A strong storm system and associated active jet stream produced high winds nearing 70 mph at times. The southeast plains had wind gusts above 58 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 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 strong storm system and associated active jet stream produced high winds nearing 70 mph at times. The southeast plains had wind gusts above 58 mph. In addition, wind gusts in the I-25 corridor included 61 to 63 mph around the Air Force Academy (El Paso County)...62 mph around Pueblo (Pueblo County) and near Peterson Air Force Base (El Paso County)...and 68 mph 9 miles north-northwest of Walsenburg.
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 11, 5:48 AM MST, 4 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 548 AM MST FRI JAN 11 2013 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) ...BLIZZARD IN THE SAN JUANS...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW OTHER MOUNTAINS...STRONG WINDS LOWER ELEVATIONS... IT'S BEEN A FULL-FLEDGED BLIZZARD OVER WOLF CREEK PASS THIS MORNING. JUST LOST THE WIND SENSOR BUT PRIOR TO LOSING IT... SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 50 MPH WERE COMMON ALONG WITH CONSTANT 1/4SM IN HEAVY SNOW. A LOOK AT THE WEB CAM UP THERE DURING THE NIGHT CONFIRMS THE SEVERITY OF THE STORM. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WITH HEAVY...BLOWING SNOW WILL CONTINUE AT FULL STRENGTH FOR A WHILE LONGER THIS MORNING...BEFORE WANING INTO THE AFTERNOON AS WINDS SHIFT AROUND MORE WESTERLY AND DECREASE. ELSEWHERE IN THE MOUNTAINS...SATELLITE AND RADAR INDICATE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW AS WELL. RADAR SHOWS BANDS OF SNOW MOVING NORTH ALONG THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS AT THIS TIME...HEADED TOWARD MONARCH PASS IN THE SOUTHERN SAWATCH RANGE. ALTHOUGH HARD TO CONFIRM IN THE LOW LIGHT OF THE NIGHT...THE MONARCH PASS WEB CAM SUGGESTS SNOW IS PROBABLY FALLING THERE AS WELL. THE BLIZZARD WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE EASTERN SAN JUANS TODAY...WHILE THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINING AREAS ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. THE OTHER BIG ISSUE TODAY IS THE WIND. IT'S STILL COMING. SO FAR...PEAK GUSTS IN THE EASTERN MOUNTAIN AREAS THIS MORNING HAVE BEEN HITTING AROUND 50 MPH. THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL JET AXIS IS CROSSING THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS AT THE PRESENT TIME. WIND SPEEDS SHOULD INCREASE OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS A LITTLE LATER THIS MORNING...AS THE UPPER JET AXIS MOVES ACROSS BETWEEN NOW AND 18Z. STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL ACCOMPANY THE PASSAGE OF THE UPPER JET...IN THE FORM OF A STRONG BORA COLD FRONT. AS THE FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH...STRONG SUSTAINED WINDS OVER 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 OR 60 MPH WILL PROBABLY KICK UP THE SNOW IN AREAS THAT ARE SNOW COVERED...AND KICK UP THE DUST EVERYWHERE ELSE. SO...GET READY FOR A RAW...NASTY DAY. IT'LL BE COLD...WINDY AND NOT VERY PRETTY. WELCOME BACK WINTER. TONIGHT...THE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH DURING THE EVENING...BUT THE REALLY COLD AIR WILL BE BACK. COULD STILL BE A FEW FLURRIES OVER THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...BUT THE MAIN STORY WILL BE THE COLD. LOWS BY SATURDAY MORNING WILL BE BACK DOWN TO AROUND 30 BELOW AGAIN IN ALAMOSA...WITH THE REST OF THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH VALLEYS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS BELOW ZERO. FOR THE REST OF US OUT HERE ON THE PLAINS...MUCH MORE MODEST LOWS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE ZERO ARE EXPECTED. LW .LONG TERM... (SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) CONTINUED UNSETTLED AND UNSEASONABLY COOL CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED FROM THIS WEEKEND INTO AT LEAST EARLY NEXT WEEK BEFORE IMPROVING METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS RETURN BY LATER IN THE WEEK. RECENT COMPUTER SIMULATIONS SUGGEST THAT PERSISTENT RELOADING BAGGY UPPER TROUGH WILL PERSIST OVER THE FORECAST DISTRICT FROM THIS WEEKEND INTO MID-WEEK BEFORE A WARMER AND DRIER UPPER RIDGING PATTERN MOVES IN BY THURSDAY. LATEST TRENDS SUGGEST THAT INCREASED POPS SHOULD BE NOTED OVER PORTIONS OF THE CWFA FROM LATER SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT AND THEN AGAIN FROM MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT AS A COUPLE OF UPPER WAVES IMPACT THE REGION. LATEST GRID/ZONE PACKAGE HAVE REFLECTED INCREASED POPS DURING THE LATER SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT TIME-FRAME AND IF LATER TRENDS CONTINUE WFO PUEBLO WILL MOST LIKELY CONTINUE TO INCREASE POPS DURING THE LATER SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT TIME-FRAME DURING THE NEXT 6 TO 24 HOURS. ALSO WILL NEED TO MONITOR THE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO LATER WEDNESDAY PERIOD FOR INCREASED PRECIPITATION POTENTIAL(ESPECIALLY SOUTHERN SECTIONS IF LATEST ECMWF COMPUTER SOLUTION IS CORRECT). WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO NOTE ACCUMULATING SNOW...ESPECIALLY ABOVE 6500 FEET DURING THESE TIME-FRAMES. WFO PUEBLO WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR CLOSELY. IN ADDITION TO THE INCREASED POP POTENTIAL...WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO DEPICT BELOW SEASONAL TEMPERATURES FROM SATURDAY INTO AT LEAST TUESDAY AS 700 MB TEMPERATURES PLUMMET TO -19C OR COLDER AT TIMES. AS UPPER RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THE FORECAST DISTRICT BY THURSDAY ...WILL DEPICT WARMER TEMPERATURES AS PROJECTED I-25 CORRIDOR 700 MB TEMPERATURES CLIMB TO AROUND +2C BY 00Z FRIDAY. && .AVIATION... FULL-FLEDGED BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ACROSS WOLF CREEK PASS THIS MORNING WITH WINDS 30 TO 50 MPH...1/4SM +SN...VV001. THESE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE SAN JUANS FOR A WHILE YET THIS MORNING BEFORE WANING INTO THE AFTERNOON AS WINDS SHIFT MORE WESTERLY AND DECREASE. ALTHOUGH NOT WITH THE FEROCITY THAT IS IMPACTING THE SAN JUANS AT THIS HOUR...THE REMAINING AREAS ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WILL ALSO SEE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW TODAY...BEFORE TAPERING OFF THIS EVENING. THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS ARE ALSO SEEING SOME SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW THIS MORNING. THIS ACTIVITY WILL PEAK OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...AND THEN DECREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE OTHER BIG CONCERN TODAY IS THE WIND. A STRONG JET STREAM MOVING ACROSS THE REGION WILL BRING WESTERLY WINDS OF 30 TO 50 MPH TO MUCH OF THE AREA. GUST POTENTIAL WILL RANGE FROM 75 MPH ALONG AND NEAR THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS...TO 50 OR 60 MPH EVERYPLACE ELSE. LW && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 8 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR COZ089-093>099. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR COZ072>075- 078>082-084>088. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR COZ058- 060-066-067. BLIZZARD WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR COZ068. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 651 AM MST FRI JAN 11 2013 COZ058>089-093>099-121400- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- 651 AM MST FRI JAN 11 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A BLIZZARD WILL IMPACT THE EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING...WITH GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE AFTERNOON. HEAVY SNOW WILL COMBINE WITH WINDS OF 30 TO 50 MPH TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD BLOWING SNOW AND WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 20 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE EASTERN SAN JUANS BY THIS EVENING. TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE ACROSS WOLF CREEK AND CUMBRES PASSES. ALTHOUGH NOT WITH THE INTENSITY THAT WILL IMPACT THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS ALSO EXPECTED ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NORTH OF THE SAN JUANS TODAY. THESE AREAS CAN EXPECT 20 TO 40 MPH WINDS TO PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NORTH OF THE SAN JUANS IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES BY THIS EVENING. FOR THE MOUNTAINS FARTHER EAST...AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE TODAY...BUT THE MAIN STORY WILL BE THE WIND. A STRONG JET STREAM CROSSING THE AREA TODAY WILL RESULT IN WESTERLY WINDS OF 35 TO 50 MPH WITH POSSIBLE GUSTS TO 75 MPH. THE WIND WILL BE THE BIG STORY ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS TODAY AS WELL. FOR THE SAN LUIS VALLEY AND PLAINS...WESTERLY WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH POSSIBLE GUSTS TO 60 MPH. TONIGHT...WINDS WILL DIMINISH AND THE BIG STORY WILL BE THE COLD. THE ALAMOSA AREA WILL DROP TO AROUND 30 BELOW BY SATURDAY MORNING WHILE THE REST OF THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH VALLEYS DROP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS BELOW ZERO. ACROSS THE PLAINS...LOWS WILL RANGE FROM AROUND 0 TO 10 ABOVE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY FROM SATURDAY INTO AT LEAST EARLY NEXT WEEK...A COLD UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM IS PROJECTED TO SETTLE OVER COLORADO. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING COLD TEMPERATURES AS WELL AS PERIODS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY ABOVE 6500 FEET. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE LATER SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT TIME-FRAMES WILL BE THE MOST LIKELY TIMES THAT MEASURABLE SNOW WILL BE NOTED...ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS. IN ADDITION...MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY NOT GET OUT OF THE TEENS AND 20S OVER SOUTHERN COLORADO FROM SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY WITH SOME WARMING EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY BY THURSDAY. ALSO...OVERNIGHT LOWS ARE EXPECTED TO DROP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE AND BELOW ZERO...INCLUDING WELL BELOW ZERO READINGS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH VALLEYS FROM THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. FINALLY...MORNING WIND CHILL READINGS RANGING FROM 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO TO 40 DEGREES BELOW ZERO AT TIMES ARE ANTICIPATED OVER PORTIONS OF THE SAN LUIS VALLEY AND HIGHER TERRAIN LOCATIONS FROM THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE LIKELY TODAY.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
701 AM MST FRI JAN 11 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0624 AM HEAVY SNOW 1 SSE WOLF CREEK PASS 37.47N 106.79W
01/11/2013 M8.0 INCH MINERAL CO TRAINED SPOTTER
24 HOUR SNOWFALL REPORTED BY WOLF CREEK SKI AREA
0146 AM BLIZZARD 1 SSE WOLF CREEK PASS 37.47N 106.79W
01/11/2013 MINERAL CO AWOS
AT 146 AM MST...WOLF CREEK PASS AWOS REPORTED SOUTHWEST
WINDS 29 GUSTING TO 50 MPH...1/4 MILE VISIBILITY...AND
HEAVY SNOW. 1/4 MILE VISIBILITY IN HEAVY SNOW FROM 8 PM
THURSDAY TO 7 AM TODAY. WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH OR MORE ON
AT LEAST 3 OCCASIONS DURING THE SAME PERIOD.
&&
LWThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2013
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: 431081, 431082, 431083, 431084, 431085, 431087, 431090, 431091, 431092, 431096, 431097, 431088.