December 28/29th, 2006
Boulder, CO - Extreme Wet Snow Event

General Storm Evolution | Radar Animations | Snowfall Total Maps | Satellite Imagery

Thursday December 28 | Friday December 29

 
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Boulder, Colorado Winter Storm

 

Boulder

Boulder

 
Chase Target:  Boulder, Colorado and Eastern Colorado Plains
Flying Time: 2.5 hours
Miles Traveled: 2100+
Storm Rating First Half 
Storm Rating Second Half - No Stars - Bust
 
Chase Forecast:
 
The decision to chase this storm was based on the prospect of seeing "true" blizzard conditions.  Unfortunately, in the end, we ended up with a major wet snow event but missed the blizzard conditions (lesson learned on chasing in Colorado). No regrets though.  I was able to experience one of the most extreme wet heavy snowfall events of my lifetime.  So not all was lost!  The photographs from this chase are amazing.  The snow was like paste...sticking to everything.  Portions of Boulder received 14" of white gold.  Tree limbs and power lines were downed by the weight of the snow.  I had a blast driving around Boulder on the evening of the 28th and into the morning hours of the 29th.  I spent more than an hour walking around one of the city parks.  The parks in Boulder have a lot of streams, bike paths, and hiking trails making for some incredible snow viewing opportunities. 

The next day I had planned on traveling to the Plains of Colorado but was never able to get there.  The state closed all of the roads.  As much as I tried to get through it was impossible.  So I ended up missing the much bigger event to the south and east.  This was a major lesson learned.  Having never lived in the Central Plains (and I was warned ahead of time by on-line posters but failed to listen) I didn't realize how quickly conditions would deteriorate.  Apparently faster than the State of Colorado could keep up with!  So we were left stranded on the wrong side of the storm.  Thankfully the wet snow event made the trip well worth the time and energy. 

In order to get to Boulder we had to drive to St Louis, Missouri (which is about 3 hours away) and then catch a flight to Denver.  We chose Frontier Airlines.  GREAT CHOICE!  They had The Weather Channel on the plane!  Live DirectTV.  This was my first experience with this airline and it won't be the last.  Friendly and no-drama (just the way I like it).  One of my bags was even overweight and they let it slide.  We would then rent a car and drive to Boulder.  We had hoped that the GPS Unit would work in Colorado.  It did work but unfortunately it was not programmed for that state.  We were left hanging dry at 10 p.m. at night.  Soooo anyone who has grown accustomed to using a GPS knows that life without one is exciting.  It is especially exciting when you don't know where you.  Thankfully I had printed out the MapQuest instructions to Boulder.  Otherwise I guess we would still be driving around the Denver International Airport.  We would later purchase a Garmin StreetPilot C330 Unit from Best Buy (best decision of the trip - HIGHLY recommend this unit).  One forgets what life was like before GPS.

The zone forecast, from the National Weather Service, was for the Denver/Boulder area to get heavy snow on Thursday Night and Friday and then a second round of snow on Friday Night into Sunday.  I figured Boulder would receive more snow than Denver so made reservations at a hotel in the downtown area of that city.  I was surprised by the size of Boulder.  I thought it would be a much larger city.  I was impressed with it none-the-less.  It seems like a great place to live.  Scenic, with beautiful hills and mountains to the west.  I even had some camera problems on Thursday Morning and was able to find a nice camera store near the hotel.  Everyone was helpful and nice.  So Boulder gets an A+ for hospitality!

My thoughts on Boulder was that they would have a nice wet snow that might accumulate to 8 inches or more.  That forecast worked out nicely.  Parts of the city received 14"+ of heavy, white, frozen, pasty snow!  BEAUTIFUL to say the least.  Make sure you check out the photographs in the gallery.  I can only dream of events like this back home. 

Map of travel

 
 

Forecast Map
December 24, 2006

Forecast Map
December 25, 2006


Forecast Map
December 26, 2006

Forecast Map
December 27, 2006

 

Forecast Map
December 28, 2006

Forecast Map
December 29, 2006


Forecast Map
December 30, 2006

Forecast Map
December 31, 2006

 
       

Thursday, December 28th

This was S day (snow day).  After getting a goods nights rest (something that was lacking during the Peoria, IL Winter Storm Chase) I was ready for some action.  It appeared that most of the snow would fall during the late afternoon and overnight hours.  I had some time to kill during the morning hours so I ended up playing tourist in Boulder.  I spent part of the day scouting out places to photograph once the snow started.  I found several nice parks - Central Park being one of them.  There were a lot of trails that would end up making nice paths for photographs later in the evening.  One thing about boulder is that if you drive west you are going to go UPHILL and fast!  Some steep terrain in that city.

