A Pacific trough and associated cold front brought a quick shot of significant to heavy snowfall to the northwest Colorado mountains and also to the Central Yampa River Basin.
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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 GJT wrote it up.
A Pacific trough and associated cold front brought a quick shot of significant to heavy snowfall to the northwest Colorado mountains and also to the Central Yampa River Basin.
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 Jan 1, 4:39 PM MST, 5 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 439 PM MST Sun Jan 1 2017 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Monday night) Issued at 132 PM MST Sun Jan 1 2017 One system travels south of the area this evening while westerly flow and the polar jet and approaching cold front consolidate over the northern half of the area through the next 48 hours. These two features area working together to draw moisture and lower clouds into the area late this afternoon and will continue to do so tonight. Very light snow has fallen a Canyonlands airport and in the Grand Junction vicinity. Have increased the chance of snow across the forecast area this evening though believe it will be light with no real accumulations at lower elevations. The main forecast concern through the next 36 hours will be the situation over the northern half of the area. The cold front that will stretch across the area tonight should remain stalled there through Monday night. Models differ with snow solutions, the HRRR being more optimistic with snowfall while the NAM12 turns it into more of an orographic event with snow hugging the west-facing slopes in northern and central CO and northern UT. Have decided to lean toward the HRRR which has had a good track record the last few weeks and increased the areal coverage and snowfall amounts from the Bookcliffs north. The eastern Uinta Mountains will border on snow advisory criteria and will stand watching, though the general westerly flow at mountaintop level is a better snow producer over the higher western Uinta mountains than over the eastern part of the range. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Sunday) Issued at 132 PM MST Sun Jan 1 2017 The Tuesday to Thursday night timeframe may produce persistent, mainly orographic, snowfall on northwest-facing slopes, with steady snow accumulations in the mountains throughout. The front will remain draped across extreme northern CO and UT Tuesday with a 140 kt jet overhead. Windy conditions are likely over much of the area north of the Bookcliffs and Roan Plateau with breezy conditions further south. The flow remains relatively moist Tue as the front is projected to begin waving to the north in response to a ridge building over the Western Great Basin and a closed low plunging south along the west coast. Winds aloft shift to a more northwesterly direction. This should push much of the moisture and precipitation out of SE UT and SW CO...leaving mountain snowfall induced by northwesterly orographics. This pattern will continue Wed and Thu night with moisture increasing as well. By Friday the Great Basin ridge should strengthen and begin cutting off the moist NW flow aloft. Then widespread precipitation may start again Sat and Sun as the ridge pushes east and the flow turns to the SW aloft, opening up the area to another possible warmer push of precipitation. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Monday evening) Issued at 434 PM MST Sun Jan 1 2017 Ceilings are the main challenge this forecast period. There will be periods of ceilings near or below ILS breakpoints and snow showers in the vicinity, especially in the mountains and KDRO. Mountains will remain obscured. Also with winds increasing aloft, occasional LLWS is possible at KASE...KMTJ and areas in the lee of the Flat Top Mtns. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...CC LONG TERM...CC AVIATION...BEN
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
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm, 2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Generally 6 to 15 inches of snow accumulated across the area. Locally heavier amounts included 23 inches at the Elk River SNOTEL site.
Numerous measurements of 10 to 20 inches of new snowfall were reported across the zone.
Snowfall amounts of 8 to 14 inches were measured across the area.
Snowfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches were measured across the area. Locally higher amounts included 18 inches at Clark.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2017
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: 680374, 680376, 680377, 704746.