High Wind — Washington County, Colorado

2021-12-15 · Washington County, Colorado

Event narrative

Peak wind gusts included 78 mph in Akron and 69 mph near Union.

Wider weather episode

A powerful cold front moved across northern Colorado in the morning. Bands of moderate to heavy snow showers in the mountains resulted in early morning snow squalls. Colorado Department of Transportation had brief road closures along with parts of I-70 due to the limited visibility and hazardous road conditions that accompanied the snow squalls. Storm totals in the mountains generally ranged from 3.5 to 6.5 inches. As the cold front swept across the Front Range Foothills, Urban Corridor, and northeast CO plains, very strong post-frontal or bora winds developed. The strongest wind gusts ranged from 70 to 95 mph occurred in and near the foothills, and along and north of the I-76 corridor.

Several trees were knocked down, and then subsequent high winds and blowing dust occurred across the plains. Some of those trees crashed into nearby homes and onto parked automobiles. Numerous trucks tipped on I-25 and blowing dust resulted in numerous accidents and road closures. The northbound lanes of I-25 were closed to high profile and lightweight vehicles at Owl Canyon Road near the CO/WY state line due to the high winds. There were overturned semis on I-25, with windows blown out of cars in Boulder and Broomfield. Larimer County Road 38E, along the southeastern edge of Horsetooth Reservoir, was closed for more than 20 hours because of a downed utility line. Residents from hundreds of homes in the area were forced to detour through Loveland to get to Fort Collins. Denver International Airport reported 2,219 flight cancellations and 12,327 delays.

Xcel Energy reported that power outages peaked at about 63,000 customers during this high wind event. State Highway 52 was closed from New Raymer to Fort Morgan due to an accident and brownout conditions. The Sedgwick County Courthouse and Annex building closed early due to a power outage in Julesburg and forced the communications center to backup power. The Julesburg school district released all students early due to the outages. The Revere School District in Ovid released students early due to hazardous travel conditions across Sedgwick County. Phillips County also reported scattered power outages, uprooted trees, and some structural damage.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 992651. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.