A strong mid and upper level jet stream moving across the region generated wind gusts in excess of 90 mph, primarily across higher terrain locations. Some of the higher reported wind gusts included 58 mph around Trinidad (Las Animas County), 62 mph near Colorado City (Pueblo County), 65 mph near San Isabel (Pueblo County), 79 mph at the summit of Monarch Pass(Chaffee County) and 91 mph at the…
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The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
A strong mid and upper level jet stream moving across the region generated wind gusts in excess of 90 mph, primarily across higher terrain locations. Some of the higher reported wind gusts included 58 mph around Trinidad (Las Animas County), 62 mph near Colorado City (Pueblo County), 65 mph near San Isabel (Pueblo County), 79 mph at the summit of Monarch Pass(Chaffee County) and 91 mph at the summit of Pikes Peak (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 Oct 16, 10:11 PM MST, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1111 PM MDT Sun Oct 16 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 920 PM MDT Sun Oct 16 2016 Adjust near/short term grids and also allowed the Red Flag Warning to expire at 9 PM MDT this evening. && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday) Issued at 243 PM MDT Sun Oct 16 2016 ...HIGH WINDS POSSIBLE TONIGHT MTNS...RETURN OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR ALL AREAS MONDAY... A very dry airmass is in place over the region today and winds have been meeting Red Flag criteria across most of the area. Winds should lessen on the plains...but persistent westerly flow into the lee side trof will keep critical fire weather conditions along the lower east facing slopes and adjacent plains into the evening hours...so will maintain current Red Flag warning until 9 PM. Strong jet stream punching through the western U.S will cause mtn top winds to increase quickly after 00z. Already seeing wind gusts a little over 70 mph at times across Pikes Peak and MYP this afternoon. Have upgraded the high wind watch to a high wind warning for the peaks above 10000 feet starting at 00z given current conditions. Best mountain wave parameter set up occurs during the overnight hours...with peak period between 06z and 15z. Profiles look best across the Wet Mountains and Sangre De Cristo mountains where best reverse shear will be in place and there will be a chance for a mtn wave induced critical layer to set up. Inversions appear a little too low in model soundings to help reflect winds down into the lower elevations of the I-25 corridor...so think high wind warnings will be confined to the mountain zones. HRRR is also hitting the southern I-25 corridor from time to time (mainly along/west of I-25 from Walsenburg area to the NM line) with some high winds after 06z. A little less confidence in this occuring...but parameters look favorable enough to go ahead and hoist the high wind highlights. Mtn peaks should stay windy through most of the day tomorrow so extended the high wind warnings through 4 PM. Its likely as the mtn wave decays...lower elevations may be able to be taken down sooner...but will let later shifts refine this as needed. Relative humidity values will remain low tonight with poor humidity recoveries expected for most areas...but in particular for the southeast mountains and lower eastern slopes. This should result in a faster onset of critical fire weather conditions for Monday so have started the Red Flag warning at 9 AM. It will take a little longer for winds to spread eastward across the plains...and winds in model soundings aren't as strong farther east within the surface trof axis. However...with deep mixing we should be able to tap winds in excess of 25 mph and given the very dry conditions it won't take much to experience rapid fire spread. So all Fire Weather Watch areas have been upgraded to a Red Flag warning with the afternoon package. The lower elevations of Chaffee and Lake counties may also hit critical fire weather conditions again...but for now...conditions do not look widespread enough across the zone for an upgrade. Given the volatile conditions in place...any activities that could spark a fire should be curtailed tonight and Monday. Any fire starts that do occur have the potential for extreme fire behavior and rapid rates of fire spread. This will be particularly true along and west of I-25 where winds will be strongest. -KT .LONG TERM...(Monday night through Sunday) Issued at 243 PM MDT Sun Oct 16 2016 ...Continued Very Dry... Not much hope in the extended for any significant precipitation. In fact, aside from the late Tue through Wed period, there may not be any precip at all. The only good news is that beyond Mon night, it looks like winds will not be terribly strong across our CWA and cooler, though still above average, temps will prevail. Cooling will begin on Tuesday, following a diffuse cold frontal passage. Should see temps generally in the 60s to lower 70s for highs on Tue. Some light showers could move into the Sawatch Range by late in the afternoon or early eve. Main wx system in the extended will be the trough on Wed. This system once showed some potential for amplification, but the last 24 hours or so of model runs have made it fairly clear that the progressive wave solution will win out this time. So, instead of the cutoff low over SE CO or NM, looks like a rather quick-moving trough across N CO. This system will bring some light snow showers to Lake County, which could possibly accumulate to an inch or so locally, and possibly a few snowflakes to Teller County and the Pikes Peak Region early Wed. But this is the optimistic solution, and the latest NAM suggests that even the northern zones could remain dry. Following this system, a summer-like ridge will strengthen over the western third of the nation, and a steady warm-up will occur through the end of the week and into the weekend. POPs during this time will basically remain near zero. Winds aloft and near surface will remain generally light during this time. The next chance of any precip will hold off until early the following week at the earliest. Rose && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Monday night) Issued at 1108 PM MDT Sun Oct 16 2016 VFR conditions to continue at all taf sites the next 24 hours. Main concern will be winds as strong jet moves overhead. Have included a brief period of wind shear at KCOS 12z-16z, as surface winds may stay fairly light while winds just off the surface increase. Aft 16z-18z, strong W-SW winds will mix to the surface, with gusts to 25-35 kts at all terminals. Winds then gradually subside after 00z. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from 9 AM to 9 PM MDT Monday for COZ221-222- 224>237. High Wind Warning until noon MDT Monday for COZ087-088. High Wind Warning until 4 PM MDT Monday for COZ058-060-061-066- 068-072>075-079>082. && AVIATION...PETERSEN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 850 PM MDT SUN OCT 16 2016 COZ058>089-093>099-180300- 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 9000FT- 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 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500FT/PIKE'S 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 VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FEET- 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- 850 PM MDT SUN OCT 16 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE REGION TONIGHT. MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS WILL SEE WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 75 MPH. LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE MOUNTAINS, ALONG WITH THE SOUTHERN INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR WILL LIKELY SEE GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY STRONG WINDS AND HIGH FIRE DANGER WILL IMPACT THE REGION ON MONDAY. GUSTS OVER 75 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH OR MORE POSSIBLE OVER THE PLAINS ADJACENT TO THE MOUNTAINS. GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE ELSEWHERE. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS, LOW HUMIDITIES AND DRY FUELS WILL RESULT IN HIGH FIRE DANGER MONDAY. OUTDOOR BURNING OR ANY OTHER ACTIVITY THAT COULD START A FIRE SHOULD BE POSTPONED. COOLER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION BEGINNING TUESDAY. LOWS BY THURSDAY MORNING COULD DROP BELOW FREEZING OVER MUCH OF THE AREA, INCLUDING THE EASTERN PLAINS. TEMPERATURES COULD DROP LOW ENOUGH TO BRING AN END TO THE GROWING SEASON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND SOUTHERN INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR. 10/44
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, October 2016
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: 659208, 659210, 659211, 659214, 659215, 659216, 659217, 659218, 659219, 659220, 659222, 659223, 663490.