High Wind — Ne Weld County, Colorado

2018-04-17 · Ne Weld County, Colorado

Wider weather episode

Powerful post frontal bora winds blasted along the Front Range Foothills and across Northeast and East-Central Colorado. The damaging wind gusts ranged from 60 to 90 mph. A woman in Louisville died after she was struck by a falling tree branch. She stopped to rest under a tree when a large branch broke off and struck her in the head. The winds uprooted trees, shattered windows, sprayed roof shingles, tossed outdoor furniture like toys and knocked over semitrailer trucks. It also blew up dust and debris, limiting visibility for motorists. The intense winds caused extensive tree damage in and around Washington Park in Denver. The storm toppled trees onto homes and vehicles. A 70-foot spruce tree slammed into the roof of a residence and cut through the ceiling of the master bedroom. A 3-month-old infant was sleeping in the room but uninjured. Several trees were uprooted and destroyed. A streetlight came down on an SUV in Denver.

The gusty conditions forced officials to close a number of roadways or place high-wind restrictions. Around 64,000 Xcel Energy customers experienced some sort of outage related to near-hurricane force winds that toppled trees and power poles. Service was not restored for approximately 5,000 customers until the following day. At Denver International Airport, delays occurred as two runways were temporarily shut down and 25 flights were diverted. Late in the morning, strong winds fanned the flames of a house fire near Castle Rock. Two homes were destroyed by the fire and 5 others were damaged. The fire started in the garage of one residence then was fanned by strong winds that spread the fire from one house to the others.

Peak wind reports included: 89 mph in Louisville, 86 mph at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, 83 mph at the National Wind Technology Center, 81 mph near Eldorado Springs, 79 mph, 4 miles east of Buckeye; 78 mph near Gold Hill and Akron, 74 mph at Cheesman Reservoir, 73 mph, 7 miles east of Ponderosa Park; 72 mph near Longmont; 72 mph near Erie, 71 mph at Bennett, 70 mph at Denver International Airport, 69 mph at Keenesburg, 68 mph at Briggsdale, Limon Municipal Airport, Mead and Sterling; 67 mph near Brighton, Buckley AFB and Strasburg; 66 mph near Hygiene, 64 mph, 9 miles north of Manila Village; 63 mph near Woodlin School, 63 mph at Beverly Hills, 60 mph at Centennial Airport, Front Range Airport, Nunn; 58 mph at Agate.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 752005. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.