High Wind in West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

At 2:35 PM MDT, the KMYP AWOS located on Monarch Pass, CO recorded a wind gust to 79 mph. The only other gust recorded in the region was at the Carbonate Hill mesonet site, where a gust to 56 mph was recorded at 1:00 PM MDT. The KMYP AWOS is the highest elevation wind sensor in the zone. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received.

A cold front pushed through eastern Utah and western Colorado in the days prior to these high winds, turning the upper level frow from zonal to northwesterly. The cooler air moving in behind the front limited mixing for lower elevation locations, but high peaks continued to tap into the 50-70 knot 500 hPa jet. These winds mixed down in the days following the cold front passage.