High Wind — Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado
1999-02-02 to 1999-02-03 · Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado
Wider weather episode
A powerful chinook windstorm struck the Front Range Foothills and adjacent plains. Several locations registered peak wind gusts in excess of 100 mph. Locations to meet or exceeded the century plateau included: 127 mph (110 kts) at Sugarloaf Mountain, 120 mph (104 kts) at Lafayette, 119 mph (103 kts) at Wondervu, 107 mph (93 kts) at Carter Lake, 106 mph (92 kts), 2 miles north of Estes Park, 104 mph (90 kts) at Coal Creek, 103 mph (90 kts) at the Rocky Flats Environmental Test Facility with 100 mph (97 kts) recorded at Longmont and Louisville.Other peak wind reports included: 97 mph (84 kts) at Boulder, 93 mph (81 kts) at the NCAR Mesa Lab, 89 mph (77 kts) at Red Feather Lakes, 88 mph (77 kts) at Nederland, 86 mph (75 kts) at Aspen Springs, 84 mph (73 kts) atop Niwot Ridge, 83 mph (72 kts) at Blue Mountain, 78 mph (68 kts), 4 miles south of Livermore, 74 mph (64 kts), 1 mile east of Buckhorn Mountain, 64 mph (56 kts), 21 miles north of New Raymer, 61 mph (53 kts) at Evans, 60 mph (52 kts) at Akron and 4 miles east of Haxtun, and 59 mph (51 kts) at Fort Morgan. The damage associated with the windstorm was extensive. Thirty 70-ft tall power poles were damaged, including several that supported high voltage lines transmitting power directly from generating plants. The combination of downed power poles, power lines and trees resulted in outages for approximately 10,000 residents. In Lafayette, power poles were sheared off for a mile and a quarter stretch. The outages primarily affected residents in Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette, Louisville and Fort Lupton. In addition to the outages, high winds ripped apart several roofs in Boulder, including the Boulder County Jail. At Jefferson County Airport, several planes were overturned and some hangers damaged or destroyed. Damage to the airport alone was estimated at $100,000. Along Interstate 25, just south of the Wyoming border, a tractor-trailer was blown onto its side by strong crosswinds. In southern Jefferson County, localized ground blizzards restricted visibilities to less than 20 feet along U.S. Highway 285, resulting in several accidents. In Pine Junction, a downed tree damaged a nearby residence when it crashed onto the roof. In Bailey, a downed tree crushed a vehicle parked in the resident's driveway.Total damage estimates for the windstorm reached $3 million, making it the fourth costliest on record in Colorado.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5681699. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.