High Wind in Central Yampa River Basin, Colorado

The peak gust during this period, to 76 mph was recorded at the Great Divide 2SW RAWS at 6:46 PM MST. The highest recorded gust at an ASOS or AWOS was to 67 mph at KCAG ASOS at Craig-Moffat County Airport at 8:29 PM MST. An additional three sites, comprising one RAWS, one ASOS, and one AWOS, also recorded gusts above reportable threshold, 58 mph for a valley zone, during this period. Numerous additional gusts across the region ranged from 45 mph to 55 mph. No reports of injuries, fatalities, or damages were recorded.

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.