A storm system brought moderate to heavy snow to the parts of the Gore and Park Ranges. Storm totals included 13 inches at the Tower SNOTEL and 10 inches at the Columbine SNOTEL.
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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.
A storm system brought moderate to heavy snow to the parts of the Gore and Park Ranges. Storm totals included 13 inches at the Tower SNOTEL and 10 inches at the Columbine SNOTEL. Breckenridge and Winter Park Ski Resorts picked up 7.5 inches of new snow.
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 Jan 15, 3:39 AM MST, 5 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 339 AM MST FRI JAN 15 2016 .SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 338 AM MST FRI JAN 15 2016 RATHER COMPLICATED FCST FOR LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT AS A DIFFUSE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. ONE PIECE OF ENERGY WILL TRACK TO THE SW OF THE AREA TODAY WHILE A SECOND PIECE OF ENERGY WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. QG FIELDS SHOW MINOR QG DESCENT THRU THE AFTN WITH SOME MID LVL ASCENT TONIGHT. MEANWHILE LAPSE RATES WILL IMPROVE THRU THE AFTN INTO TONIGHT AND BECOME RATHER UNSTABLE WITH LATEST SOUNDINGS BECOMING MOIST ADIABATIC. COMBINATION OF THESE FACTORS ALONG WITH FAVORABLE OROGRAPHIC COMPONENT SHOULD LEAD TO LOWER END ADVISORY AMOUNTS IN THE MTNS. IN ADDITION GUSTY WINDS WILL PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW OVER THE HIGHER PASSES. AT LOWER ELEVATIONS CONFIDENCE IN FCST FOR TONIGHT IS PRETTY LOW WITH RESPECT TO WHERE A BAND OF STEADIER SNOW MAY DVLP THIS EVENING. WITH NWLY LOW LVL WINDS ACROSS THE CHEYENNE RIDGE THIS WILL LEAD TO SOME TYPE OF LONGMONT ANTICYCLONE WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SFC LOW PRES DVLPS SOUTH OF DENVER. THIS SETUP LEADS TO SOME ENHANCEMENT OF UPSLOPE FLOW ALONG PORTIONS OF THE FRONT RANGE LATER THIS AFTN INTO THE EVENING HOURS. AS MENTIONED ABV LAPSE RATES WILL BE RATHER UNSTABLE AND AS 2ND PIECE OF ENERGY MOVES ACROSS TONIGHT THIS COULD LEAD TO SOME STEADIER SNOWFALL OVER PORTIONS OF THE FRONT RANGE AND PLAINS WITH SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES POSSIBLE IN A FEW AREAS. HOWEVER AT THIS POINT NOT SURE WHERE TO PUT HIGHER POPS SO FOR NOW WILL JUST MENTION A CHC FOR SNOW AS HOPEFULLY THE DAY SHIFT CAN GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THINGS. AS FOR HIGHS THIS AFTN OVER THE PLAINS WILL BE MAINLY IN THE 30S. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 338 AM MST FRI JAN 15 2016 ...ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN CONTINUES... SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS WILL GRADUALLY TAPER OFF SATURDAY MORNING AS MOISTURE DEPTH DECREASES CONSIDERABLY AND SUBSIDENCE TAKES HOLD. MAYBE ONLY AN INCH OR SO MORE IN THE MORNING BUT STILL EXPECT IMPACTS ON MOUNTAINS ROADS INCLUDING THE SATURDAY MORNING TREK TO SKI RESORTS. THEREFORE WILL CONTINUE THE ADVISORY INTO THE SATURDAY MORNING HOURS. BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...DONT SEE MUCH MORE THAN SCATTERED LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS LINGERING MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. ON THE PLAINS...ANY SNOW WILL LIKELY EXIT THE AREA BY DAYBREAK SATURDAY...WITH SOME CLEARING AND DOWNSLOPE EXPECTED. ATTENTION WILL THEN TURN TOWARD NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM DUE IN SATURDAY NIGHT. THIS NEXT DISTURBANCE IS JUST A PIECE OF THE LARGE CYCLONE SPINNING OVER THE NORTHERN PACIFIC. ONE CHUNK OF ITS ENERGY WILL ARRIVE ON THE WEST COAST LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING AND THEN QUICKLY PUSH ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST AND REACH OUR FORECAST AREA BY SATURDAY EVENING. THIS SYSTEM IS MUCH RICHER WITH ITS MOISTURE CONTENT PER THE LAST PRECIPITABLE WATER AND SPEC HUMIDITY PROGS. OROGRAPHICS ARE ALSO A LITTLE STRONGER WITH 700 MB WINDS NEAR 30-35 KNOTS IMPINGING ON THE MOUNTAINS. HOWEVER...THERE IS SLIGHT WARM ADVECTION AND STABILIZATION WHICH IS NOT FAVORABLE FOR SNOW IN OUR MOUNTAINS. AS A RESULT...CURRENT THINKING IS FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF ADVISORY CRITERIA SNOWFALL IN THE 3 TO 10 INCH RANGE FOR THE NORTHERN COLORADO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9000 FEET...HEAVIEST TOWARD RABBIT EARS PASS. WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG THROUGHOUT THIS EVENT WITH MORE BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES AS WELL. ON THE PLAINS...SHOULD SEE ANOTHER BAND OR TWO OF SNOW GENERATE LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. AT THIS TIME...THE ODDS FAVOR THE EASTERN PLAINS A BIT MORE THAN TONIGHTS EVENT...BUT THERE IS A SURGE OF MUCH COLDER AIR WHICH MODELS ARE ALSO PROBABLY NOT HANDLING WELL. THIS COULD RESULT IN SHALLOW UPSLOPE AND A BETTER CHANCE OF SNOW ALONG THE FRONT RANGE. