Colorado, 2026

Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 23 to 25, 2026

January 23 to 25, 2026 · NWS PUB · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

An incoming upper-level trough brought in moisture and sub-freezing temperatures to much of SE Colorado. Leading to snow over and near the higher terrain.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.

An incoming upper-level trough brought in moisture and sub-freezing temperatures to much of SE Colorado. Leading to snow over and near the higher terrain.

What forecasters said that day

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 Jan 22, 4:26 PM MST, 18 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 4:26 PM MST, 18 hours 34 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Wet Mountains Between 8500 and 10000 Ft

When
January 23, 11:00 AM MST to January 25, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Wet Mountains Between 8500 and 10000 Ft forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.110, -105.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There was 5.0 inches of snow measured.

Heavy Snow, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 & 11000 Ft

When
January 23, 11:00 AM MST to January 25, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 & 11000 Ft forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There was 6.0 inches of snow measured.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Ft

When
January 23, 11:00 AM MST to January 25, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Ft forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
38.677, -106.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There was 15.0 inches of snow measured.

Heavy Snow, Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft

When
January 23, 11:00 AM MST to January 25, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
37.484, -106.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There was 8.0 inches of snow measured.

Heavy Snow, Del Norte Vicinity / Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft

When
January 23, 11:00 AM MST to January 25, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Del Norte Vicinity / Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
37.832, -106.332 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There was 5.6 inches of snow measured.

Heavy Snow, Walsenburg Vicinity / Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Ft

When
January 23, 11:00 PM MST to January 25, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Walsenburg Vicinity / Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Ft forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
37.685, -104.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There was 4.0 inches of snow measured.

Heavy Snow, Colorado Springs Vicinity / Southern El Paso County / Rampart Range Below 7500 Ft

When
January 23, 11:00 PM MST to January 25, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Colorado Springs Vicinity / Southern El Paso County / Rampart Range Below 7500 Ft forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.832, -104.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There was 5.1 inches of snow measured.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2026

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1315361, 1315364, 1315365, 1315368, 1315370, 1315362, 1315372.