High Wind — Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus, Colorado

2025-05-12 · Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus, Colorado

Event narrative

All the gusts above the 75 mph threshold were recorded at the Colorado Department of Transportation Douglas Pass mesonet station. The peak gust to 83 mph was recorded at 2:29 PM MDT, while another gust to 78 mph occurred at 5:12 PM MDT. Other sites across the zone only saw gusts into the 40s and 50s. However, geography and elevation contribute to this site seeing such high winds. Douglas Pass is a gap oriented north to south with higher terrain to the east and west of the gap. This would act to funnel winds through, with strongest gusts occurring when winds are coming from the south or the north. Winds on this day were southerly, maximizing the funneling effect. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system moving into the Pacific Northwest led to the upper level pressure gradient to begin tightening over the eastern Great Basin, leading to increasing winds aloft. At the same time, high pressure still in place over eastern Utah and western Colorado helped promote deep daytime mixing that allowed those strong upper level winds to mix down to the surface. This resulted in widespread wind gusts of 40-50 mph, with gusts upwards of 60 mph in some locations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1265760. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.