High Wind — Ne Weld County, Colorado

2026-01-15 to 2026-01-16 · Ne Weld County, Colorado

Event narrative

A cold front brought a 77 mph wind gust to Briggsdale during the evening of the 15th. High winds reformed the morning of the 16th with frequent gusts of 50 to 70 mph.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front swept southward across eastern Colorado during the evening of January 15th, with it bringing wind gusts of 55 to 70 mph. Winds subsided overnight, but became strong again during morning and afternoon hours of January 16th. A few power poles came down in Larimer County. Several miles of I-25 north of Fort Collins to the WY state line was closed to all traffic and US 85 north of Greeley to the WY line was closed to all traffic as well. A grass fire (about 500 acres) occurred along I-76 in Sedgwick county south of Sedgwick. Mandatory evacuations south of I-76 and east of HWY 59 lasted about hour before the fire was contained.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1302373. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.