Name: High Wind in Colorado, December 17, 2000
Start: 2000-12-17T14:45
End: 2000-12-17T22:00
Location: Colorado

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 BOU wrote it up.

High winds gusting from 60 mph to 74 mph howled across the northeast plains of Colorado. In Fort Collins, a camera man was seriously injured when a gust of wind toppled the video tower that he was standing on while filming football practice. He suffered severe internal injuries when the tower fell on him. In Parker, a 20 ft. by 40 ft. piece of roof was torn off a building. A residence in Limon also sustained wind damage. Near Last Chance, downed branches damaged power lines which caused several electrical outages. Peak wind reports included: 74 mph (64 kts), 4 miles east of Haxtun, 70 mph (61 kts) at Limon and 14 miles north-northwest of Otis, 67 mph (58 kts) at Fort Morgan and Marino, 64 mph (56 kts) at Hereford and 6 miles south of New Raymer, 63 mph (55 kts), 21 miles north of New Raymer, 62 mph (54 kts) at New Raymer, and 60 mph (52 kts) at Fort Collins and Parker.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Sedgwick and Phillips Counties

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Sedgwick and Phillips Counties forecast zone
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.876, -102.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Larimer and Northwestern Weld Counties

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Eastern Larimer and Northwestern Weld Counties forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.611, -104.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Logan County/Sterling and Vicinity

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Logan County/Sterling and Vicinity forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.725, -103.110 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northeastern Weld County

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Northeastern Weld County forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.555, -104.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Elbert and Northern Lincoln Counties/Limon and Vicinity

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Eastern Elbert and Northern Lincoln Counties/Limon and Vicinity forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.138, -103.825 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Denver Metropolitan Area

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Denver Metropolitan Area forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.714, -104.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Washington County/Akron and Vicinity

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Washington County/Akron and Vicinity forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.971, -103.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Morgan County/Fort Morgan and Vicinity

When: December 17, 2:45 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where: Morgan County/Fort Morgan and Vicinity forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.263, -103.810 (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 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, December 2000

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: 5160487, 5160488, 5160489, 5160490, 5160491, 5160492, 5160493, 5160494.