Thunderstorm Wind — Moffat, Colorado

2024-06-01 · near (cag)craig/moffat Ar, Moffat, Colorado

Event narrative

The peak gust associated with this thunderstorm was 58 mph and was recorded at the KCAG ASOS at the Craig-Moffat County Airport at 3:31 PM MDT. Additional gusts with this storm, while strong, were generally below severe criteria.

Wider weather episode

Mostly zonal flow aloft advected some modest midlevel moisture into northern portions of eastern Utah and western Colorado in the days leading up to this event. This moisture, combined with some low-end instability, set the stage form some isolated showers and thunderstorms to form over the higher terrain. A passing weak shortwave trough added some extra lift and energy to the region on the 1st, resulting in some stronger showers and thunderstorms capable of producing strong, gusty winds. In addition, dry surface levels led to precipitation from these storms evaporating before reaching the surface, thus also enhancing winds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.5000, -107.5200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1197681. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.