High winds up to 81 mph blew in and near the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson Counties. Peak wind gusts included: 81 mph at the National Wind Technology Center; 80 mph, 6 miles northwest of Boulder; 78 mph, 2 miles south of Boulder; 76 mph in Boulder; 75 mph at the Junction of State Highways 72 and 93; and 74 mph at NCAR Mesa Lab.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 BOU wrote it up.
High winds up to 81 mph blew in and near the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson Counties. Peak wind gusts included: 81 mph at the National Wind Technology Center; 80 mph, 6 miles northwest of Boulder; 78 mph, 2 miles south of Boulder; 76 mph in Boulder; 75 mph at the Junction of State Highways 72 and 93; and 74 mph at NCAR Mesa Lab.
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 Mar 3, 3:56 PM MST, 4 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 356 PM MST SAT MAR 3 2012 .SHORT TERM...STRONG NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH THE RIGHT FRONT QUAD OF A 130KT JET NOW PASSING OVER NERN COLORADO PER THE RUC. AT THE SFC...THE GRAND JUNCTION-DENVER AND EAGLE-DENVER PRESSURE GRADIENT NOW HOVERING AROUND 11 MBS....ABOUT AS MUCH AS IT HAS BEEN ALL DAY. IN THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS...DIABATIC HEATING OF THE BOUNDARY LAYER HAS HELPED TO TRANSPORT THE TURBULENT MOMENTUM ALOFT DOWNWARD TO THE GROUND. THE RESULT HAS BEEN A STEADY INCREASE IN NWLY WIND SPEEDS ON THE PLAINS ROUGHLY EAST OF A FORT COLLINS TO LIMON LINE. AKRON AIRPORT WIND GAUGE NOW GUSTING TO NEAR 50 MPH...WITH 30-45 MPH GUSTS ELSEWHERE. CLOSER TO THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS WESTERLY WIND SPEEDS IN THE 15-30 MPH RANGE...ALTHOUGH WINDS HAVE GUSTED OVER 50 MPH AT A NUMBER OF LOCALES ALONG THE BASE OF THE FOOTHILLS IN THE PAST SEVERAL HOURS. IN THE MOUNTAINS...WIND SPEEDS HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE PLACE. FOR INSTANCE NEAR NOON MST...GOT A REPORT OF A 100 MPH GUST NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF ROCKY MTN NATL. PARK. A FOLLOWUP UP CALL INDICATED SPEEDS HAD COME DOWN BUT THE BUILDING THE PERSON WAS CALLING FROM WAS SHAKING. DIDN/T SEE ANYWHERE ELSEWHERE WITH WINDS THIS STRONG. UP ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...LIGHT SNOW CONTINUED TO FALL AT RATES UNDER A 0.25 INCH PER HOUR. SNOWFALL WAS OROGRAPHICALLY PRODUCED AND THE DEPTH OF THE MID- LEVEL MOISTURE LAYER IS SHALLOW. OVERNIGHT...JET MOVES OUT AND THE PRES GRADIENT RELAXES. SO SHOULD SEE A GRADUALLY REDUCTION IN WIND SPEEDS IN AND NEAR THE MTNS THIS EVENING. FARTHER OUT ACROSS THE NERN PLAINS...MAY NOT SEE WINDS EASING UNTIL MIDNIGHT OR BEYOND WITH STRONG NORTHWESTERLY FLOW OVER THE AREA. HOWEVER RIVER BOTTOMS SHOULD DECOUPLE NOT TOO LONG AFTER SUNSET. IN FOR ANTHER COLD NIGHT IN THE HIGH COUNTRY WITH MANY LOCALES SLIGHTLY ABOVE OR SLIGHTLY BELOW ZERO BY MORNING. NOT THE CASE FROM THE FOOTHILLS EASTWARD WHERE DOWNSLOPE FLOW SHOULD HOLD OVERNIGHT TEMPS. ON SUNDAY...MODELS STILL SHOW NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE AREA BUT WEAKENING THROUGH THE DAY AS THE BIG UPPER RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE GREAT BASIN BASIN MOVES CLOSER TO COLORADO. SHOULD SEE A NICE JUMP IN TEMPERATURES ON SUNDAY ESPLY FROM THE FOOTHILLS EASTWARD...WITH MID 50S TO MID 60S THE RULE ON THE PLAINS. HIGH COUNTRY SHOULD ALSO SEE WARMER TEMPERATURES. HOWEVER THE WARMUP WILL BE DELAYED IN THE NRN MTNS WHERE POCKETS OF LIGHT SNOWFALL WILL LINGER UNTIL LATE MORNING. .LONG TERM...