High Wind — West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

2025-12-17 · West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

The KMYP AWOS at Monarch Pass recorded a gust to 83 mph at 8:15 PM MST, with additional gusts between 65-75 mph recorded in the hour leading up to the peak gust. Widespread gusts of 50-60 mph were recorded across the zone throughout the day. No reports of injuries, fatalities, or damages were received.

Wider weather episode

A strong winter storm approached eastern Utah and western Colorado from the west, bringing a shot of colder air along with it. Ahead of this system, high pressure had brought a much warmer airmass. Between these two systems, and along and ahead of the approaching cold front, the surface pressure gradient began to tighten. Deep mixing ahead of the front also helped to bring down higher momentum air from the strong, 170 knot upper level jet. All together, this resulted in widespread strong, gusty winds across much of eastern Utah and western Colorado.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1306936. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.