Winter Weather — Elkhead and Park Mountains, Colorado

2024-12-29 to 2024-12-30 · Elkhead and Park Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

Generally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amount of 13 inches at Tower. Wind gusts ranged from 45 to 55 mph on average with a peak wind gust of 62 mph at Storm Peak Lab.

Wider weather episode

After another break in the Atmospheric River train, a low pressure trough dropped in from the northwest with a strong cold front allowing snow to transition from a heavy wet snow to a drier dendritic snow. This resulted in light to moderate snowfall across the northwest Colorado mountains down to the Elk Mountains and Vail Pass and strong winds. Little to no snow occurred in the valleys with lighter amounts across the central and southern mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1229210. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.