Colorado, 1996

High Wind in Colorado, January 17 to 18, 1996

January 17 to 18, 1996 · NWS GLD · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

High winds and extreme cold hit the area around midday and continued until early morning. Wind chills were down to 60 degrees below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 GLD wrote it up.

High winds and extreme cold hit the area around midday and continued until early morning. Wind chills were down to 60 degrees below zero.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Yuma County

When
January 17, 11:00 AM MST to January 18, 3:00 AM MST
Where
Yuma County forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates
40.003, -102.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Kit Carson County

When
January 17, 12:00 PM MST to January 18, 3:00 AM MST
Where
Kit Carson County forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates
39.305, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cheyenne County

When
January 17, 12:00 PM MST to January 18, 3:00 AM MST
Where
Cheyenne County forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates
38.828, -102.603 (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, January 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: 5546873, 5546874, 5546875.