A human caused wildfire was sparked during red flag conditions, and spread rapidly into the hills both north and south of Highway 78 just east of the Beulah Valley. Hundreds of residents were evacuated around Beulah and 8 structures were destroyed.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 human caused wildfire was sparked during red flag conditions, and spread rapidly into the hills both north and south of Highway 78 just east of the Beulah Valley. Hundreds of residents were evacuated around Beulah and 8 structures were destroyed. The wildfire consumed just over 5300 acres of grassland and mixed conifer. No firefighters or residents were injured.
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 3, 10:22 AM MST, 1 hour 38 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1122 AM MDT Mon Oct 3 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 505 AM MDT Mon Oct 3 2016 Have adjusted grids/zones to account for some isolated relatively fast moving showers over sections of the I-25 corridor and adjacent locations this morning. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 423 AM MDT Mon Oct 3 2016 Primary near/short-term meteorological include gusty winds... temperatures...areas of critical fire weather conditions...severe weather potential far eastern portions...pops and potential QPF/snow amounts. CWFA currently experiencing mostly cloudy to cloudy skies over the western 2/3rds of the forecast district in combination with some localized relatively fast moving showers. In addition...early morning early October temperatures are running above climatological averages in combination with primarily higher terrain gusty winds as evidenced by recent reports of wind gusts in excess of 40 mph at near locations such as Hillside...La Veta and the summit of Pikes Peak. Latest PV analysis...real-time data...computer simulations and forecast soundings suggest that the forecast district will experience deep southwesterly upper flow into tonight as relatively vigorous closed upper low located over northern Nevada at 10Z this morning shifts into eastern Montana by 12Z Tuesday. Meanwhile...at the surface...deepening lee side surface troughing is expected into this afternoon over eastern Colorado with surface low then developing over far southeastern Colorado/southwestern Kansas from this evening into tonight. For sensible weather...outside of some relatively quick moving isolated morning showers and thunderstorms over locations such as portions of the I-25 corridor...will continue with the Red Flag Warning for a large section of southeastern Colorado from noon to 7PM MDT today thanks to a combination of developing gusty winds...above seasonal average temperatures...low humidity values and generally dry conditions. In addition...a threat of severe thunderstorms exists over far eastern Colorado...with the higher potential of severe thunderstorm focused over western Kansas later today. Another meteorological concern will the potential for gusty winds...especially over higher terrain locations and have depicted wind gusts nearing 60 mph at times...primarily from later today into this evening. Have also depicted local snow amounts of an inch or two over favored higher terrain locations of the southwestern and central mountains from 12Z this morning into tonight. Finally...generally above seasonal minimum and especially maximum temperatures should be noted over the forecast district(especially eastern sections) during the next 24 hours. .AVIATION... Other than gusty winds(exceeding 30 knots at times)...primarily during the afternoon and evening hours...anticipate that VFR conditions will prevail over the KALS...KCOS and KPUB TAF sites during the next 24 hours. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Sunday) Issued at 423 AM MDT Mon Oct 3 2016 On Tue and upper level low wl be ovr ern MT and wl move into srn Sask, with the upr trof extending southward ovr CO. The wx is expected to be dry acrs the forecast area on Tue, with some breezy conditions ovr the mtns and in the San Luis Valley. High temps on Tue are expected to be a little below average. The upr trof exits the area to the east by Tue evening. Late Tue night, ahead of the next upr disturbance, a few showers may move into the central mtns. Forecast guidance for Wed morning is showing the possibility of some near freezing temps ovr portions of the sern plains. The next disturbance then moves acrs CO on Wed, bringing increasing chances for pcpn to the central mtns and possibly a few showers to the Pikes Peak area. Gusty west to sw winds will again be found in the mountains and high valleys. High temps Wed are expected to be a bit below average in the high valleys, with around average temps acrs the sern plains. The next upr level trof then moves into UT Wed night. Ahead of this system a front moves thru the sern plains by Thu morning. The NAM is basically dry acrs the forecast area Wed night with maybe just some light showers ovr the central mtns, while the GFS and ECMWF show a good chance for pcpn ovr the central mtns. This upr trof then moves ovr CO on Thu. The GFS continues to be deeper and colder with this system. Pcpn chances then increase acrs the area Thu, with the central mtns, the Sangres and Pikes Peak areas and adjacent lower elevations seeing the best chances. Temps and snow level remain a challenge as the GFS and ECMWF continue to disagree. At H7 on Thu, the GFS shows -6C ovr nrn El Paso and Teller counties to around 2C ovr the sern corner of the state, while the ECMWF shows 1C ovr El Paso and Teller counties to 5C ovr Baca county in the afternoon. For now, will lean a little more toward the warmer guidance values from the EC, but if the GFS pans out, highs could be several degrees cooler. There is still some uncertainty but, from Wed night thru Thu there could be 4-8 inches of snow ovr the hyr elevations of the central mtns, and on Thu could see around 5 inches on Pikes Peak. Temps Fri morning wl generally be cold, with upper teens and 20s in the San Luis Valley and possibly around freezing for much of the southeast plains, depending on cloud cover. Fri, dry weather returns to the area but temps wl remain below average. The GFS keeps the weather dry Sat and Sun as well, but the ECMWF shows a disturbance working its way northward thru NM and bringing pcpn to southern CO Sat night and Sun. High temps are expected to be back to around average on Sat. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday afternoon) Issued at 1118 AM MDT Mon Oct 3 2016 VFR conditions at all TAF sites the today and tonight. Main impact weather today will be strong S-SW winds, with gusts to 35-45 kts at all terminals into early this evening. On the plains, could see some pockets of MVFR vis this afternoon due to blowing dust, especially around KLHX and KLAA. Winds will diminish overnight with lighter westerly flow on Tuesday. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 7 PM MDT this evening for COZ226>235. && AVIATION...PETERSEN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1133 AM MDT MON OCT 3 2016 COZ058>089-093>099-041300- 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- 1133 AM MDT MON OCT 3 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT GUSTY WINDS...LOW HUMIDITIES AND DRY FUELS WILL LEAD TO HIGH FIRE DANGER OVER THE INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR AND THE MAJORITY OF THE SOUTHEAST COLORADO PLAINS...INTO THIS EVENING. OUTDOOR BURNING OR ANY OTHER ACTIVITY THAT COULD START A FIRE SHOULD BE POSTPONED. ONE OR TWO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE FAR SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO PLAINS INTO THIS EVENING...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 60 MPH. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE ANTICIPATED INTO THIS EVENING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN...AND ESPECIALLY ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. THE PRIMARY STORM THREATS WILL BE LIGHTNING...BRIEF PERIODS OF LOWER ELEVATION MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALIZED WIND GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH AT TIMES. IN ADDITION...ACCUMULATING LIGHT SNOW...GENERALLY UNDER 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS TODAY INTO TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA BRINGING MUCH COLDER AIR TO THE AREA. THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BRING SOME WET SNOW TO ELEVATIONS ABOVE SIX THOUSAND FEET. HOWEVER...THERE WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW OVER THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS, WITH A FEW TO SEVERAL INCHES BEING POSSIBLE OVER THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS AND PIKES PEAK. TEMPERATURES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS MAY FALL TO AROUND FREEZING ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS. THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY REGARDING HOW COLD THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL BE...AND HOW MUCH SNOW MAY FALL. KEEP CHECKING THE FORECAST FOR THE LATEST UPDATES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. 10/27
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. 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: 661103.