Widespread strong winds occurred over much of southern Colorado. Winds gusted over 70 mph over upper portions of the southeast mountains and adjacent plains.
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.
Widespread strong winds occurred over much of southern Colorado. Winds gusted over 70 mph over upper portions of the southeast mountains and adjacent plains. Some of the higher gusts were: 60 mph 12 miles west-southwest of Wetmore in Custer County...63 mph at just west of downtown Colorado Springs...64 mph in Rye in Pueblo County...66 mph at the Air Force Academy...68 mph in the vicinity of Manitou Springs in El Paso County...and 85 mph at Monument in El Paso County.
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 7, 2:47 PM MST, 12 hours 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 247 PM MST FRI JAN 7 2005 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) MUCH TO DEAL WITH IN THE SHORT TERM...INCLUDING HEAVY SNOW IN OUR SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...SNOW IN THE EASTERN SAWATCH RANGE...AND HIGH WIND THREAT ACROSS THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT LOWLANDS. CURRENTLY...UPPER SHORTWAVE DEPARTING TO THE EAST...YIELDING TO SHORTWAVE RIDGE. ABUNDANT SUNSHINE THE RESULT WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING IN 20S AND 30S LOWER ELEVATIONS...BUT STILL COLD OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. TONIGHT...MODELS STILL ADVERTISING STRONGER SOUTHWEST FLOW AND WAVE OF MOISTURE MOVING IN FROM UTAH AND ARIZONA EARLY EVENING. OUTBREAK OF SNOW IN THE EASTERN SAN JUANS SEEMS RIGHT ON TARGET WITH FORECAST (8 TO 9 PM MST TIME FRAME). WILL ALSO ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF WESTERN LAKE AND CHAFFEE COUNTY TONIGHT THROUGH TOMORROW. GJT IS GOING WITH AN ADVISORY FOR THEIR ZONE BUTTING UP TO MY WESTERN LAKE COUNTY AREA. ADVISORY AMOUNTS SHOULD BE MOSTLY CONFINED IN MY ZONE 60. MEANTIME...VERY SWIFT WEST SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL PUSH INTO THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS BY AROUND 8 PM MST. HAVE INHERITED A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT TERRITORY. LOOKING AT FCAMMS MODEL CROSS SECTION...AND SETUP LOOKS PRETTY GOOD FOR MOUNTAIN WAVE DEVELOPMENT AND A HIGH WIND EVENT AFTER 8 PM...MOUNTAIN-TOP STABLE LAYER AND MOUNTAIN WINDS NEAR 50 KTS...NEUTRAL TO REVERSE SHEAR ABOVE...AND RESULTANT GOOD DOWN-FORCING. SUSTAINED WINDS IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS ALONE WOULD REACH HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA. QUESTION ALWAYS IS...HOW FAR DOWN THE LEE SLOPES WILL THE WINDS COME? AM BETTING THAT THEY WILL REACH INTO ADJACENT HIGH VALLEYS AND PLAINS. WEST SOUTHWEST FLOW IS ESPECIALLY GOOD FOR HIGH WINDS IN SANGRES AND PARTS OF WETS...AND ALSO FOR SOUTHWEST PORTIONS OF COS (CHEYENNE MT AND SURROUNDINGS). SO...WILL REPLACE HIGH WIND WATCH WITH WARNING. SATURDAY...WIND AND MOISTURE CONTINUE TO POUND OUR SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...SO CONTINUATION OF WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS WARRANTED. WILL ALSO CONTINUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE EASTERN SAWATCH. PROFILE FOR HIGH WINDS OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT LOWLANDS SUBSIDES DURING THE MORNING HOURS...BUT WILL REMAIN WINDY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. WITH WARMING SOME 3 TO 5 DEGREES C IN MID LEVELS ACROSS THE EAST...WOULD EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO BE QUITE MILD...IN THE 40S AND 50S. .LONG TERM... (SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY) PLENTY OF CHALLENGES THROUGOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD AS SEVERAL SYSTEMS ATTEMPT TO IMPACT THE FORECAST AREA. MODEL START OUT IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH UPPER LOW/TROF OFF THE WESTERN COAST. BY TUESDAY SOLUTIONS DIVERGE. TO BEGIN WITH...THE BIG QUESTIONS IS HOW MUCH SNOW WILL FALL OVER THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BETWEEN SATURDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. SNOW MAKING MACHINE LINES UP FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD AS THE WESTERN TROF DEEPENS AND MOISTURE PUSHES UP FROM ARIZONA/SRN CALIFORNIA. UPPER JET (OVER 100 KTS) SETS UP ACROSS THE 4 CORNERS AND HANGS IN THERE THROUGH MUCH OF SUNDAY. WITH WARM AIR ADVECTION ALOFT FIGURE THAT THE SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT WILL BE PRETTY MOIST SO WHILE I BEEFED UP THE QPF THE SNOW AMOUNTS WENT UP BUT NOT AS MUCH. STILL WILL PROBABLY MEASURE SNOW BY THE FOOT OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. SNOW GRIDS SHOWING OVER 2 FEET ALONG THE SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES AND THAT MAY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED UPWARDS TOMORROW. SHALLOW ARCTIC BOUNDARY PUSHING DOWN THE FRONT RANGE LATE TUESDAY NIGHT. CONSENSUS SEEM TO THINK MODELS ARE TOO SLOW WITH THE SURGE DOWN THE PLAINS AND THAT MATCHES THE MODELS NORMAL TENDENCY WITH THESE SHALLOW BOUNDARIES. TRIED TO PLAY THINGS 6 HOURS FASTER WITH COLD FRONT DRIVING