Very strong chinook winds gusting to 104 mph (90 kts) blasted across the Front Range Foothills and portions of the Urban Corridor. Three people were injured in separate incidents.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
Very strong chinook winds gusting to 104 mph (90 kts) blasted across the Front Range Foothills and portions of the Urban Corridor. Three people were injured in separate incidents. One man was injured when strong crosswinds toppled his moving van into oncoming traffic along highway 93, south of Boulder. Two other people received minor injuries from flying debris. At the Rocky Flats Environmental Test Facility, eleven hazardous waste storage facilities were damaged. Initial estimates indicated at least $100,000 damage to the shelters. In addition, several power lines were downed leaving 3,000 homes and businesses without power. Hundreds of cars windows were also blown out and several signs ripped off buildings.Some of the strongest wind gusts included: 90 kts at the Boulder Municipal Airport, 85 kts at South Boulder, 83 kts at Jefferson County Airport, 82 kts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) southwest of Boulder, 79 kts at the Rocky Flats Environmental Test Facility and 78 kts at Wondervu.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 1996
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: 5538040, 5538041, 5538042, 5538043, 5538044.