High winds developed over portions of the Front Range Foothills. 5 miles north of Estes Park, 81 mph (70 kts), 1 mile south of Fritz Peak, 72 mph (63 kts) at Rollinsville and 70 mph (61 kts) at Blackhawk.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
High winds developed over portions of the Front Range Foothills. Peak wind gusts included: 95 mph (83 kts), 2.5 miles north of Estes Park, 81 mph (70 kts), 1 mile south of Fritz Peak, 72 mph (63 kts) at Rollinsville and 70 mph (61 kts) at Blackhawk.
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 Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 28, 4:43 AM MST, 3 hours 17 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO
440 AM MST THU MAR 27 2002
...UPDATE TO DISCUSS ISSUANCE OF HIGH WIND WARNINGS...
WSR-88D SHOWING VERY STRONG MTN WAVE SIGNATURE AND REPORTS OF STRONG
WINDS HAVE COME IN FROM SE OF BOULDER...THE TOWN OF EVERGREEN AND
BLUE MTN IN NRN JEFFCO. WITH UPR LVL JET STRENGTHENING OVR WY THIS
MRNG AND GOOD MIXING EXPECTED TODAY...STRONG WNDS SHOULD CONT FOR
THE REST OF THE MRNG. ISSUED HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ZNS 35..36..38
AND 39 JUST AS THE ZONE PACKAGE WENT OUT. ENTREKIN/DANKERS
SHORT TERM DISCUSSION: LOOKS LIKE MAIN CONCERN AGAIN TODAY WILL BE
THE POTENTIAL FOR HIGH WINDS. 88D ALREADY SHOWING HEALTHY MTN WAVE
SIGNATURE...WHICH HAS INCREASED DURING THE PAST HOUR OR SO. MTN TOP
INVERSION WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN THIS MORNING AS STRONG UPPER
LEVEL 110KT JET NOSES INTO ERN WY DURING THE DAY. THIS PUTS CWA IN
FAVORABLE DOWNWARD FORCING/SUBSIDENCE PORTION OF JET. SHEAR PROFILE
ALSO FAVORABLE FOR AN AMPLIFIED MTN WAVE. EXPECT A FEW HIGHER
ISOLATED PUFFS AT 60-80 MPH BETWEEN 14-17Z OVER THE HIGHER
FOOTHILLS...BUT WITH RATHER SHORT DURATION AND INFREQUENCY OF
HIGHEST GUSTS WILL NOT ISSUE ANY HILITES ATTM. WINDS SHOULD
DECREASE A LITTLE IN THE FOOTHILLS THIS AFTN AS WAVE WEAKENS WITH
AFTN INSTABILITY. DONT THINK WINDS WILL BE QUITE AS STRONG ON THE
PLAINS AS YESTERDAY...BUT STILL SOME OF THESE WINDS WILL MIX DOWN TO
THE SURFACE AROUND MID MORNING. MAIN CHANGES TO ZONES WILL BE TO
BEEF UP THE WINDS IN MOST ZONES.
SLIGHTLY COOLER THIS AFTN AFTER WEAK SURGE HAS COOLED THE LOWER
LEVELS OVERNIGHT. DOWNSLOPE FLOW THIS AFTN WILL TRY MIGHTLY TO GET
THINGS CLOSE TO YESTERDAY...BUT 2-3 DEG COOLER LOOKS GOOD.
MORE WIND AGAIN FOR THE MTNS AND FOOTHILLS TNT AS MTN LEVEL
STABILITY INCREASES. ENTREKIN
LONG TERM DISCUSSION: NOT MANY CHANGES COMING FOR THE LATER PARTS
OF THE FCST PKG. A WEAK CDFNT WL MOVE INTO THE NE PLAINS THRU THE
DAY ON FRI...WITH THE MAIN COOLING FELT TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF
FORT MORGAN. HOWEVER...MAV GDNC LOOKS TOO COLD FOR DEN. WL GO
CLOSER TO THE FWC AND FAN VALUES...WHICH ARE IN AGREEMENT. AT THE
UPR LVLS...CO WL BE LEFT TO THE S OF VIGOROUS NWLY FLOW ALOFT ACRS
MT AND WY AND TO THE N OF A CUTOFF LOW MOVING ACRS AZ AND NM THRU
SAT. OUR FCST AREA WL BE UNDER THE GENERALLY WEAK FLOW PATTERN ON
THE N SIDE OF THE UPR LOWS DEFORMATION BAND. THE AMS WL BE QUITE
DRY...SO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES SHUD PREVAIL WELL INTO THE WEEKEND.
AFTER FRIDAYS BRIEF COOLDOWN...TEMPS SHOULD REBOUND ON SAT...BACK
INOT THE LOWER AND MID 60S. LOW LVL TEMPS FM THE AVN SHOW
ADDITIONAL WARMING ON SUNDAY...MAKING READINGS TO NEAR 70 A PSBLTY.
ALL IN ALL...A FINE DAY FOR EASTER EGG HUNTING.
THE LATEST AVN AND MRF RUNS CONT TO SHOW THE NEXT CHC FOR PCPN ACRS
THE FCST AREA ON MON...INTO TUES. IF THE TROFFING THAT THE MRF
CONTS TO SHOW FOR TUES WORKS OUT...THE CHC OF RAIN AND SNOW ON THE
NE PLAINS CUD EXTEND THRU TUES AND INTO TUES NITE. FOR NOW...WL
LEAVE THAT PART OF THE FCST ALONE...AND LET THE NEXT SHIFT MAKE ADDL
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER MODEL GDNC. KDRBY
.DEN...HIGH WIND WRNG IN AND NR FTHLS THIS MRNG...ZNS 35..36..38
AND 39.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2002
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: 5284403, 5284404.