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS POTENTIAL. AGAIN...POTENTIAL FOR LOCAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UPWARDS OF 1-2 INCHES WHILE OTHER AREAS SEE LITTLE OR NO SNOW. SNOW WILL DECREASE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND ON THE PLAINS BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS SUBSIDENCE...DRYING...AND WARM ADVECTION ALOFT OCCUR. MOUNTAIN TOP STABLE LAYER STRENGTHENS BY SUNDAY NIGHT SO GUSTY MOUNTAIN WAVE WINDS POSSIBLE IN/NEXT TO THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...BUT HIGH WIND POTENTIAL WOULD BE LIMITED BY MARGINAL CROSS MOUNTAIN COMPONENT. WE CONTINUE TO EXPECT WARMING FOR MONDAY WITH SOME UPPER LEVEL RIDGING AND STRONG WARM ADVECTION ALOFT. THERE ARE NOW SIGNS HOWEVER THAT THE NEXT SHORT WAVE COULD ARRIVE AS EARLY AS MONDAY NIGHT FOR COOLING AND ANOTHER ROUND OF MOUNTAIN SNOW. FOR TUESDAY AND BEYOND...STILL HAVING TROUBLES WITH ALL THE WAVES AND FAST FLOW WHICH MAKES TIMING QUITE DIFFICULT. AVERAGES OF THE MODELS WOULD STILL BRING A CHANCE OF SNOW AGAIN AND SOME COOLING AGAIN BY WEDNESDAY...WITH ANOTHER WARMUP BY THURSDAY. WILL PLAY IT PRETTY CLOSE TO CLIMATOLOGY CONSIDERING THE LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN THIS TIME FRAME. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 338 AM MST FRI JAN 15 2016 CONFIDENCE IN WIND AND PCPN FCST NOT HIGH TODAY OR TONIGHT. THERE COULD BE A BAND OF STEADIER SNOW THIS EVENING FOR A FEW HOURS BETWEEN 6 PM AND MIDNIGHT SOMEWHERE OVER THE AREA WHICH COULD DROP UP TO AN INCH OF SNOW. CONFIDENCE IS AROUND 30% FOR THIS BAND TO AFFECT LOCAL AIRPORTS. IF IT DOES DVLP THEN NATURALLY CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WILL DROP DOWN TO LIFR FOR A FEW HOURS THIS EVENING. AFTER MIDNIGHT SNOW THREAT SHOULD SHIFT TO THE EAST OF THE AREA. AS FOR WINDS THEY HAVE BEEN WLY EARLY THIS MORNING AT DIA AND NOT SURE HOW LONG THIS WILL LAST SINCE NONE OF THE MODELS HAVE ANY TYPE OF WLY WINDS AFFECTING THE AREA THIS MORNING. AT SOME POINT ONE WOULD THINK WITH A LONGMONT ANTICYCLONE DEVELOPING TO THE NORTH LATER THIS MORNING WHILE LOW PRES DVLPS OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE THAT WINDS WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME MORE SELY BY LATE MORNING AND THEN MORE ELY BY MID TO LATE AFTN. BY EARLY EVENING WINDS MAY SHIFT TO MORE NE FOR A FEW HOURS BEFORE BECOMING LIGHT DRAINAGE BY 06Z. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 AM MST SATURDAY FOR COZ031-033-034. && SHORT TERM...RPK LONG TERM...BARJENBRUCH AVIATION...RPK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 514 AM MST FRI JAN 15 2016 COZ030>051-161215- 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- 514 AM MST FRI JAN 15 2016 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS NOON TODAY UNTIL 9 AM SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL INCREASE IN THE MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE TONIGHT WITH ACCUMULATIONS FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES POSSIBLE. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW OVER THE HIGHER PASSES WITH POOR TRAVEL CONDITIONS. OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW TONIGHT. A FEW AREAS COULD SEE FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES WHILE OTHER PLACES SEE ONLY A DUSTING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY HAZARDOUS AND SLOW WINTER TRAVEL CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE HIGH COUNTRY SATURDAY MORNING WITH CONTINUED SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. THIS INCLUDES I-70 BETWEEN GEORGETOWN AND VAIL PASS...AS WELL AS HIGHWAY 40 OVER BERTHOUD PASS AND RABBIT EARS PASS. ROAD CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY IMPROVE AS THE SNOW DECREASES LATE SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE HIGH COUNTRY AS THE NEXT DISTURBANCE ARRIVES SATURDAY NIGHT. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SEVERAL ADDITIONAL INCHES OF SNOWFALL WITH A RETURN OF HAZARDOUS AND SLOW WINTER TRAVEL CONDITIONS INTO SUNDAY. ON THE PLAINS...A COUPLE BANDS OF SNOW WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING UPWARDS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING...WHILE SOME AREAS SEE LITTLE OR NO SNOW AT ALL. THE UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2016
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: 615148, 615149.