A developing winter storm over southern Colorado continued to produce high wind gusts over mainly El Paso and Las Animas counties into the early morning hours of the 2nd. 80 mph 12 miles west of Trinidad.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 PUB wrote it up.
A developing winter storm over southern Colorado continued to produce high wind gusts over mainly El Paso and Las Animas counties into the early morning hours of the 2nd. Some of the higher wind gusts are as follows...71 mph in the vicinity of the Air Force Academy...75 mph 8 miles to the south-southwest of downtown Colorado Springs...79 mph in Pueblo West...80 mph 12 miles west of Trinidad. Finally...a 98 mph gust was experienced approximately 5 miles to the south of downtown Colorado Springs...in the Broadmoor Bluffs area. This high wind caused two homes under construction to collapse and also caused light poles to snap...fences to be blown over windows to be blown out...and tiles roofs to be damaged.
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 Jan 1, 2:30 PM MST, 9 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 230 PM MST THU JAN 1 2004 .SHORT TERM... (TONIGHT AND FRIDAY). ...HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS ARE MAIN CONCERNS... EVERYTHING LOOKS ON TRACK. NOSE OF POWERFUL PACIFIC JETSTREAM BLASTING THROUGH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AT THIS TIME ON A BEE LINE FOR COLORADO. AS JET ENTERS THE STATE...A PROLONGED PERIOD OF HEAVY OROGRAPHIC SNOW TO SET UP ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE... ACCOMPANIED BY PLENTY OF WIND. FURTHER EAST...ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS...THE MAIN STORY WILL BE THE WIND. CROSS SECTIONS SEEM TO TELL THE STORY BEST...WITH 40-55 KNOT WIND BARBS DOWN TO THE 700 MB LEVEL...AND STRONG DOWNWARD FORCING ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS FROM GJT-PUB ARE NOT THAT GREAT (ABOUT 10MB AT 12Z FRIDAY) BUT THEY ARE ADEQUATE TO GET SOME DAMAGING WIND GUSTS (60-80 MPH) TO PULSE THROUGH THE GAPS WHEN COUPLED WITH STRONG WINDS ALOFT AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE. SO...THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT PLAINS (MAINLY WEST OF I-25) SHOULD SEE SOME POWERFUL GUSTS DEVELOP...ESPECIALLY LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY. FAVORED LOCATIONS WOULD INCLUDE HIGHWAY 160 FROM LA VETA PASS DOWN TO THE I-25 CORRIDOR...THE ARKANSAS VALLEY FROM CANON CITY TO PUEBLO WEST...AND THE FOUNTAIN BASIN FROM WOODLAND PARK DOWN TO THE WESTERN EDGES OF COLORADO SPRINGS. MANY OTHER GAPS IN THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS WILL ALSO LIKELY SEE POWERFUL WIND GUSTS. MAIN CHANGES TO GRIDS INVOLVED BEEFING UP WIND GUSTS...AND UPDATING/ADDING HIGHLIGHTS. ALSO BOOSTED POPS FOR THE WESTERN/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN AREAS INTO THE CATEGORICAL RANGE. POWERFUL PACIFIC JET WILL BRING SNOWFALL MEASURED IN FEET TO THE WEST...AND AREAS OF WIND DAMAGE TO THE EAST BEFORE ALL IS SAID AND DONE. HANG ON... WERE GOING FOR A RIDE. LW .LONG TERM... (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY). ...FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY...WESTERN MOUNTAINS... UPPER JET SHIFTS SOUTHWARD ACROSS NRN AZ/NRN NM BY 00Z SUNDAY AS TROF CARVES OUT ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN WHICH THEN MOVES ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA SAT/SAT NIGHT. FOR FRI NIGHT/SAT...CONTINUATION OF STRONG/MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL KEEP WIDESPREAD SNOWS GOING ALONG/WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. COLD AIR ADVECTION ALOFT ON SATURDAY WILL HELP STEEPEN LAPSE RATES OVER THE REGION. BEST QG LIFT THESE PERIODS WILL BE ON SATURDAY AS TROF AXIS SHIFTS ACROSS AND REGION WILL BE UNDER FAVORABLE LEFT FRONT QUAD OF UPPER JET. RUN OF THE SNOW MODEL GAVE ROUGHLY 4-10 INCHES OF SNOW FOR EACH PERIOD. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS CURRENTLY IN GRIDS RANGE FROM 12 TO 36 INCHES THROUGHOUT THE STORM DURATION...WITH THE HEAVIEST ACCUMULATIONS CONCENTRATED ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES OF THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS (WOLF CREEK AREA). WOULDNT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS AS WELL. LITTLE CHANGES NEEDED TO THIS AREA THESE PERIODS WITH SNOW AND WIND...AND BLOWING SNOW WELL HANDLED IN GRIDS. NOT A GOOD DAY FOR TRAVELING ACROSS THE REGION... BUT STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SOME VERY BENEFICIAL MOISTURE FOR THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS TO START OUT THE NEW YEAR. ...FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY NIGHT...SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS/PLAINS... ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS...HAVE BUMPED UP POPS ACROSS THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS INTO THE LIKELY CATEGORY... WITH WESTERLY FLOW AND DEEP MOISTURE PRODUCING SOME OROGRAPHIC SNOWS ALONG THE WEST FACING SLOPES. WOULDNT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME SNOW TOTALS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES IN THESE AREAS...THOUGH WILL BE SPREAD OUT OVER A 24 HOUR PERIOD. FOR SOUTHEAST PLAINS...MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT FRONT WILL ARRIVE OVERNIGHT FRIDAY...WITH REGION COMING UNDER FAVORABLE QG FORCING ALOFT FROM UPPER JET SAT AFTN THROUGH SAT EVENING. CROSS-SECTIONS OFF MESO ETA SHOW GEO-POTENTIAL MOMENTUM SURFACES NEARLY PARALLEL WITH THETA-E SFCS IN THE LOWER LEVELS...WITH UNSTABLE LAYER RIDING IN OVER TOP IN THE LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING. MESO-ETA ALSO SHOWS A BAND OF FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING ACROSS PALMER DIVIDE REGION...EXTENDING NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO. WHAT MESO-ETA IS LACKING ACROSS SE PLAINS IS A LOT OF MOISTURE. HOWEVER...MESO-ETA IS ALSO A BIT FURTHER NORTH WITH THE UPPER JET AXIS...AND PREFER THE FURTHER SOUTH SOLUTION IN THE AVN/UKMET (AS THIS HAS BEEN MOST CONSISTENT). IF THE FURTHER SOUTH SOLUTION PANS OUT...THEN ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS ABOVE MAY BE SHIFTED FURTHER SOUTH RESPECTIVELY. THUS...WITH UPPER JET DYNAMICS...AND PERHAPS EVEN SOME CSI WHERE PURE INSTABILITY DOESNT ALREADY WIN OUT...HAVE BROAD BUMPED UP POPS ACROSS SE PLAINS INTO THE SCATTERED CATEGORY. SNOW AMOUNTS MOST AREAS WILL BE LIGHT...HOWEVER UNDER HEAVIER SNOW BANDS...A COUPLE INCHES COULD FALL. TOO FAR OUT TO PIN DOWN THIS DEGREE OF DETAIL JUST YET. EVENT WILL BE BRIEF AS SYSTEM IS QUICK TO MOVE EASTWARD INTO KANSAS. MAIN MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...WILL BE COLD TEMPS. AS SYSTEM PULLS EASTWARD SAT NIGHT...COLD AIR WILL PLUNGE SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS WITH 700 TEMPS DROPPING TO AROUND -14 TO -16C ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA FOR SUNDAY. ANOTHER PIECE OF ENERGY MOVING THROUGH NRN US ROCKIES/NRN PLAINS SENDS REINFORCING SHOT OF COLD ARE FOR SUNDAY NIGHT/MONDAY. GFS TRIES TO REDEVELOP A SURFACE LOW ACROSS SE PLAINS BY MONDAY UNDER STRONG NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT... HOWEVER..THIS COULD BE A BIT TOO SOON CONSIDERING STRONG SFC HIGH ACROSS MOST OF THE THE CENTRAL PLAINS. HAVE GENERALLY COOLED OFF TEMPS A BIT MORE THESE PERIODS...KEEPING PLAINS BELOW GUIDANCE VALUES. OTHERWISE...NORTHWEST FLOW BRINGS PERIODS OF MOISTURE TO MTN AREAS ALONG/WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...SOME CONTINUATION OF SCATTERED POPS THERE LOOK REASONABLE. FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...HAVE TRENDED TOWARDS MODERATING TEMPS AS FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE ZONAL...LEE TROF REDEVELOPS...AND COLD AIR MASS ACROSS CENTRAL PLAINS RECEDES. -KT && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING 11PM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH 6 PM SATURDAY FOR THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS INCLUDING THE EASTERN SAN JUAN AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS...AND THE SAWATCH AND MOSQUITO RANGES (ZONES 58 THROUGH 61 AND 63 THROUGH 68). ...HIGH WIND WARNING 11PM THURSDAY UNTIL 6 PM FRIDAY FOR THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT PLAINS (ZONES 72 THROUGH 88). &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 700 AM MST THU JAN 1 2004 COZ058>089-093>099-021400- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT-CROWLEY COUNTY- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET-WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- 700 AM MST THU JAN 1 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY FOR THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS... .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. AS THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM APPROACHES THE STATE LATER TONIGHT...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW MAINLY AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS...LA GARITA MOUNTAINS...SAWATCH RANGE AND THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. IN ADDITION...WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO BETWEEN 20 AND 30 MPH ACROSS ALL OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN TODAY. THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH WILL BE MAINLY AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AS THE UPPER JET STREAM MOVES INTO THE AREA. THIS MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOWFALL...MAKING TRAVEL DANGEROUS IN THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS FRIDAY...WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED. WINDY TO VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MOST MOUNTAIN AREAS FRIDAY...SPREADING ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL THEN MOVE ACROSS THE STATE FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH MUCH COLDER AIR EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTHERN COLORADO ON BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. ALONG WITH THE COLDER AIR...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA... WITH SNOWFALL SPREADING INTO THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO SATURDAY EVENING. SNOWFALL ACROSS MOST OF SOUTHERN COLORADO WILL TAPER TO SNOW SHOWERS OR FLURRIES SATURDAY NIGHT...THOUGH THE COLD TEMPERATURES WILL LINGER INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CRITERIA THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT. &&
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1023 PM MST THU JAN 01 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0955 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 5 NE AIR FORCE ACADEMY 39.03N 104.81W
01/01/2004 66 MPH EL PASO CO TRAINED SPOTTER
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1132 PM MST THU JAN 01 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1125 PM NON-TSTM WND GST LA VETA 37.51N 105.01W
01/01/2004 67 MPH HUERFANO CO AMATEUR RADIO
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1135 PM MST THU JAN 01 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1045 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 5 NNW BROADMOOR 38.85N 104.89W
01/01/2004 63 MPH EL PASO CO TRAINED SPOTTER
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2004
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: 5384416, 5384417, 5384418, 5382272, 5382273, 5382274.