A man died in an avalanche in a backcountry area called The Numbers, located outside the Breckenridge Ski Resort boundary on Peak 10. A father and his adult son were caught in the avalanche.
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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 man died in an avalanche in a backcountry area called The Numbers, located outside the Breckenridge Ski Resort boundary on Peak 10. A father and his adult son were caught in the avalanche. The father was partially buried and the son fully buried. The father was able to dig himself out and had to ski out of the area to get cell phone reception for a 911 call. The son was found later in the afternoon.
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 Dec 31, 11:01 AM MST, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1101 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 .UPDATE... Issued at 1100 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 No major updates to the current forecast. Current radar shows snow showers continuing over the mountains this morning. CDOT cameras show wet roads along I-70 which is an improvement from the snow- covered road this morning. Showers continue in the mountains today. Will keep the Advisory going in Zone 34 (I-70 corridor- summit county) through noon. Should be okay to let that go after that with coverage decreasing and the better chances for the north mountains, where the advisory will continue through tomorrow morning. Regardless of headlines, if you are traveling in the mountains today/tonight, please do so with caution and be prepared to winter driving conditions. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 301 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 Water vapor imagery does a great job of highlighting the plume of moisture injecting across the Intermountain West along the leading edge of the AR impacting the West Coast. This moisture, embedded in northwesterly flow aloft, is resulting in modest but steady snowfall in the high country, which will continue throughout the day and into tonight. Moisture will peak this morning for most mountain areas, with orographic influences enhancing snowfall on west-facing portions of the ranges. Have opted to expand the Winter Weather Advisory to include Zone 034 (I-70 corridor through Summit County) until noon today. Although snowfall amounts per se may fall just short of criteria, CDOT webcams already indicate deteriorated road conditions. Considering the combination of increasing snowfall this morning and heavy holiday/weekend ski traffic, expect difficult travel conditions to persist. The second minor update to the forecast was to incorporate a chance of freezing rain for parts of the northeast plains near and shortly after sunrise, mainly across Logan, Sedgwick and Phillips Counties. Forecast soundings indicate a very shallow sub-freezing surface layer under a notable warm nose aloft, and several CAMs reflect this with spotty freezing rain outputs this morning. In any case, impacts should be minimal with any freezing rain being light and brief in nature. Otherwise, no significant changes to the forecast. Expect a milder day today with subsident flow and weak transient ridging allowing for temperatures to climb well into the 40's for the lower elevations, and locally into the low 50's. Have erred on the lower end of guidance, particularly for those areas where substantial snow cover remains. Cloud cover will be relatively abundant, but subsidence will keep the plains dry today save for the aforementioned possibility of a few morning snow/freezing rain showers in the NE plains. .LONG TERM...(Sunday through Friday) Issued at 301 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 ...ANOTHER WINTER STORM HEADED OUR WAY... The active weather pattern continues with another winter storm Sunday night into Monday night, and we'll have to watch this one carefully. Models are in good agreement initially with this next deeper trough moving into the Desert Southwest Sunday, but then begin to diverge Sunday night into Monday. The GFS and a few ensembles are slightly farther north, but the EC and ECENS bring the low to the Four Corners by late Sunday night and then track northeast across the Limon area late Monday and Monday night. That EC track is generally favored, and typically quite favorable for heavier snow along the I-25 Corridor and points north and east. The airmass is quite moist just like the last storm, with precipitable water values over two standardized anomalies, and 700 mb specific humidity near three standardized anomalies Sunday night as abundant moisture is pulled into the cyclone. Thus, good water yield can again be expected overall with this storm system. The amount of snow will depend heavily on the track, and once again the intricacies in/near the Front Range. While the above noted track is quite favorable, most models do not show the upslope sticking around for very long and also being quite weak, before transitioning to more of a downslope flow along the Front Range. However, this is where our concern lies, as just a couple/few hours could make all the difference again between just a brief period of moderate to heavy snow versus several hours. Right now, the odds are pointing for the northeast plains to capture the best QPF/snow with less downslope there, so we've opted for a Winter Storm Watch there with moderate probabilities of 6" or more. However, that's not to say the I-25 Corridor is in the clear by any means as typically models struggle with the upslope along the Front Range - especially when there's persistent QG lift as in this storm. While not strong, it is sufficient for heavier precipitation considering the high PW and deep/neutral lapse rates. That's what gives us concern more snow will be possible along the I-25 Corridor than the fairly consistent ensemble output. We may end up expanding the Watch further westward depending on the latest guidance. In the mountains, we expect a lull in the storm Sunday with precipitation diminishing to scattered showers for the most part. That occurs as flow turns more southerly which is not at all favorable for much precipitation into the northern mountains. The exception could be over our far western sections where some light snow may continue off/on, but overall don't expect much accumulation during the day. That will change again Sunday night as the upper level support ahead of the developing Four Corners low arrives. We'll likely need another winter weather highlight at that time - most likely a healthy Advisory for another 30-36 hours of snow Sunday night through Monday night. Most mountain areas could pick up another 8-14" or so with this wave. Despite weak orographics, frontogenesis on the back edge of the cyclone should be sufficient for these kind of additional snow totals. By late Monday, the storm system finally pulls off to the east and northeast, although the EC is somewhat slower than most model solutions. This should take most of the impactful snow with it Monday night into Tuesday, although some light snow likely lingers in the mountains with orographic support. Drier weather arrives for Wednesday and Thursday, with gradually moderating temperatures. Another system arrives toward Friday, but this one appears to be fast moving and mostly confined to the mountains for a few inches of snow there. Temperatures should return to closer to normal levels with downslope flow, but some modification (especially away from the foothills) is expected due to a pretty healthy snowpack. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Sunday afternoon) Issued at 1100 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 VFR conditions through the TAF period. Light southerly component winds continue this morning. There is potential for a boundary to move through in the afternoon bringing a period of light northerly winds to KDEN. Around 00z, winds transition back to southeasterly then to light southerly drainage overnight. Tomorrow, expect light southerly winds becoming more east in the afternoon. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning until 6 AM MST Sunday for COZ031. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM MST Sunday for COZ033. Winter Weather Advisory until noon MST today for COZ034. Winter Storm Watch from late Sunday night through Monday evening for COZ042-044-048>051. && UPDATE...Mensch SHORT TERM...Rodriguez LONG TERM...Barjenbruch AVIATION...Mensch
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1104 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 COZ030>051-011815- 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- 1104 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 This hazardous weather outlook is for northeast and north central Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Snow showers continue in the high country this morning continuing through this evening. Slick conditions can be expected at times for most if not all mountain travel corridors, including I-70 through Summit County. Gusty winds up to 55 mph will create some blowing snow over the high mountain passes, resulting in treacherous conditions and reduced visibility at times. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday Scattered light snow showers are expected in the mountains on Sunday. Snow will become more widespread across the area Sunday night through Monday as the next winter storm moves across Colorado. There is the potential for heavy snow and several inches of snow accumulation over much of northeast and north central Colorado. It is dependent of the storm track. Travelers should plan on winter driving conditions Sunday night through Monday night and try to avoid travel all together. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed through tonight.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
A man died in an avalanche outside the Breckenridge Ski Resort boundary on Peak 10.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, S & Se Grand / W Central & Sw Boulder / Gilpin / Clear Creek / Summit / N & W Park Counties Above 9000 Feet | 2022-12-31 | 22 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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: 1064479.