Colorado, 1996

High Wind in Colorado, April 2, 1996

April 2, 1996 · NWS PUB · 1 event in 1 county or zone

and gusts of 50 to 80 mph. A 25 foot by 75 foot section of roof was blown off a business in downtown Westcliffe in Custer county.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.

High winds swept across the Wet Mountain Valley and Wet Mountains ...with sustained winds of 30 to 50 mph...and gusts of 50 to 80 mph. A 25 foot by 75 foot section of roof was blown off a business in downtown Westcliffe in Custer county.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Alamosa Vicinity / Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft

When
April 2, 11:00 AM MST to 2:15 PM MST
Where
Alamosa Vicinity / Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft forecast zone
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates
37.578, -106.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5544188.