An impressive arctic air mass accompanied a strong cold front that dropped across western Colorado. The lift from the front itself paired with strong jet support aloft and minor moisture resulted in scattered showers across the Continental Divide. While snowfall totals weren't overly impressive with this system, generally light to moderate, the combination of snowfall with wind gusts in excess of 70 mph at times in the higher terrain resulted in blizzard-like conditions and significant travel impacts.
In the wake of the system, the arctic air overhead paired with continued breezy conditions resulted in bitterly cold wind chills for the northern areas.

Winter Weather in NORTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 09:00:00 to 22-DEC-22 05:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winds gusted between 60 and 80 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. Generally 1 to 2 inches of snow fell across the area.

Winter Storm in LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 18:00:00 to 22-DEC-22 04:15:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winds gusted to over 45 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. The cold front brought wind chills down to -37 degrees F near Elk Springs.

Winter Storm in CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 16:30:00 to 22-DEC-22 03:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winds gusted up to 54 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. Generally 2 to 4 inches of snow fell across the area. The cold front brought wind chills down to -26 degrees F at the Yampa Valley Regional Airport while the Great Divide automated station dropped to -14 degrees F.

Winter Storm in ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 06:00:00 to 21-DEC-22 16:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Winds gusted between 50 and 80 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. Generally 1 to 9 inches of snow fell across the area. The cold front brought wind chills down to -36 degrees F at the Storm Peak Lab.

Winter Storm in UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 15:00:00 to 22-DEC-22 03:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winds gusted to almost 50 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. Generally 1 to 4 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts of up to 7 inches estimated. The cold front brought wind chills down to -28 degrees F at Milner.

Winter Storm in CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 17:00:00 to 22-DEC-22 05:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winds gusted up to 35 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. Generally 2 to 4 inches of snow fell across the area.

Winter Storm in GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 05:00:00 to 21-DEC-22 23:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winds gusted between 50 and 80 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. There was a peak wind gust of over 100 mph recorded at the automated station at Carbonate Hill east-northeast of Crested Butte. Generally 2 to 5 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts of up to 7 inches estimated. The cold front brought wind chills down to -34 degrees F at Vail Pass.

Winter Storm in WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 07:00:00 to 21-DEC-22 23:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winds gusted between 60 and 90 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. There was a peak wind gust of over 100 mph recorded at the automated station at Carbonate Hill east-northeast of Crested Butte. Generally 1 to 5 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts of up to 7 inches estimated. The cold front brought wind chills down to -34 degrees F at Monarch Pass.

Winter Storm in FLATTOP MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 21-DEC-22 05:00:00 to 22-DEC-22 07:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winds gusted up to 50 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. Generally 5 to 10 inches of snow fell across the area. The cold front brought wind chills down to -34 degrees F at the automated station at Dead Horse.