Thunderstorm Wind — Garfield, Colorado

2025-09-16 · near (1v1)rifle Arpt, Garfield, Colorado

Event narrative

At 5:44 PM MDT, the KRIL ASOS at Rifle - Garfield County Regional Airport recorded a gust to 60 mph. Other sensors in the area at the time recorded wind gusts of 45 mph to 55 mph. These wind gusts were all associated with a passing thunderstorm, though no damages, fatalities, or injuries were reported in association with it.

Wider weather episode

An area of low pressure tracked to the north of the region during the day on the 16th, with an associated front draped across northeast Utah and northwest Colorado. An upper level jet streak was tracking across region during this period as well, providing some extra lift. Instability in the realm of 600-800 J/kg of CAPE was also present across this region, as well as ample moisture. All these combined to fire off strong to severe thunderstorms across northeast Utah and northwest Colorado during the afternoon hours. While this set up was not as potent as that seen during the 11th to the 13th, it was enough to cause some flash flooding and severe thunderstorm winds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.5300, -107.7200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1295199. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.