An initial warmer start to the period resulted in a rain snow mix across the Pikes Peak region. With the arrival of much colder air, a transition to all snow occurred for the remainder of the event with heavy snow occurring in many places.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 initial warmer start to the period resulted in a rain snow mix across the Pikes Peak region. With the arrival of much colder air, a transition to all snow occurred for the remainder of the event with heavy snow occurring in many places. Snowfall amounts were mainly in the six to ten inch range, though a few reports up to around one foot were observed over far northern El Paso 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 28, 2:36 PM MST, 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 236 PM MST Wed Dec 28 2022 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Thursday) Issued at 235 PM MST Wed Dec 28 2022 1) Heavy snow to continue along the Continental Divide tonight. 2) Rain and snow expected for Pikes Peak region. Change over from rain to snow is the main challenge, with potentially hazardous commuting conditions this evening and again Thursday morning. Currently...The upper low trough was crossing the Great basin today, producing extensive cloud cover across CO as well as stronger southwest winds and nearly continuous snow to the Continental Divide. Latest lightning plots also show a good amount of lightning pushing towards the Four Corners, indicating good instability that might boost snowfall rates for western and southwestern CO this evening. Temps this afternoon have warmed into the upper 40s to 60F across portions of the plains, surpassing forecast highs. Tonight...As mentioned above, approaching instability and favorable orographics will continue snowfall along the Continental Divide tonight and overnight, with 4 to 8 additional inches for the central mts and 6 to 10 inches for the sw mts likely. The tricky part of the forecast has been what affects this system will have on the Pikes Peak region and Palmer Divide as both upper and lower levels start working during the normally busy commute times. Hi-res models have been fairly consistent today on breaking out precipitation over Teller and at least northern El Paso counties late this aftn, with a first "wave" sweeping across the area from west to east between 3 and 10 PM. Given how warm it has been today, with highs near 60F, when the rain eventually switches over to snow it will initially just melt as it hits the ground. Heavier bands of snow, however, will speed up this process as temps get dragged down faster. Right now forecast grids show all snow for Teller by around 5 PM, with a rain snow mix for northern El Paso except for the crest of Monument Hill. It will switch over to all snow for northern El Paso by 10 PM, as the rain snow mix then pushes south across southern El Paso County into Pueblo County. Meanwhile across the eastern plains at the same time it is expected to just be beneficial rain. Things then transition as the cold front pushes south across the Palmer Divide right around midnight, with snow pushing to the south- southeast across all of the plains through the overnight hours. Snowfall amounts, especially along and south of Highway 50, are forecast to only amount to an inch or less, but during the active snowfall phase traveling may be a challenge. Overnight lows are expected to drop into the teens to around 20F for the high valleys, and 20s across all of the plains. Tomorrow...A tricky morning commute is likely for El Paso County with morning temps in the teens to lower 20s. Snowfall should be starting to taper off by 6 AM, with total accumulations of 4 to 8 inches possible for Teller County and northern El Paso County. Further south in Colorado Springs, 1 to 3 inches of new snow are expected. The upper trough quickly pushes east of the state, but precip across the plains is expected to linger until around midday. Isolated snow showers are forecast along the Divide as well. Additional accumulations should be very light, but the cloud cover and activity will delay any warming until later in the afternoon especially south of Highway 50. High temps are expected to only warm into the 30s for the high valleys as well as north of Highway 50, but the southern areas will likely climb into the mid 40s. Moore .LONG TERM...(Thursday night through Wednesday) Issued at 235 PM MST Wed Dec 28 2022 Key Messages: 1. Quieter weather on tap for New Years weekend over the plains. 2. Chance of snow over the Continental Divide this weekend. 