A long-lasting high wind episode occurred across the eastern part of the area. Strong winds aloft, and a long-lasting mountain top stable layer generated widespread high winds and damage.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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 long-lasting high wind episode occurred across the eastern part of the area. Strong winds aloft, and a long-lasting mountain top stable layer generated widespread high winds and damage. Damage included downed power poles, causing numerous power outages to tens of thousands of customers; uprooted trees; roof damage; numerous overturned semi-trailers in El Paso County. Winds gusted between 58 and 75 mph across many locations across the eastern mountains and I-25 corridor. Areas in the immediate lee of the eastern mountains experienced gusts between 80 and 100 mph. Gusts over 100 mph occurred on the southwest side of Colorado Springs, causing widespread damage and two fatalities.
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 8, 10:46 PM MST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1046 PM MST Sun Jan 8 2017 .UPDATE... Issued at 858 PM MST Sun Jan 8 2017 ...Strong, damaging downslope winds are expected late tonight into Monday afternoon... Updated to upgrade high wind watches to high wind warnings. Also adjusted winds based on the latest high-res model guidance. Vertical profiles and cross sectional analysis indicates extremely dangerous strong winds are expected from late tonight through the day on Monday. Here is a break down of what we are expecting. For the Rampart Range, east into El Paso County, generally along and west of I-25, winds are forecast to increase over the higher elevations after midnight, with downslope potential expected by early Monday morning. High winds will likely persist into mid to late afternoon. Mountain peaks, including Pikes Peak will likely see gusts exceeding 80 mph, with 100 mph possible. Further down the lee slopes, gusts to 65 mph are possible. For the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains, winds have started to increase with a few mountain sites already seeing winds near 60 mph. Winds will only intensify tonight into Monday morning. Gusts 80 to 100+ mph are possible, especially over the Southern Sangre de Cristo Range where vertical profiles and cross sections are most favorable for strong winds. Power outages, forest blow downs and very dangerous travel conditions are likely. For the Southern I-25 corridor, the morning to early afternoon hours will see the strongest winds. Vertical profiles and cross sections indicate this area will see very strong winds due to downslope effects off the eastern mountains. Westerly winds gusting near 80 mph are expected. Those traveling on I-25 will experience very dangerous cross winds and hazardous travel conditions. Trees will likely see damage and power lines may fall. For Pueblo and eastern Fremont Counties, models are a bit tricky here. Western portions and higher elevations of these counties will see the strongest winds. How far east these strong winds mix will be the main question. Most model guidance keeps the inversion, due to snow on the ground, in place and limit how far east strong winds make it. Based on warm temperatures and less inversion than the models are expecting, have a feeling winds will likely reach Pueblo, where gusts 55 to 65 mph may be possible. Of course, if the low level inversion does set up stronger tonight than may be indicated, the strong wind will be west of the city with limited impacts. Mozley && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday) Issued at 246 PM MST Sun Jan 8 2017 ...Strong and damaging downslope winds possible late tonight/tomorrow... Currently... Impressive very wet pacific storm has moved onshore. Light snow was falling across the continental divide with high clouds gradually increasing over the region. Temps have increased significantly from 24h ago across most of the region, with 40s and 50s over most of the plains. Only areas which were colder were along the immediate arkansas river from Pueblo eastward to the KS line. The San Luis Valley (SLV) was still quite cold with single digits, but all upper and mid ark rvr valley were in the 30s and 40s. Even Leadville was in the L30s. Tonight... High winds are imminent for the high mts, although the stronger winds will start a bit later than earlier fcst. Winds were already gusting in the 20-40 mph range this afternoon and will steadily increase this evening. Winds will likely range in the 25 to 50 mph range with gusts to 70 mph by sunrise across all of the southern mtns along the plains/mtns interface. Gusty winds will also start to bleed onto the plains, especially in gap flow areas and just east of the Ramparts. Snow along the contdvd will likely remain light this evening, and is expected to begin to increase towards sunrise tomorrow. Temps tonight will vary considerably. Where it is breezy/windy, temps will be relatively warm while temps will cool where winds are light. Given the meteorological pattern over the region, areas east of the mtns will remain relatively warm tonight. Coldest areas will be the SLV and Gunnison valleys...and areas along the lower ark rvr from Pueblo eastward to the KS line. Tomorrow... Damaging winds will be possible in the mtns. Winds of 100 mph with gusts to 160 mph were measured in Squaw Valley in California earlier today...and this jet is heading towards the region. Winds approaching 100mph were noted in the forecasts guidance products at mtn top level, especially over the southern part of the county warning area. Favorable vertical reverse shear pattern along with mtn top inversions were noted in the model soundings so these stronger winds are likely to reach down to lower elevations. How far east will these winds come out on the plains is still iffy at this time, but believe all areas west of I-25 will have a threat of strong winds. For now I will allow the evening shift to get another model run to look at and allow them to decide to upgrade the high wind watch to a warning for the I-25 corridor region. It should be stressed that some of these wind gusts could cause significant damage (tree blow downs/structural damage) on the east slopes of the mtns and adjacent lower areas). All WFOs along the Rocky Mtn front range from Wyoming to New Mexico have high wind hilites for the mtns/plains interface. Burn scar areas will likely see significant blow downs. Heavy wind driven snow will occur along the contdvd. from late tonight and will last through the day tomorrow. Travel across the passes will be difficult if not impossible tomorrow. The avalanche threat will become quite high due to the new snows/wind driven snows across the higher terrain. \/Hodanish .LONG TERM...