An isolated high wind event with a gust to 100 mph was logged 7 miles west of Westcliffe. Very strong northwest flow was evident.
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The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
An isolated high wind event with a gust to 100 mph was logged 7 miles west of Westcliffe. Very strong northwest flow was evident.
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 Feb 9, 3:26 AM MST, 2 hours 49 minutes earlier.
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO 326 AM MST SUN FEB 9 2003 SHORT TERM DISCUSSION...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) CHALLENGES IN THE SHORT TERM WILL BE WHETHER TO CARRY ANY MORNING POPS...AND RECOVERY OF HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY. CURRENTLY...AREA RADARS/SATELLITE PICS SHOWING BAND OF LIGHT SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN CO STRETCHING FROM AKO TO NORTH OF DEN TO RIL. SHORTWAVE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MEAGER LIFT IS MOVING ACROSS CO AT TIME. IR PICS NO LONGER ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE WITH CLOUD TOPS WARMING WITH TIME. BAND OF SNOW SHOWERS ON KFTG RADAR IS HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME SHIFTING SOUTHWARD. POCKETS OF STRATUS HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS PORTIONS OF SE CO WITH ONE AREA TRYING TO MAKE A PUSH TOWARDS COS. FURTHER EAST CIGS ARE MAINLY VFR. HAVENT SEEN ANY PCPN IN OBS ACROSS FCST AREA YET EVEN ACROSS CENTRAL MTN AREAS. WILL MAINLY FOLLOW MESO ETA FOR FCST TODAY. SYSTEM TO THE SOUTH OVER TX WILL BE EAST OF THE AREA BY 12Z THIS MORNING...AND SHORTWAVE ACROSS CO WILL BE DEPARTING BY 18Z. EARLY THIS MORNING...THERE IS SOME ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE ON THE 285K SFC ACROSS SE CO...BUT THE MISSING INGREDIENT IS DEEP MOISTURE. STRATUS DECK IS FORMING ACROSS SE CO BUT MOISTURE APPEARS TO BE FAIRLY SHALLOW/LIMITED. BEST PARAMETERS FOR LIFT AND MOISTURE APPEAR TO STAY NORTH AND EAST OF FCST AREA. FOR-SEE DECREASING POPS MOST AREAS THIS MORNING. MAY HAVE TO WATCH EL PASO/KIOWA COUNTY AS MESO-ETA APPEARS TO BE VERIFYING TOO FAR NORTH WITH THE QPF JUDGING BY KFTG RADAR. BUT EVEN SO...WITHOUT GOOD UPSLOPE TO BRING IN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO COS THINK IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO SQUEEZE OUT MUCH SNOW. WILL WATCH LATEST RADAR TRENDS AND MAKE A LAST MINUTE CALL. MOISTURE ALONG THE CONTDVD AND WESTWARD SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT FOR ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS CENTRAL MTN AREAS WHERE NW FLOW PROVIDES OROGRAPHIC ASCENT. OTHERWISE...700 TEMPS COOL SOME TODAY BEHIND DEPARTING WAVE...SO ONE MORE DAY OF COLD TEMPERATURES EXPECTED OVER EXPANSIVE SNOW FIELD. MTN AREAS AND ADJACENT PLAINS SHOULD EXPERIENCE ENOUGH MIXING BEHIND DEPARTING SHORTWAVE TO REALIZE SOME BREEZY NW WINDS IN THE AFTN...WHICH MAY HELP BOOST TEMPS OVER YESTERDAY OVER LOWER ELEVATION SNOW COVER...IN SPITE OF THE COOL DOWN AT UPPER LEVELS. GRIDS LOOK PRETTY GOOD AND WILL MAKE ONLY SOME MINOR CHANGES. TONIGHT...WINDS ALOFT STRENGTHEN OVERNIGHT AND MOUNTAIN TOP INVERSION DEVELOPS TOWARDS DAWN. WINDS IN THE CRITICAL LAYER REMAIN AROUND 40-45 KTS...WHICH SHOULD KEEP GUSTS JUST BELOW HIGH WIND CRITERIA. WIND GUSTS TO 60-65 