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BUILD OVER THE REGION SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY FOR CONTINUED WARMING AND DRYING AT ALL LEVELS. THERE WILL STILL BE SOME GUSTY WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AS CROSS SECTIONS SHOW AROUND 30-40KT OF CROSS BARRIER FLOW OVER THE EAST SLOPES. THIS WILL RESULT IN SOME GUSTS IN THE 50-60KT OVER EXPOSED EAST SLOPES. THE STRONG MID LEVEL FLOW WILL BACK A BIT MORE SOUTHWESTERLY ON TUESDAY IN ADVANCE OF NEXT DISTURBANCE WITH CONTINUED STRONG MOUNTAIN TOP FLOW. MAY SEE SOME GUSTS CLOSE TO 60KT OVER HIGHER MOUNTAIN AREAS. VERY DRY AIRMASS REMAINS IN PLACE TUESDAY WITH GOOD WARMUP AS TEMPERATURES INTO THE MID AND UPPER 60S OVER A GOOD CHUNK OF THE PLAINS. MAIN CHANGE IN THE WEATHER WILL COME LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AS NEXT UPPER LEVEL TROF APPROACHES COLORADO. BOTH GFS/EUROPEAN DEVELOP A CLOSED LOW OVER ARIZONA WITH AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS EASTERN CO LATE TUESDAY NIGHT. THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES WITH MOISTURE AVAILABILITY BEHIND THE FRONT AS GFS INDICATES ENOUGH MOISTURE FOR SNOW SHOWERS OVER MUCH OF THE AREA WHILE THE EUROPEAN IS MUCH DRIER AND SHOWS VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF PRECIP OVER THE PLAINS. GIVEN THE VERY DRY AIRMASS THAT WILL ALREADY BE IN PLACE WILL LEAN TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN SOLUTION IN TERMS OF MOISTURE. WILL MAINTAIN THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW CURRENTLY IN THE FORECAST UNTIL SOMETHING CHANGES. CERTAINLY COLDER TEMPERATURES WILL BE FELT ON WEDNESDAY. DRIER AND WARMER AGAIN FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. && .AVIATION...GUSTY WEST-NORTHWEST WINDS UNDER CLEAR TO MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES THROUGH THIS EVENING. BJC AIRPORT COULD STILL SEE GUSTS TO AROUND 55KTS UNTIL 00Z OR 01Z THIS EVENING...WITH GUSTS TO 30 KTS OR SO AT DIA AND APA AIRPORTS. AFTER 05Z...WINDS IN THE DENVER AREA EXPECTED TO ASSUME A TYPICAL DRAINAGE PATTERN... ALTHOUGH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 KTS STILL POSSIBLE NEAR THE FOOTHILLS UNTIL 06Z OR SO. ON SUNDAY LIGHTER WINDS AND CLEAR SKIES ON TAP FOR THE DENVER AREA. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BAKER LONG TERM....ENTREKIN AVIATION...BAKER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 1101 AM MST SAT MAR 3 2012 COZ030>051-041815- 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- 1101 AM MST SAT MAR 3 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SWIFT NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT PRODUCED BY A PASSING JET STREAM WILL COMBINE WITH A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT TO PRODUCE STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND THE PLAINS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST COLORADO FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS 25 TO 40 MPH AND STRONGER GUSTS TO AROUND 65 MPH OCCUR ABOVE TIMBERLINE AND ON THE EAST SLOPES OF THE FRONT RANGE TODAY... PRODUCING AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS OF WILL ALSO OCCUR ON THE PLAINS WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH NEAR THE BASE OF THE FOOTHILLS AND ACROSS THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE STATE. THE GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS NEAR THE NEBRASKA AND KANSAS BORDERS COULD LINGER WELL INTO THE EVENING. IN THE HIGH COUNTRY...LINGERING LIGHT SNOWFALL MAINLY UP NEAR TIMBERLINE COULD DEPOSIT ANOTHER INCH OR SO OF SNOW BEFORE GRADUALLY DIMINISH LATER THIS AFTERNOON. HIGHS THIS AFTERNOON WILL RANGE FROM THE 20S IN THE MOUNTAINS TO THE 40S ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS OF COLORADO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED FROM SUNDAY INTO THE EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK. THERE WILL STILL BE SOME STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS...MAINLY OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS AND FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS WITH SPEEDS UP TO 50 MPH ON SUNDAY MORNING AND AGAIN ON MONDAY. COLDER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE WITH A COLD FRONT ON TUESDAY NIGHT. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SNOW...MAINLY IN THE MOUNTAINS ON WEDNESDAY. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ARE LOOKING DRY WITH WARMING TEMPERATURES AGAIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. BAKER/ENTREKIN
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 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2012
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: 372066, 372064, 372067.