The precipitation started to move in during the early afternoon hours.  It first started out as a light drizzle and a few raindrops and then increased steadily as the hours past.  Mostly rain fell in the City of Boulder during the early and mid afternoon hours.  We drove about 20 minutes to the south and found the rain changing to snow.  Slowly the snow level lowered and by late afternoon it was all snow in Boulder.  The snowflakes increased in intensity and size as the sun set on Boulder.  Before long the snowflakes were as large as quarters and some were larger than that!  Pretty impressive.  It did not take long to see 1-2 inch per hour rates in the city. 

Moderate to heavy snow fell into the early morning hours.  Tapering off around 1 or 2 in the morning.  I took photographs from 6 p.m. until Midnight.  At one point the snow was so wet and the flakes were so large that it was almost like slush.  I ended up pretty wet while trying to take photographs in one of the local parks.  Thankfully the temperature was not very cold.  It was nothing less than a Winter Wonderland around the City of Boulder.  The roads became snow packed quickly.  Many roads were not being plowed and in some areas the snow was so deep that I don't believe I would have wanted to be on them without four-wheel drive.

 
 

Friday, December 29th

Needless to say the experience in Boulder was amazing.  Waking in the morning brought an INCREDIBLE site.  Something that was akin to a Hollywood Movie.  Spectacular scenes of snow covered trees, automobiles, signs, houses, and everything in between.  I have witnessed a lot of nice snowstorms in my lifetime but this event definitely ranks as the number one wet snow event.  Well worth the trip to Colorado.

Unfortunately this is where the chase takes a turn...and not a good turn.  We made attempts to travel east from the Denver area.  The roads were closed across almost all of Eastern Colorado.  Even though the snow had ended and the roads seemed to be okay...it didn't matter.  Closed is closed.  We waited for a number of hours - hoping - that they would open again.  They did not.  We made some attempt to travel south and then east but that didn't work out either.  I should have listened to the advice of some of the online weather community when they tried to warn me about sticking to one area.  If I had to do it over again I guess I would have traveled to Eastern Colorado on Thursday...before the heavy snow fell.  I would have missed the big Boulder wet snow event...had I done that.  So thus is life!  I can't say that I left disappointed.  I ended up going snowmobiling 1 2 3 (check out the view) in the Evergreen Region of Colorado.  This area had received over 20 inches of snow from the system that moved through the Denver/Boulder area. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL area and here (be sure and click on the links for a photos I took of that area).  If you ever get a chance to visit then make sure you travel the Squaw Pass Road.1 2  This road will take you through the mountains and into Idaho Springs.  Breathtaking scenery.  Make sure you get gas though before you head into the hills...ummm someone forgot to fill the SUV up before we headed out.  I won't mention names but if I looked in the mirror I would see the guy.  :)  Also check out Idaho Springs and if you love to snowmobile then check out the Winter Park area.  We traveled there on Saturday.  Unfortunately this area was hit by an avalanche a few days after we left.  A number of cars were trapped under the snow on the same road we traveled.  Thankfully nobody was killed.  There are some extremely steep banks in that region and when they are covered with snow it makes it a bit dangerous.  There were several small avalanches while we were in the area.  Something to keep in mind if you are adventuresome.
 

 
 
 
December 26th - January 1st Precipitation Totals
 

December 26th Precip
Total Amounts

December 27th Precip
Total Amounts

December 28th Precip
Total Amounts

December 29th Precip
Total Amounts

 

December 30th Precip
Total Amount

December 31st Precip
Total Amount

January 1st Precip
Total Amount
 

24 Hour Precip Total Ending 7 a.m. December 27th

24 Hour Precip Total Ending 7 a.m. December 28th

24 Hour Precip Total Ending 7 a.m. December 29th

24 Hour Precip Total Ending 7 a.m. December 30th

 

24 Hour Precip Total Ending
7 a.m. December 31st

24 Hour Precip Total Ending
7 a.m. January 1st
 
 
Radar Animations and Images
 

December 28/29
National Radar Loop

December 30th
National Radar Loop

 

December 28th
Radar Loo[ 10:30 a.m

December 28th
Radar Loop 11:00 a.m

 

December 29th
Radar Loop 1-3 p.m.