SOUTH OF CWFA BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. WARMED TEMPS UP ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY CONSIDERING THAT WE WILL BE OUT AHEAD OF THE NEXT SYSTEMS IN A FAIRLY STRONG SOUTHWEST FLOW. THIS WILL WARM UP THE EASTERN PLAINS FOR SURE WITH A DOWNSLOPE PATTERN AS LEE TROF SETS UP THAT REGION. OTHER AREAS WILL WARM AS WELL BUT NOT AS NOTICEABLY. MODELS DIVERGING WITH SOLUTIONS FOR THE WEST COAST STORM. GFS TAKING THE LOW SOUTH WHILE ECMWF BRINGS IT EASTWARD WEAKER AND FASTER. THIS IS OPPOSITE OF THE SOLUTIONS POSED YESTERDAY AND ONLY ADDS TO THE CONFUSION. FORTUNATELY WE HAVE A COUPLE OF RUNS TO WATCH AS THE STORM APPROACHES. FOR NOW...RAISED POPS SLIGHTLY FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY RECOGNIZING THAT SOMETHING IS COMING THROUGH. HELD ON TO CURRENT FORECAST TEMPS BUT ADJUSTED SURFACE WINDS AND GUSTS TO REFLECT TIMING OF ARCTIC BOUNDARY. SYSTEM WILL PUSH OUT QUICKLY LATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY SO TRIED TO STAY ON THE DRY SIDE FOR THOSE PERIODS. -FORTUNE- && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM SUNDAY FOR THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS...UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY...AND THE LA GARITA MOUNTAINS (ZONES 66>68). WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM SUNDAY FOR HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF EASTERN SAWATCH RANGE (ZONE 60) HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM SATURDAY FOR THE RAMPART RANGE...WETS AND SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS...WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY...AND THE I25 CORRIDOR (ZONES 72>75-77>85-87- 88). &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1150 AM MST FRI JAN 7 2005 COZ058>089-093>099-081400- 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- 1150 AM MST FRI JAN 7 2005 ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FEET FROM 8 PM TONIGHT THROUGH 6 AM SUNDAY... ...HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT LOWER ELEVATIONS FROM 8 PM TONIGHT TO 11 AM SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 7 INCHES WILL OCCUR BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING...WITH ADDITIONAL HEAVY AMOUNTS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY. SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 40 MPH WILL COMBINE WITH THE FALLING SNOW TO PRODUCE POOR VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN PASSES. HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT ACROSS THE REGION. NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS WILL ALSO SPREAD INTO THE EASTERN SAWATCH RANGE TONIGHT...WHERE 2 TO 4 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING ACROSS THE RAMPART RANGE...SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS...WET MOUNTAINS...WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY...AND THE SOUTHERN INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR FROM WALSENBURG TO TRINIDAD. WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS...WITH WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH POSSIBLE ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND IN WIND PRONE AREAS ALONG THE EAST FACING SLOPES. WIND CHILL READINGS OF 0 TO 20 BELOW ZERO CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT DUE TO A COMBINATION OF LOW TEMPERATURES AND INCREASING WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL CONTINUE OVER THE EASTERN SAN JUAN AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED...WITH STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS IN EXCESS OF 2 FEET FORECAST FOR WEST FACING SLOPES OF THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF 20 TO 40 MPH WILL CREATE WIDESPREAD BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS POSSIBLE OVER HIGH MOUNTAIN PASSES AND ABOVE THE TIMBERLINE. SNOWFALL IS ALSO LIKELY OVER THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...WITH AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES FORECAST OVER THE SAWATCH RANGE BY SUNDAY MORNING. SNOWFALL WILL TAPER OFF TO SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES DURING THE DAY SUNDAY...THOUGH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW MAY DEVELOP SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY FOR MOUNTAIN AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW POSSIBLE ONCE AGAIN. MUCH OF EASTERN COLORADO WILL RETURN TO WINTER WEATHER BY MID WEEK... AS COLD ARCTIC AIR SURGES DOWN THE FRONT RANGE. THE TIMING AND IMPACT OF THIS ARCTIC AIR IS STILL UNCERTAIN BUT IT APPEARS THAT SOUTHEAST COLORADO WILL SEE SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER OVER A FAIRLY LARGE AREA IN THE TUESDAY TO THURSDAY TIME FRAME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE LIKELY TONIGHT ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO AND ADJACENT PLAINS AND HIGH VALLEYS.
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 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2005
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: 5434378, 5432782, 5432783, 5434379, 5434376, 5434377.