(Monday night through Sunday) Issued at 246 PM MST Sun Jan 8 2017 Primary longer term meteorological issues include strong wind potential at times, snow heavy at times favoring the mountains into Friday and impact that next system will have on the forecast district from late week into next weekend. Recent longer term PV analysis, computer simulations and forecast model soundings suggest that snow, heavy at times and gusty winds at times will continue to be noted over the Continental Divide from Monday night into Friday, with the highest potential of more widespread heavy snow over Continental Divide locations anticipated Monday night and then again from Tuesday night into Friday. Over eastern portions of the forecast district, generally dry conditions(in combination with gusty winds at times) should be experienced from Monday night into Thursday, with more unsettled meteorological conditions then possible from Friday into next weekend as recent ECMWF solution suggests that closed upper low located over southern California at 18Z Friday shifts into southwestern New Mexico by 18Z Saturday and then into east-central Colorado by 18Z Sunday. However the latest GFS20 simulation has a more southerly track(and therefore much less impact across southern Colorado) across Mexico with this system from Friday into next Sunday. WFO Pueblo will continue to monitor closely. Regarding winds, the strongest winds over the forecast district during the longer term should be noted from Monday night into Wednesday night. Finally, during the longer term, generally near to above seasonal early to mid January temperatures(outside of the San Luis Valley) are anticipated from Monday night into Thursday night, with near to below seasonal temperatures then expected from Friday into the weekend. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Monday night) Issued at 1039 PM MST Sun Jan 8 2017 Widespread IFR to LIFR conditions expected along the Contdvd tonight through Monday where mtn obscurations in +SN and BLSN will occur. Winds will gust in excess of 60 kts across the higher elevations. TAF sites will remain VFR...however with winds increasing over the southeast mountains...low level wind shear will be possible at both KCOS and KPUB overnight through early tomorrow morning. Once west winds kick in...wind shear should become less of a threat...however there will be the potential for gusts to around 50 kts for KCOS and KPUB during the afternoon. TAFs play a more conservative 40-45 kts for now...with stronger gusts likely along/west of I-25. Looks less windy for KALS...though southwest winds will increase with gusts up to around 35 kts possible in the afternoon. Winds will remain breezy through the evening at all three terminals. -KT && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning from 5 AM Monday to 11 AM MST Tuesday for COZ058>060-066-068. High Wind Warning from 2 AM to 8 PM MST Monday for COZ072>075- 079-080. High Wind Warning from 7 AM to 8 PM MST Monday for COZ078-087- 088. High Wind Warning from 10 AM to 5 PM MST Monday for COZ083-086. High Wind Warning from 2 AM to 5 PM MST Monday for COZ081-082. High Wind Warning from 5 AM to 5 PM MST Monday for COZ084-085. && UPDATE...MOZLEY SHORT TERM...HODANISH LONG TERM...77 AVIATION...KT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 924 PM MST SUN JAN 8 2017 COZ058>089-093>099-100430- 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- 924 PM MST SUN JAN 8 2017 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE MAINLY LIMITED TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE EASTERN SAWATCH AND WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGES WHERE 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW, WINDY CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED OVER AND NEAR THE HIGHER TERRAIN AS A STRONG JET STREAM STARTS TO MOVE ACROSS THE STATE. THERE COULD BE A PERIOD OF STRONG AND DAMAGING WESTERLY DOWNSLOPE WINDS ACROSS THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE RAMPART RANGE AND THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE WET AND SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS LATE TONIGHT. MOUNTAIN AREAS WILL LIKELY SEE WINDS GUSTING 80 TO 100 MPH. WINDS ACROSS THE LOWER EASTERN SLOPES COULD SEE GUSTS TO 65 MPH ALONG THE EASTERN LEE SLOPES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY STRONG AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY EVENING OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 25. MOUNTAIN AREAS WILL LIKELY SEE WIND GUSTS 80 TO 100 MPH THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THIS COULD LEAD TO DOWN POWER LINES, FOREST BLOW DOWNS AND VERY DANGEROUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS ON HIGHWAYS. VERY STRONG AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE OVER THE SOUTHERN INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WINDS GUSTING TO NEAR 80 MPH ARE LIKELY. VERY DANGEROUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON INTERSTATE 25 DUE TO EXTREME CROSS WINDS. FURTHER NORTH ALONG THE INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR, WINDS WILL BE GUSTY AS WELL, ESPECIALLY IN THE LEE SLOPES OF THE RAMPART RANGE. AREAS WEST OF INTERSTATE 25 WILL LIKELY SEE GUSTS NEAR 65 MPH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, HEAVY SNOW WILL DEVELOP MONDAY MORNING, THEN CONTINUE INTO MIDDAY TUESDAY. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 1 TO 2 FEET IS LIKELY ABOVE 10000 FEET IN THE SAN JUAN, LA GARITA, SAWATCH AND MOSQUITO RANGES, WITH UP TO A FOOT IN LAKE COUNTY AROUND LEADVILLE. STRONG WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE SNOW, WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH PRODUCING WIDESPREAD BLOWING AND DRIFTING OVER HIGH MOUNTAIN PASSES AND ABOVE TIMBERLINE. AN ADDITIONAL ROUND OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, WITH STILL ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SNOW ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHERN COLORADO FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, AS AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN CONTINUES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND ACROSS THE LOWER EASTERN SLOPES ALONG AND WEST OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR TONIGHT. 88/88
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two people were injured and then perished after being hit by flying debris in southwest Colorado Springs.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Colorado Springs Vicinity / Southern El Paso County / Rampart Range Below 7500 Ft | 2017-01-09 | 81 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| High Wind, Colorado Springs Vicinity / Southern El Paso County / Rampart Range Below 7500 Ft | 2017-01-09 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2017
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: 674053, 674054, 674055, 674056, 674057, 674058, 674059, 674061, 674063, 674064, 674066, 674078, 674090, 674067.