December 29th
Radar Loop 5-6 p.m.

 
METAR DATA
 
KDEN METAR Dec 28 | KDEN METAR Dec 29
Graphic Meteogram - Dec 28  Dec 29th
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSIONS FROM BOULDER/DENVER NWS
 
12/25-26 Denver, Colorado, NWS Area Forecast Discussions
12/27 Denver, Colorado, NWS Area Forecast Discussions
12/28 Denver, Colorado, NWS Area Forecast Discussions
12/29 Denver, Colorado, NWS Area Forecast Discussions
12/30 Denver, Colorado, NWS Area Forecast Discussions
 
SHORT TERM FORECAST FROM BOULDER/DENVER NWS
 
12/28 Denver, Colorado, NWS Short Term Forecast
12/29 Denver, Colorado, NWS Short Term Forecast
12/30 Denver, Colorado, NWS Short Term Forecast
 
ZONE FORECAST FOR THE BOULDER AREA
 
12/28-30 Denver, Colorado, NWS ZONE FORECAST
 
 
500 mb Maps.  December 26th through January 1st

500mb Map
December 26th

500mb Map
December 27th

500mb Map
December 28th

500mb Map
December 29th
 

500mb Map
December 30th

500mb Map
December 31st

500mb Map
January 1st
 
Storm Prediction Center Mesoscale Discussions
 

December 28th
12:51 p.m. Mesoscale Discussion

December 28th
6:27 p.m. Mesoscale Discussion

December 28th
11:37 p.m. Mesoscale Discussion

December 28th
11:40 p.m. Mesoscale Discussion

 

December 29th
6:51 a.m Mesoscale
Discussion

December 29th
1:01 p.m. Mesoscale

Discussion

December 29th
7:27 p.m. Mesoscale
Discussion

 
 
Maximum and Minimum Temperatures
 

Dec. 27th Max/Min Temperatures

Dec. 28th Max/Min Temperatures

Dec. 29th Max/Min Temperatures

Dec. 30th Max/Min Temperatures

 
 

Dec. 27th Max/Min Temperature Map

Dec. 28th Max/Min Temperature Map

Dec. 29th Max/Min Temperature Map

Dec. 30th Max/Min Temperature Map

 
Upper Level Four Panel Maps.  December 12th through December 16th
 
 

12/26/06 00z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

12/26/06 12z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

12/27/06 00z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

12/27/06 12z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

 
 

12/28/06 00z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

12/28/06 12z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

12/29/06 00z
4 Panel 
Winter Maps

12/29/06 00z
4 Panel 
Winter Maps

 

12/30/06 00z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

12/30/06 12z
4 Panel
Winter Maps

12/31/06 00z
4 Panel 
Winter Maps

12/31/06 00z
4 Panel 
Winter Maps

 
 
Satellite Images -- NOAA
 

December 28th-29th
Satellite Animation

December 29th-30th
Satellite Animation

 

12/26/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/26/06
Satellite Image 12z

12/27/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/27/06
Satellite Image 12z

 

12/28/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/28/06
Satellite Image 12z

12/29/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/29/06
Satellite Image 12z

 

12/30/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/30/06
Satellite Image 12z

12/31/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/31/06
Satellite Image 12z

 
 
Sea Pressure Analysis
 

12/28/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/28/06
Satellite Image 06z

12/28/06
Satellite Image 12z

12/28/06
Satellite Image 18z

 

12/29/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/29/06
Satellite Image 06z

12/29/06
Satellite Image 12z

12/29/06
Satellite Image 18z

 

12/30/06
Satellite Image 00z

12/30/06
Satellite Image 06z

12/30/06
Satellite Image 12z

12/30/06
Satellite Image 18z

 
 
Location of Heavy Snow/Ice Areas -- NWS Maps
 

Snowfall and Ice Totals (the storm I chased)
Image provided by Denver/Boulder,  NWS

Snowfall and Ice Totals for both storms
Image provided by Denver/Boulder,  NWS

 
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