Heavy Snow in Northern Sangre De Cristo Mountains, Colorado

An upper level low pressure system combined with upslope northerly winds at the surface to produce widespread snow across the southeast mountains and adjoining plains starting the morning of the 24th and lasting into Christmas morning. Storm totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches in and around the Wet Mountains. However, 12 inches of snow fell in Cuchara in the Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains and in Walsenburg in Huerfano county. One to three inches of snow fell on Monument Ridge, north of Colorado Springs, and in parts of the adjacent plains in southeast Colorado. One fatality was attributed to this storm. James Hall, 83, of Wetmore in Custer county, was found Christmas Eve after apparently falling outside of his home and dying of exposure.