Locally strong winds developed ahead of an approaching storm system. Peak wind gusts included: 89 mph in Boulder, 80 mph, 2 miles east of Livermore; and 78 mph atop Loveland Pass.
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The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
Locally strong winds developed ahead of an approaching storm system. Peak wind gusts included: 89 mph in Boulder, 80 mph, 2 miles east of Livermore; and 78 mph atop Loveland Pass.
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 Feb 12, 2:40 PM MST, 12 hours 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 240 PM MST FRI FEB 12 2010 .SHORT TERM...THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS WILL REMAIN TO THE WEST OF COLORADO TONIGHT WITH A MODERATE NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER CO. MDLS DO NOT SHOW MUCH IN THE WAY OF QG ASCENT TONIGHT...BUT FVBL AND PERSISTENT OROGRAPHIC COMPONENT IN THE HIGH COUNTRY SHOULD ADD UP TO SOME LIGHT SNOW THERE OVERNIGHT. WL STICK WITH AMOUNTS OF 3 INCHES OR LESS. GUSTY WINDS AGAIN IN THE FOOTHILLS WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE. SHUD BE NO SURPRISES OVER THE NERN PLAINS THIS EVENING SO WITH MAINLY MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDIENESS MOVING OVER THE AREA. ONLY POSSIBILITY MAY BE ALONG THE NORTHERN BORDER LATE THIS AFTN/ERLY EVENING. ON SATURDAY...MSTR AGAIN DEEPENS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AS A 100+ KT JET (ASSOCIATED WITH ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TROF DROPPING INTO THE NRN PLAINS) NOSES INTO NWRN CO IN THE AFTN. OUR CWFA ON THE FVBL SIDE OF THE UPPER JET WITH MID LVL INSTBY INCREASING IN THE AFTN. THIS COUPLED WITH FVBL OROGRAPHICS SHUD ALLOW FOR 2 TO 5 INCHES IN THE MTNS. LOCALLY HEAVIER BANDED PCPN NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. IF THIS TRANSPIRES THEN A WINTER WEATHER ADVSY MAY BE NECESSARY. WL LET LATER SHIFTS MAKE THIS DETERMINATION. AS FOR THE NERN PLAINS...GUSTY WINDS AGAIN POSSIBLE ALONG THE FRONT RANGE ERLY SATURDAY MORNING. COULD SEE INITIAL FRONTAL BOUNDARY PUSH INTO THE NERN PLAINS LATE IN THE DAY. THIS COUPLED WITH MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES AROUND 9C/KM COULD PRODUCE SOME RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS. THE GFS/ECMWF BOTH HINT AT THIS WHILE THE NAM DELAY GENERATING ANY QPF TIL AFTER 00Z. WL GO WITH ISOLD POPS OVER THE PLAINS FOR NOW. AS FOR HIGH TEMPERATURES...THE NAM THE COLDEST ON SATURDAY WITH HIGH IN THE MID 30S...VS THE GFS IN THE MID 40S. WL SIDE WITH THE WARMER VERSION BUT SHAVE A COUPLE DEGREES OFF THE GRIDS...ESPECIALLY ALNG THE NORTHERN BORDER. .LONG TERM...UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BE LOCATED OVER THE DAKOTAS AND A COLD FRONT WILL BE MOVING SOUTH ACROSS WYOMING SATURDAY EVENING TO START OFF THE LONG TERM PERIOD. THE COLD FRONT WILL PUSH ACROSS EASTERN COLORADO SATURDAY NIGHT. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL DROP SOUTH INTO EASTERN NEBRASKA BY SUNDAY MORNING. EXPECT WIDESPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS SATURDAY NIGHT DUE TO THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...GOOD OROGRAPHIC FLOW AND A 100 KNOT JET OVERHEAD. LOOKS LIKE SOME LIGHT SNOW WILL MOVE ACROSS THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND EASTERN PLAINS AFTER MIDNIGHT SATURDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SUNDAY. ANY ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT. HOWEVER WITH THE JET MOVING OVERHEAD CAN'T RULE OUT ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS IF SNOW BANDS FORM. SUNDAY WILL BE COOLER BEHIND THE FRONT. DRY AIR WILL QUICKLY MOVE INTO THE AREA SUNDAY. BY AFTERNOON MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE DRY AND BY EVENING THE ENTIRE AREA WILL BE DRY. WITH CLEARING BEHIND THE FRONT...SUNDAY NIGHT LOWS WILL BE COLD. NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PERSIST NEXT WEEK. WILL KEEP LOW POPS IN THE FORECAST FOR THE CHANCE OF OROGRAPHIC SNOW MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. LOWER ELEVATIONS WILL STAY DRY AND MILD. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH EMBEDDED IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW WILL BRING THE NEXT CHANCE FOR WIDESPREAD SNOW LATE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THE GFS...ECMWF AND THE GEM ALL SHOW A TROUGH DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. SO CONFIDENCE IS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN NORMAL...BUT WITH THIS SYSTEM BEING 6 TO 7 DAYS OUT AND THE UNCERTAINTY IN THE TIMING WILL KEEP POPS IN THE SCATTERED RANGE. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY. WLY WINDS THIS AFTN...SHUD TRANSITION TO DRAINAGE AFTER 02Z BUT IT MAY BE MORE ENHANCED. CIGS ARE EXPECTED TO LOWER AFTER 21Z SATURDAY WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF ISOLD RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS AT THAT TIME. CIGS COULD DROP INTO THE MVFR RANGE AT THAT TIME. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. COOPER/MEIER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1058 AM MST FRI FEB 12 2010 COZ030>051-131300- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/ SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/ EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 1058 AM MST FRI FEB 12 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT MOISTURE IN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL PRODUCE LIGHT SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS ESPECIALLY LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 5 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE...HEAVIEST ALONG NORTHWEST FACING SLOPES. IN THE FOOTHILLS WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE BY TONIGHT. WIND SPEEDS WILL RANGE FROM 20 TO 30 MPH WITH A FEW GUSTS TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SNOW WILL BE LIKELY IN THE MOUNTAINS SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT WITH ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 6 INCHES BY SUNDAY MORNING. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SNOW ON THE PLAINS LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON CONTINUING INTO EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT FOR THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND EASTERN PLAINS WITH AMOUNTS AN INCH OR LESS. THE FOOTHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO RECEIVE UP TO 3 INCHES. LIGHT MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MAINLY WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR SNOW OVER THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND EASTERN PLAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. COOPER/MEIER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, February 2010
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: 211514, 211513, 211515.