Thunderstorm Wind — Rio Blanco, Colorado

2020-06-05 · near Meeker Arpt, Rio Blanco, Colorado

Event narrative

A peak wind gust of 70 mph was measured by the automated weather station at the Meeker Coulter Field Airport.

Wider weather episode

A very moist and strong Pacific storm approached the Great Basin on Friday, June 5th. Hot, dry and windy conditions preceded this moisture which led to critical fire weather conditions across a large portion of the region Friday afternoon. Grand Junction, Colorado also reached a record high of 100 degrees that day. Thunderstorms formed on the nose of the arriving moisture late in the afternoon on the 5th across the Four Corners region. A strong, northward moving outflow boundary was produced from these initial storms and survived to the Wyoming border by late in the evening. The fast movement of the boundary enhanced the wind threat from thunderstorms forming along it which led to numerous reports of strong outflow winds and localized damage. In addition, lightning and strong winds exacerbated the growth of existing fires and contributed to numerous fire starts across western Colorado.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.0500, -107.8800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 886086. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.