Very strong winds occurred over northeast Colorado as a developing surface low intensified. Areas of blowing dust and dirt reduced visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile at times.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 winds occurred over northeast Colorado as a developing surface low intensified. Areas of blowing dust and dirt reduced visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile at times. Roof damage was reported at several locations. Trees and branches snapped, downing power lines across parts of Denver. Approximately 20,000 residents lost electricity. Along Interstate 76, east of Sterling, an 18-wheeler was tipped over by strong crosswinds. The two occupants received minor injuries.Peak wind reports included: 74 mph (63 kts) at Fleming, 70 mph (61 kts) at Merino, 69 mph (60 kts) at Woodrow, 68 mph (59 kts) at Amherst, 66 mph (57 kts) at Cedar Point, New Raymer and Wiggins, 64 mph (56 kts) at Akron Airport, 63 mph (55 kts) at Limon, 62 mph (54 kts) at Crook, 61 mph (53 kts), 9 miles north of Limon, 14 miles north-northwest of Otis and at Parker, 60 mph (52 kts) at Sterling, 59 mph (51 kts) at Fort Morgan, 58 mph (50 kts) at Denver International Airport.
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 May 21, 1:18 AM MST, 11 hours 49 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO 215 AM MDT TUE MAY 21 2002 SHORT TERM DISCUSSION: A FEW SHWRS/TSTMS ASSOCTD WITH A BROAD DEFORMATION AREA WELL AHD OF THE SYSTEM WERE OVR S-CNTRL CO AND NRN NEW MEX A COUPLE OF HRS AGO...BUT HV SINCE DIED OUT. THUS...NOT XPCTG ANY PCPN TO MAKE IT TO THE CWFA THIS MRNG. MAIN WX FEATURE FOR OUR AREA TDY WL BE THE IMPRESSIVELY DP UPR LVL LOW OVR CA. CNTR OF THE CIRCULATION IS JUST E OF KSFO ATTM...WHICH IS ABT THE PSN 00Z MDLS INDD BY THIS TIME...AND OVRALL...THE MDLS ARE IN GOOD AGMNT THRU 36 HRS IN THE SYNOPTIC SCALE. THE UPR LOW WL MOV ACRS THE SLC AREA THIS AFTN AND THEN INTO WRN WY TNGT...UNFORTUNATELY TAKING WITH IT ANY CHC OF MEANINGFUL PCPN. OUR AREA WL BE LEFT WITH VRY STG S-SWLY FLOW TDY WITH A RPDLY DRYING AIRMASS. WINDS WL BE A BIG PROBLEM TDY WITH VRY STG SWLY WNDS FM H3 ALL THE WAY TO THE SFC DVLPG BY 15Z OR SO. 00Z RAOB AT FLAGSTAFF ONLY UP TO H6...BUT WNDS AT 700MB ARE ALREADY SW AT 45KT...THATS THE KIND OF WINDS HEADED OUR WAY. BY 18Z...SLY WNDS AT 850MB PROGD AT 30KT ACRS THE AREA WITH 50+ KTS OVR THE PLAINS BY ELY AFTN. AT THE SAME TIME...THE MSTR WL BE SCOURED OUT. PREV FCST HAS MNTN OF AFTN TSTMS...BUT THE PROSPECT OF ANY PCPN DOESNT APPEAR GOOD GIVEN AMT OF DRYING ALF. THE FAR NERN PLAINS HWVR MAY GET A STORM LATE... BUT MTNS S OF I-70 WL BE TOO DRY FOR TSTMS...WHICH IS PBLY A GOOD THING GIVEN THE KIND OF WINDS WELL HAVE TDY. THE PRIMARY CONCERN WILL BE FIRE WEATHER TODAY. WITH THE STG WNDS AND PLUNGING RH...WL UPGRADE FIRE WEATHER WATCH TO A RED FLAG WRNG. ATM WL BE QUITE UNSTBL AS WELL WITH ATM WELL MIXED UP TO H5. WNDS WL BGN TO RELAX TNGT...BUT FLOW WL TURN MORE WLY AND TANGENTAL TO OUR TERRAIN. NOT MUCH OF AN INVRSN ALF TO BE CONCERNED THO AND WL NOT ISSUE ANY HILITES FOR WNDS FOR TNGT OR TMRW. LONG TERM DISCUSSION: WED WL BE BREEZY AGAIN...FAIRLY STG WLY FLOW WL CONT OVR THE HIGH COUNTRY DURG THE DAY WITH DECENT PRES GRADS OVR THE PLAINS IN THE MRNG. ALTHO COLD AIR WL REMAIN WELL NORTH OF THE CWFA...TEMPS WL BE SLGTLY COOLER WED. THURS...TEMPS WL WRM UP AGAIN AS MDLS HINTING AT A THERMAL TROF DVLPG ACRS THE PLAINS. A SHORT WAVE WL MOVE THRU THE AREA FRI WHICH LOOKS LIKE IT WL BRING MORE WIND THAN ANYTHING ELSE...BUT THE GOING FCST OF SLGT CHC POPS LOOKS GOOD. AFTER THIS MOVES THRU...A WK RDG WL BLD OVR THE AREA. WL RMV CHC OF PCPN SAT...BUT WL LV RMDR OF FCST AS IS. 46 .DEN...RED FLAG WARNING TODAY FOR ALL FIRE ZONES.
COZ030>051-212000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO 1100 AM MDT TUE MAY 21 2002 THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES ADAMS ARAPAHOE BOULDER BROOMFIELD CLEAR CREEK DENVER DOUGLAS ELBERT GILPIN GRAND JACKSON JEFFERSON LARIMER LINCOLN LOGAN MORGAN PARK PHILLIPS SEDGWICK SUMMIT WASHINGTON WELD SYNOPSIS: STRONG SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL OCCUR ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH-CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ...AS AN UPPER LEVEL LEVEL LOW MOVES WEST AND NORTH OF THE AREA. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP IN THE MOUNTAINS...HIGH VALLEYS AND FOOTHILLS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE STORMS COULD PRODUCE VERY STRONG WINDS AND SOME LIGHTNING...BUT NOT MUCH RAINFALL. SOUTHERLY WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH WILL BE COMMON WITH SOME STRONGER GUSTS TO 60 MPH POSSIBLE IN THE HIGH COUNTRY TODAY...AND UP TO 50 MPH IN THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. EVEN STRONGER GUSTS COULD DEVELOP IN THE VICINITY OF ANY THUNDERSTORMS. OUTLOOK FOR WEDNESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY AND MILD. WINDY IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS WITH A FEW AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED. COOPER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 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, May 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: 5297816, 5297814, 5297810, 5297812, 5297809, 5297813, 5297815, 5297811, 5297817.