High Wind — Sedgwick County, Colorado

2026-01-15 to 2026-01-16 · Sedgwick County, Colorado

Event narrative

A 65 mph was recorded at a CDOT along I-76 near Julesburg during the evening of the 15th when a cold front pushed through. Strong winds reformed on the morning of the 16th and continued through the afternoon with a peak wind gusts of 70 mph. A weather station (CHAPL1) a few miles west of Julesburg also reported at 70 mph wind gust.

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 1302384. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.