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

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

Event narrative

The peak wind gust at the Springerville Airport was 71 MPH at 830 PM. The wind gusted to at least 58 MPH at time between 420 PM and 1000 PM. The sustained winds remained above 40 MPH the entire time between 645 PM and 1000 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 1182922. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.