Dust Storm and High Wind in Colorado, September 30, 2009

Name: Dust Storm and High Wind in Colorado, September 30, 2009
Start: 2009-09-30T13:00
End: 2009-09-30T14:50
Location: Colorado

September 30, 2009 · NWS GLD · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Strong gradient southwest winds developed during the morning and continued through early evening over parts of east central Colorado and northwest Kansas. A wind gust of 61 mph was reported in Cheyenne county with gusts of 45 to 55 mph in Kit Carson and Yuma counties.

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GLD wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 30, 11:28 AM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 30, 11:28 AM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 30, 9:45 AM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1045 AM MDT WED SEP 30 2009

COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-011215-
YUMA-KIT CARSON-CHEYENNE CO-CHEYENNE KS-RAWLINS-DECATUR-NORTON-
SHERMAN-THOMAS-SHERIDAN-GRAHAM-WALLACE-LOGAN-GOVE-GREELEY-WICHITA-
DUNDY-HITCHCOCK-RED WILLOW-
1045 AM MDT WED SEP 30 2009 /1145 AM CDT WED SEP 30 2009/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST
NEBRASKA...NORTHWEST KANSAS AND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO
THIS EVENING OVER MOST OF THE AREA. IT WILL BE POSSIBLE THAT SOME
OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE. THE BEST CHANCE FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM RUSSELL
SPRINGS TO COLBY TO HAIGLER. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS
WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS...ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO
CANNOT BE RULED OUT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA ON
THURSDAY. NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 50
MPH ARE EXPECTED DURING THE DAY. IT WILL BE POSSIBLE THAT THESE
WINDY CONDITIONS COULD LAST INTO FRIDAY BEFORE FINALLY DECREASING
LATE IN THE DAY. ALSO, WIDESPREAD FROST IS POSSIBLE SATURDAY MORNING
AS OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES DROP INTO THE LOWER AND MIDDLE 30S.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO
THIS EVENING ROUGHLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM RUSSELL SPRINGS
TO COLBY TO HAIGLER.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dust storm, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Kit Carson County

When: September 30, 1:00 PM MST to 2:00 PM MST
Where: Kit Carson County forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 5 indirect
Property damage: $80,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 39.305, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sharply reduced visibility in blowing dirt resulted in an 8 vehicle accident on Interstate 70 near Stratton, Colorado in Kit Carson County at about 2:25 pm MDT. Vehicles which were stopped due to poor visibility in blowing dirt were struck from behind by numerous other vehicles. Five people were treated for varying injuries at the local municipal hospital.

High Wind, Cheyenne County

When: September 30, 2:50 PM MST
Where: Cheyenne County forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 38.828, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A wind gust of 61 mph was measured by a mesonet station 9 miles north-northeast of Kit Carson in Cheyenne County.

What these are

Dust Storm: Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Colorado in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, September 2009

Sources

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: 198482, 192120.