High Wind — Central Colorado River Basin, Colorado

2024-02-26 to 2024-02-27 · Central Colorado River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

Wind gusts across the lower elevation Colorado Zone 008 ranged from 45-65 mph between roughly noon on the 26th and mid-morning on the 27th. The peak recorded gust was 64 mph at around 7AM, at the mesonet station CO182 0.1 mi W of No Name Tunnel, which is roughly 2 miles northeast of the town of Glenwood Springs.

Wider weather episode

A strong southwesterly jet aloft ahead of a deep Pacific low pressure system moved over eastern Utah and western Colorado starting early on the 26th. As the day progressed, these strong winds began to mix down, bringing strong gusts of 40-50 mph across much of the area. These winds maximized ahead of a potent cold front that begin impacting northern portions of eastern Utah and western Colorado late on the 26th, and finally moved south of the Four Corners around midday on the 27th. During this period, gusts above 58 mph in the valleys and above 75 mph in the mountains were recorded.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1165240. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.