A very active pattern continued across southern Colorado during this period, with multiple upper level disturbances moving across the region. This supported another long period of damaging winds and heavy snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 21 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 very active pattern continued across southern Colorado during this period, with multiple upper level disturbances moving across the region. This supported another long period of damaging winds and heavy snow. Highest wind gusts were in the 70 to 90 mph range, with a 101 mph wind gust observed near Monarch Pass. The heavy snow was not too widespread, though Wolf Creek Pass did observe a storm total snow of 40 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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 25, 5:23 AM MST, 38 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Pueblo CO 523 AM MST Sat Dec 25 2021 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 510 AM MST Sat Dec 25 2021 Key Messages: 1. Snow will temporarily decrease over the Continental Divide region today into this evening, before a significant increase in winter-weather impacts occurs beginning late tonight. 2. Critical fire-weather conditions are expected today across portions of the Interstate-25 corridor and vicinity, including Pueblo, Fremont, and El Paso Counties. Elsewhere across the plains, elevated fire-weather conditions are expected. 3. The potential for 60 to 90 mph winds will develop over parts of southern Colorado by late tonight. Persistent fast westerly flow aloft in the wake of a departing midlevel jet streak will maintain breezy winds through the day today over the higher elevations and across the Interstate-25 corridor. Tropospheric drying, with continued downslope-flow- induced warming/drying, will favor minimum relative humidity around 15 percent combining with gusts to 35 mph over El Paso, Pueblo, and Fremont Counties -- warranting the issuance of a Red Flag Warning today. Higher RH and/or weaker winds elsewhere across the plains will limit the fire-weather risk to some extent, though elevated fire-weather conditions will be likely. Otherwise, snowfall rates will continue decreasing over the Continental Divide region through the day, with ongoing winter- weather highlights set to expire at 11AM this morning. While not as strong as yesterday, breezy winds over the mountains will still have the potential to create blowing snow and greatly reduced visibilities. By late tonight, the exit region of an even stronger jet streak will be emerging over the forecast area. Increasing orographic ascent, coupled with forcing for ascent in the left-exit region of the jet streak, will favor increasing snowfall rates over the western mountains starting after midnight tonight. Moreover, the low-level mass response to the approaching midlevel jet streak will favor the potential for wind gusts to reach the 60-90 mph range over portions of southern Colorado by late tonight -- highest chances and strongest winds over the eastern mountains. As a result, the onset of High Wind and Winter Storm Watches is 09Z Sunday. .LONG TERM...(Sunday through Friday) Issued at 510 AM MST Sat Dec 25 2021 Key Messages: 1. A strong storm system is forecast to bring widespread hazards across the NWS Pueblo County Warning Area on Sunday, with heavy snow across the Continental Divide region and especially the southwest mountains, high winds, along with dangerous fire-weather conditions across the plains. 2. Blowing snow over the mountains, and blowing dust over the plains, may greatly reduce visibilities on Sunday, creating dangerous travel conditions. 3. The potential for heavy snow will continue over the mountains into the middle of the upcoming week, especially the western mountains. 4. A colder air mass is expected to overspread the plains on Tuesday, and linger over the eastern plains into late week. The aforementioned midlevel jet streak containing 100+ kt 500-mb wind speeds will cross the area on Sunday. Diurnally enhanced vertical mixing will manifest strong momentum aloft at the surface. Widespread wind gusts ranging from 65 mph to 90 mph are expected over the eastern mountains and mountain valleys, as well as the adjacent plains. This has warranted this issuance of a High Wind Watch continuing through Sunday into the early evening. Of note, forecast soundings over the San Luis Valley indicate 50+ kt winds extending as low as 1.0-1.5 km AGL, which will allow for the potential for 50-kt surface gusts given even a modest amount of diurnal mixing. In addition, wind gusts to 70 mph will also be possible over the western mountains. Over the plains outside of Otero, Pueblo, Huerfano, and Las Animas Counties, confidence in high-wind criteria being met is not adequate for watch issuance at this time -- owing to the anticipated lack of a stronger downward-momentum-transfer mechanism amid slightly weaker mean flow in the lowest 1 km AGL. Nevertheless, strong winds are still expected in these areas, with 45-55 mph gusts possible. Over the plains, the very strong winds will combine with afternoon relative humidity around 15 percent to produce widespread critical fire-weather conditions. The ongoing Fire Weather Watch has been expanded to include El Paso County. The influx of a drier air mass and the aforementioned magnitudes of winds will support dangerous fire-weather conditions materializing across the Fire Weather Watch area on Sunday, with the potential for very rapid spread of fires. In addition, the dry conditions and very strong winds could create blowing dust with greatly reduced visibilities across the plains, especially for Sunday afternoon. As indicated in the Short Term discussion, the midlevel speed maximum will be associated with increasing snowfall rates over the mountains -- particularly over the western mountains. New snow accumulations over the mountains could reach 10 to 20 inches over highest mountain peaks -- highest over the eastern San Juan Mountains -- with lower snowfall accumulations at lower elevations. Winds could gust as high as 50 to 70 mph producing significant blowing and drifting snow, along with whiteout conditions at times. While snowfall rates outside of the highest elevations around the Continental Divide may not be particularly high -- i.e., below 1 inch per hour -- the combination of the very strong winds, and any additional snow, along with already-fallen snow, will create the potential for significantly reduced visibilities and whiteout conditions at times. As a result, a Winter Storm Watch has been issued to account for the potential for significant impacts from