Winter Weather — Central Yampa River Basin, Colorado

2025-01-04 to 2025-01-05 · Central Yampa River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

Generally 7 to 8 inches of snow fell in the Hayden area across the eastern portions of the Central Yampa River Basin with 2 to 4 inches across the western portion of the Central Yampa River Basin, which includes Meeker and Craig. 7.5 inches of snow was reported at Hayden 1.6 SW. Winds gusted in the 25 to 35 mph range with a peak wind gust of 36 mph at Great Divide RAWS.

Wider weather episode

A deep low pressure trough moved through the Great Basin and across western Colorado, pulling in remnants of a moderate Atmospheric River that lessened as it moved further inland. However, strong dynamics and instability from the low pressure trough helped overcome the lessening moisture and resulted in light to moderate snow across the central Colorado mountains, with moderate to heavy snowfall over the northern Colorado mountains, especially the Elkhead and Park Mountains, where snowfall amounts exceeded 1 to 2 feet in some areas. Cold air advection and northerly orographic flow on the back side of the trough led to moderate snowfall in the Uncompahgre Gorge of the Northwest San Juan Mountains as well as some moderate snow accumulations in some higher valley locations like Hayden.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1232998. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.