3. Chance of snowfall over the plains starting on Monday. Thursday night into Friday... After the trough moves out of our area, so will the snow that fell on the plains. A weak ridge of high pressure will move over our region with little waves sufficient to bring snow to the Sawatch and San Juan Mountains. Snow accumulations are expected to be light. Skies will have cleared enough in the plains to allow for some radiational cooling to bring overnight low temperatures a little colder. Overnight low temperatures Thursday night into Friday will be in the teens in the plains, and single digits in the mountains and mountain valleys. High temperatures on Friday will be in the 40s in the plains and mostly 30s in the mountains and mountain valleys. New Years Weekend (Saturday and Sunday)... As the weak ridge of high pressure makes its passage towards the east, more waves within the ridge will increase in frequency and intensity. Winds aloft will also take on a more south to southwest component as we move into Sunday, drawing moisture from the Baja California region. As a result, the snowfall will become more widespread, covering much more of the Continental Divide. This coming weekend, the temperatures will be moderated by the increasing cloud cover over the region. This will keep high temperatures around seasonal averages, and low temperatures just above seasonal norms, especially in the plains. Highs will be in the 40s and 50s in the plains and 30s and 40s in the mountains and mountain valleys. Low temperatures Saturday will be in the 20s in the plains and teens in the mountains and mountain valleys. Sunday, lows will be in the 20s in the plains as well as the mountains and mountain valleys. Monday and beyond... A change comes in on Monday. A trough of low pressure will make its way into our region, where the trough will change into a closed low, wrapping the moisture into our region. Model ensembles are still slightly diverging in where the closed low will form. If GFS is correct, the closed low will form just north of our region and the snow impacts to our area will be minimal. If the Euro and Canadian models are correct, the closed low will form just south of our area, bringing a stronger possible snow impact to our region, including the plains as well as the mountains. To sum up, the divergence of the models brings uncertainty on how much and where the snow will fall on Monday. Either way, the trough will push through a cold front, slightly lowering temperatures. For the rest of the forecast period into Wednesday, temperatures will hover around seasonal averages for Tuesday and snow may be possible in parts of the Continental Divide. GFS and Euro models are showing a second, reinforcing trough making its way through, bringing a cold front by Wednesday. This will keep high and low temperatures at or just below seasonal averages. Possibility of snow may exist throughout the region with frontal passage. Uncertainty remains on the positioning and size of the secondary trough, which would effect magnitude of snowfall, and how low the temperatures may fall. -Riser && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Thursday evening) Issued at 235 PM MST Wed Dec 28 2022 VFR visibility and ceilings at KALS throughout the forecast period. KCOS will start out VFR, then will go to MVFR around 21Z to 01Z, LIFR from 01Z to 05Z, then MVFR, then LIFR around 13Z tomorrow morning, the VFR from 15Z tomorrow morning through the end of the forecast period. Lowered ceilings and visibility will be due to precipitation starting out as rain, then becoming snow around 01Z tonight. KPUB will start out VFR, becoming MVFR around 02Z due to rain, which will change to snow around 05Z tonight. After a period of VFR from 06Z to 14Z tonight into tomorrow, the MVFR conditions will return around 14Z tomorrow, then back to VFR at 16Z through the rest of the forecast period. Winds at KALS start out gusty out of the southwest with gusts in excess of 22 KTS, the after 02Z, winds will remain light. KCOS and KPUB will be light throughout the forecast period. -Riser && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 5 AM MST Thursday for COZ060. Winter Storm Warning until 5 AM MST Thursday for COZ068. Winter Weather Advisory until 8 AM MST Thursday for COZ081-082. Winter Weather Advisory until 8 AM MST Thursday for COZ084. && SHORT TERM...MOORE LONG TERM...RISER AVIATION...RISER
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 820 AM MST Wed Dec 28 2022 COZ058>089-093>099-291300- 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- 820 AM MST Wed Dec 28 2022 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Snow, heavy at times, will continue through tonight along the Continental Divide. Accumulations will be highest over the San Juan Range with 1 to 2 feet expected. Snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches are possible over the La Garita and Sawatch Mountain Ranges. Snow is expected to develop by late afternoon across Teller County and the Palmer Divide. Snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches are possible. Locally higher amounts are possible under convective bands. Further south across the Plains, light snow will be possible overnight, with accumulations of near an inch possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Snow begins to end from west to east through Thursday morning, with travel impacts continuing across the Palmer Divide until potentially late Thursday morning. Off and on chances for light snow continue for Friday and Saturday across the Continental Divide region. Better chances for heavy snow, particularly for the San Juans, begin on Sunday, as our next low pressure system approaches the region. Snow is possible on our plains for the late Sunday into Monday timeframe as well. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will be likely over portions of the region. 27/GARBEROGLIO
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow of 13.5 inches.
Heavy snow of 5.5 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2022
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: 1073266, 1073268.