5 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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 local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 15, 2:45 AM MST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO COLORADO
245 AM MST THU MAR 15 2001
...MAIN PROBLEM IS WINDS THIS MORNING...
CURRENTLY...GUSTY WINDS CONTINUE OVER A PORTION OF THE EASTERN
PLAINS WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 KNOTS AT THE ASOS SITES. THE REGION
IS ACTUALLY IN A LULL. MSAS PRESSURE CHANGE ANALYSIS SHOWS THE
AGEOSTROPHIC COMPONENT OPPOSING THE NORTHERLY WINDS. AS THE
UPPER LOW MOVES FURTHER EAST...A SECONDARY SURGE WILL PASS DURING
THE MORNING. WINDS OVER NORTHERN COLORADO ARE ALREADY GUSTING OVER
40 KNOTS. RUC AND MESOETA SHOW WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 KNOTS AT 700MB
DURING THE MORNING. GRANADA PROFILER CURRENTLY HAS 700MB WINDS
AROUND 50 KNOTS. THE STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT AND INSTABILITY
SHOULD MIX STRONG WINDS TO THE SURFACE. DIV Q ANALYSIS IMPLIES
SINKING MOTION DURING THE MORNING TO FURTHER SURFACE THE WINDS.
THERE IS SOME LIGHT SNOW OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO...AND SOME OF THIS
MOISTURE MAY MOVE SOUTH. I WILL KEEP SOME CHANCE POPS ON THE PLAINS
FOR THE MORNING.
IN THE MOUNTAINS...THE SATELLITE SUGGEST SOME DRYING IN ZONES 58 AND
59. I WILL LET THE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY EXPIRE AS THE
HEAVIER SNOW WILL END AND WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE.
FOR TONIGHT...THE WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT DURING THE EVENING AS A
SURFACE RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE PLAINS.
ON FRIDAY...SHORTWAVE IN THE PACIFIC WILL START APPROACHING THE
REGION. THE SPEED OF THE SYSTEM IS FASTER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. AS A
RESULT...SOME MOISTURE WILL LIKELY MAKE IT INTO THE WESTERN
MOUNTAINS. CURRENT ZONES MAY BE A LITTLE BIT TOO FAST WITH THE SNOW
REACHING THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS. SINCE THESE ZONES ONLY HAVE CHANCE
OR SLIGHT CHANCE POPS...I WILL NOT MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS AT THIS TIME.
ON SATURDAY...ALL THE LONG RANGE MODELS AND ENSEMBLES HAVE SPED UP
THE SYSTEM ON SATURDAY SIGNIFICANTLY. THE SYSTEM WILL BE
PROGRESSIVE ACROSS THE REGION SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE CHANCES FOR
A MAJOR SNOW EVENT ON THE EASTERN PLAINS. THE AVN AND ETA DO SHOW A
PERIOD OF SOUTHWEST FLOW FLOW AT 20 TO 30 KNOTS OVER THE REGION.
THIS MAY GIVE SIGNIFICANT SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY THE SAN
JUANS AND WESTERN SIDES OF THE SANGRES. IT IS TOO EARLY FOR ANY
HIGHLIGHTS SINCE THIS WOULD BE A FOURTH PERIOD EVENT.
WITH THE SYSTEM BEING PROGRESSIVE...I WILL REMOVE THE SNOW FOR
SUNDAY FOR MOST OF THE AREA. WITH DEVELOPING NORTHWEST FLOW...I
WILL KEEP SOME SNOW IN ZONES 58 AND 59.
FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE
REGION. WITH THE STRONG UPPER LOW MOVING TO THE NORTH OF THE
REGION...THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH MOISTURE TO KEEP THE CHANCE FOR SNOW
IN ZONES 58 AND 59. OTHERWISE...EXPECT BENIGN WEATHER WITH MAYBE A
WINDY PERIOD ON THE EASTERN PLAINS. MRF IMPLIES AN UPSLOPE SURGE ON
WEDNESDAY. IT IS MUCH TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE WHAT EFFECT THIS
WOULD HAVE...AND MRF IMPLIES ONLY SOME COOLING. FOR NOW I WILL
LEAVE WEDNESDAY GROUPED WITH MONDAY AND TUESDAY.
WOLYN
.PUB...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH NOON FOR EASTERN HALF OF THE PLAINS
(ZONES 78>81).The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A strengthening low pressure system over central Kansas generated some high winds over portions of southern Colorado including 60 mph wind gusts near Wiley and Sheridan Lake as well as eastern El Paso county. 62 mph wind gusts were noted in the vicinity of Springfield and a 68 mph wind gust was measured at La Junta.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2001
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: 5236354, 5236356, 5236357, 5236355, 5236358.