High Wind in Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

Winds began to increase across Colorado Zone 001 late in the afternoon on March 1st and peaked on the afternoon of the 2nd. The peak gust was 59 mph, recorded at the Dragon Road site between 1500 and 1600 on the 2nd. Gusts at other sites throughout the zone ranged from 45 mph up to 58 mph.

A strong Pacific low pressure trough moved into the Pacific Northwest and dropped south through the Great Basin in the days leading up to March 1st. At the base of this trough, a 160 knot jet aloft tracked overhead of eastern Utah and western Colorado beginning on the 1st, with daytime heating starting to mix down these much stronger southwest winds. Winds peaked during the late morning and afternoon hours on the 2nd as the pressure gradient through the atmosphere tightened up ahead of a strong cold front. Strongest winds were observed just prior to the cold front's passage, and led to numerous reports of power outages, downed trees, and even a few small brush fires.