snow and strong winds. Continued western-states troughing will correspond to the prolonging of heavy snow over the western mountains into early and middle parts of the upcoming week. Some areas of the eastern San Juan Mountains could potentially receive total snowfall accumulations of a few to several feet through next week. Additional winter-weather highlights may be needed for this activity. In addition, a cold air mass is forecast to overspread the plains on Tuesday, with overnight low temperatures in the single digits and teens areawide Tuesday night. Moderation of this air mass is expected to occur later in the week over the Interstate 25 corridor, gradually spreading eastward through late in the upcoming week. This will be in response to downslope flow supporting erosion of the cold air -- amid a fast westerly component to the flow aloft within a multi-stream pattern over the western states. Additional cold air and mountain snow may overspread the area next weekend, though predictability regarding such impacts is quite low owing to substantial dispersion among model solutions. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Sunday morning) Issued at 510 AM MST Sat Dec 25 2021 VFR conditions expected at all three TAF sites the next 24 hours. Southwest winds will increase at KALS late this morning with gusts to around 25 kts this afternoon. Winds will diminish and shift from the south this evening but will pick up again late tonight from the south with gusts to 25 kts. KCOS and KPUB will see morning winds increase from the west to northwest with gusts to around 25 to 30 kts before shifting from the southwest and then south during the mid to late afternoon. Winds will decrease early this evening and even shift out of the east at speeds under 10 kts overnight. This could lead to local low level wind shear for KCOS late tonight but winds aloft do not look strong enough at this point to include in TAF. -KT && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Fire Weather Watch from Sunday morning through Sunday afternoon for COZ226>237. Winter Weather Advisory until 11 AM MST this morning for COZ059- 061-064-066-067. Winter Storm Watch from late tonight through late Sunday night for COZ058>061-066>068. Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 5 PM MST this afternoon for COZ222-226>228. High Wind Watch from late tonight through Sunday evening for COZ069>075-078>080-086>088-093-094. Winter Storm Warning until 11 AM MST this morning for COZ058-060- 068. && SHORT TERM...COHEN LONG TERM...COHEN AVIATION...KT
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 530 AM MST Sat Dec 25 2021 COZ058>089-093>099-261230- Western Mosquito Range/East Lake County Above 11000 Feet- Leadville Vicinity/Lake County Below 11000 Feet- Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Western Chaffee County Between 9000 and 11000 Feet- Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Feet- Western Mosquito Range/East Chaffee County Above 9000 Feet- Saguache County West of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- Saguache County East of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Upper Rio Grande Valley/Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Feet-Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Del Norte Vicinity/Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Alamosa Vicinity/Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Southern San Luis Valley- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Feet- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Northwestern Fremont County Above 8500 Feet- Western/Central Fremont County Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000 Feet- Wet Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Teller County/Rampart Range Above 7500 Feet/Pikes Peak Between 7500 And 11000 Feet-Pikes Peak Above 11000 Feet- Canon City Vicinity/Eastern Fremont County- Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge/Rampart Range Below 7500 Feet- Colorado Springs Vicinity/Southern El Paso County/Rampart Range Below 7400 Feet-Pueblo Vicinity/Pueblo County Below 6300 Feet- Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Feet- Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Feet- 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- 530 AM MST Sat Dec 25 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Snow will temporarily decrease over the Continental Divide region today into this evening, before a significant increase in winter- weather impacts from heavy snow and strong winds occurs beginning late tonight. Critical fire-weather conditions are expected today across portions of the Interstate-25 corridor and vicinity, including Pueblo, Fremont, and El Paso Counties. Elsewhere across the plains, elevated fire- weather conditions are expected. The potential for 60 to 90 mph winds will develop over parts of southern Colorado by late tonight, with the strongest winds over the eastern mountains. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday A strong storm system is forecast to bring widespread hazards across the outlook area on Sunday, with heavy snow across the Continental Divide region and especially the southwest mountains, high winds across much of the area, along with dangerous fire-weather conditions across the plains. Blowing snow over the mountains, and blowing dust over the plains, may greatly reduce visibilities on Sunday, creating dangerous travel conditions. The potential for heavy snow will continue over the mountains into the middle of the upcoming week, especially the western mountains. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will be likely over the mountains starting late tonight. COHEN
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
106 AM MST SAT DEC 25 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1200 AM SNOW 2 NE LEADVILLE 39.27N 106.27W
12/25/2021 M7.4 INCH LAKE CO TRAINED SPOTTER
24 HOUR TOTAL. 0.55 LIQUID EQUIVALENT.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
18 high wind, 3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 20 inches.
Wolf Creek Pass.
Big horn.
Westcliffe.
Aguilar.
Trinidad airport.
La Junta airport.
Trinidad airport.
Bear creek.
Four miles south of Weston.
Rampart reservoir.
Fremont county airport.
Colorado Springs airport.
Storm total snow of 40 inches. Wolf Creek ski.
Storm total snow of 16 inches.
Cottonwood pass.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2021
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: 997506, 997491, 997494, 997498, 997500, 997502, 997487, 997488, 997492, 997486, 997499, 997493, 997496, 997489, 997501, 997484, 997497, 997485, 997504, 997507, 997490.