MPH LOOK POSSIBLE TOWARD DAWN FOR NRN MOUNTAIN AREAS...WITH NORTHWEST FLOW TENDING TO FAVOR THE RAMPART RANGE AREA IN THESE MOUNTAIN WAVE SITUATIONS. LOW TEMPS TONIGHT WILL BE QUITE A CHALLENGE...WITH LEE TROF DEVELOPING AFTER 06Z. WILL HAVE A PERIOD WHERE WINDS MAY DECOUPLE IN THE EVENING... AND WITH DRY AIR AND CLEARING SKIES TEMPS COULD PLUMMET QUICKLY. HAVE BUMPED UP TEMPS ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES A BIT...BUT COLD POCKETS LIKE PUB AND LAA MAY STILL DROP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS. HAVE MADE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO GRIDS TO WARM UP HIGHER ELEVATIONS AS WELL WHERE IT WILL STAY MIXED OVERNIGHT...AND TO COOL DOWN SOME OF THE MORE POORLY DRAINING AREAS. OTHERWISE...HAVE MAINTAINED SOME SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR CENTRAL MTNS WHERE FAVORABLE OROGRAPHICS WILL CONTINUE COMBINED WITH PERIODS OF MOISTURE ALONG AND WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. -KT LONG TERM DISCUSSION...(MONDAY-SATURDAY). ...MAIN CONCERNS THIS PERIOD IS HOW WINDY MONDAY AND HOW MUCH PRECIP THUR-FRI... AS DISCUSSED ABOVE...FIRST THING THAT CAUGHT MY EYE EARLY THIS MORNING WAS THE X-SXNS ACROSS THE REGION MONDAY. WINDS THROUGH THE COLUMN WERE PRETTY MUCH 50 KNOTS STRAIGHT UP OVER THE E MTNS... ESPECIALLY PIKES PEAK REGION. THIS LACK OF SHEAR W/HEIGHT...PACKING OF THETA-E AT MTNS TOP...AND A GOOD LEE TROUGH DEVELOPING OUT EAST INDICATES WINDY CONDITIONS ARE A GOOD BET ALL DAY MONDAY. OF COURSE...WITH THE WINDS COMES THE CONCERNS ABOUT TEMPS. WITH THIS DOWNSLOPE FORCING...IT WILL START TO WARM UP ACROSS THE REGION...AND GRIDS REFLECT THIS FOR MONDAY AFTERNOON WITH HIGHTS APPROACHING OR AT 50F/10C MOST OF PLAINS. AS FOR WINDS...I PAINTED IT QUITE GUSTY WITH WINDS GUSTING TO 50-60 KNTS E MTNS/ADJ PLAINS...AND G30 OVER E PLAINS. THESE VALUES MAY BE CONSERVATIVE...AND WE MAY HAVE OUR FIRST REAL WIND EVENT MONDAY IF MODELS VERIFY. BETWEEN THIS DAY AND THURSDAY...I DID NOT CHANGE MUCH IN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST. THE ONLY MINOR TWEEK THAT I DID WAS WARM UP TEMPS A FEW DEGREES FOR WED HIGHS. THURSDAY NIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME WET SNOWS FOR THE SW MTNS. SYSTEM COMING OFF PACIFIC DOES NOT LOOK TO POTENT DYNAMICALLY...BUT IT SHOULD BE QUITE A WET SYSTEM GIVEN ITS TRACK AND CURRENT WAT VAP SAT PIX REPRESENTATION. ID LIKE TO SEE STRONGER WINDS AND A BIT MORE QG FORCING...NONETHELESS I BELIEVE THE SW MTNS SHOULD SEE SOME SNOW WITH THIS SYSTEM. FOR THIS REASON...BUMPBED POPS TO 50% SW MTNS. WITH ALL THE MOISTURE WITH IT...CONTINUED SMALL POPS THE REMAINDER OF THE FCST AREA. HODANISH .PUB...NONE.
COZ058>089-093>099-091359- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 700 AM MST SAT FEB 8 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 45 MPH WILL DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS SUNDAY...AND CONTINUE INTO MONDAY BEFORE DIMINISHING. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE FOUND OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN...MAINLY ABOVE 10000 FEET. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT...WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/PUB.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2003
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: 5342433.