High Wind — Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Arizona

2024-05-05 · Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Arizona

Event narrative

The Taylor Airport had a peak wind gust of 58 MPH at 415 PM. The sustained wind was 40 MPH or higher a few times between 250 PM and 540 PM. A wind sensor along I-40 at the Little Colorado River measured a wind gust of 61 MPH at 433 PM. The peak wind gust at the Winslow Airport was 64 MPH at 506 PM. Wind gust of 58 MPH or higher occurred between 150 PM and 510 PM.

Wider weather episode

A deep upper level low moved across The Great Basin and through Arizona. This system was anomalously strong for the time of year and is quite cold aloft. The pressure gradient tightened up and resulted in extremely gusty and strong winds. While most areas experienced wind gusts around 40-50 MPH with some areas had gusts of 55-65 MPH. The highest gusts were downwind of the higher terrain.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1182842. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.