Z WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ANOTHER ROUND OF ACCUMULATING SNOW...GUSTY WINDS AND COOLER TEMPERATURES...PRIMARILY OVER PORTIONS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST DISTRICT. 18Z/GFS40 SUPPORTS A RETURN TO GENERALLY DRIER CONDITIONS FROM WEDNESDAY INTO NEXT FRIDAY AS A BASICALLY DRY TO ZONAL UPPER FLOW PATTERN DEVELOPS OVER THE REGION...WHILE THE 12Z ECMWF SUGGESTS THAT THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION OVER SECTIONS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE DURING THE SAME TIME-FRAME. HIGHEST WIND POTENTIAL DURING THE LONGER TERM ARE EXPECTED FROM SATURDAY EVENING INTO SUNDAY EVENING...WHICH MAY BE PROBLEMATIC WITH THE EXISTING WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...PRIMARILY OVER FAR EASTERN SECTIONS. AS ALWAYS...WFO PUEBLO WILL MONITOR CLOSELY. ADDITIONAL GUSTY WINDS ARE PROJECTED FROM MONDAY INTO TUESDAY EVENING. FINALLY...WARMEST CONDITIONS DURING THE LONGER TERM SHOULD BE NOTED FROM SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AND THEN AGAIN BY NEXT FRIDAY WITH COOLEST TEMPERATURES ANTICIPATED FROM TUESDAY INTO THURSDAY. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1023 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 SOME SHOWERS COULD BE IN THE VCNTY OF KALS THRU TONIGHT AND SAT MORNING...BUT THE BEST CHANCES FOR PCPN SHOULD COME SAT AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH MVFR OR IFR CONDITIONS DEVELOPING. KCOS SHOULD SEE SOME LIGHT SNOW DEVELOP SAT MORNING...WITH CHANCES FOR HEAVIER SNOW DEVELOPING MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. KPUB COULD SEE SOME SHOWERS IN THE VCNTY SAT MORNING...BUT THE BEST CHANCES FOR SNOW SHOULD COME IN THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON AND THEN CONTINUING SAT NIGHT. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WATCH FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOR COZ096-098-099. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM SATURDAY TO NOON MST SUNDAY FOR COZ089-093>095-097. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON SATURDAY TO 3 AM MST SUNDAY FOR COZ083>088. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 3 AM MST SUNDAY FOR COZ063-072>082. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 3 AM MST SUNDAY FOR COZ058-060-066- 068. && UPDATE...MOZLEY AVIATION...28
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 633 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 COZ058>089-093>099-130145- 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- 633 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SNOW IS FORECAST TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TONIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS BY EARLY SATURDAY WHILE 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. SOME LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER PEAKS OF THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS LATE TONIGHT WITH UP TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE BY SATURDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A WINTER STORM WILL MOVE INTO THE FOUR CORNERS REGION SATURDAY MORNING AND THEN TRACK THROUGH NORTHERN NEW MEXICO SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. THIS SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW FROM THE MOUNTAINS EARLY SATURDAY TO THE PLAINS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. LOCATIONS ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 25 WILL LIKELY SEE 3 TO 6 INCHES...WHILE AREAS EAST OF INTERSTATE 25 WILL LIKELY SEE 2 TO 4 INCHES. EXPECTED SNOWFALL TOTALS WILL CONTINUE TO BE REVISED AS THE STORM NEARS SO STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW INTO THE MOUNTAINS ON MONDAY WITH A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER THE MOUNTAINS. 88/88
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2015
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: 606975, 606976, 606977, 606978, 606979, 606981, 606982, 606983.