A system that moved over the Pacific Northwest and across the Northern Rockies brought a period of high winds to areas in and near the Front Range Foothills. Peak wind gusts included: 101 mph atop Berthoud Pass; 97 mph near Loveland Pass and 2 miles south-southeast of Gold Hill; 80 mph at the NCAR Mesa Lab southwest of Boulder and 2 miles southwest of Rocky Flats; and 75 mph, 4 miles…
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The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
A system that moved over the Pacific Northwest and across the Northern Rockies brought a period of high winds to areas in and near the Front Range Foothills. Peak wind gusts included: 101 mph atop Berthoud Pass; 97 mph near Loveland Pass and 2 miles south-southeast of Gold Hill; 80 mph at the NCAR Mesa Lab southwest of Boulder and 2 miles southwest of Rocky Flats; and 75 mph, 4 miles east-northeast of Nederland. The high winds also toppled a large tree at the mouth of Boulder Canyon.
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 Jan 30, 4:02 PM MST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 402 PM MST Tue Jan 30 2018 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Wednesday) Issued at 401 PM MST Tue Jan 30 2018 An upper level jet is continuing to drop out of the Pacific NW increasing the flow and moisture over Northern and Central Colorado. A the surface various, smaller circulations have set up along the foothills and Front Range creating a difficult wind field to pin down. Overall, winds will continue to stay elevated over the higher mountains as the upper jet stays overhead with gusting up to 80 mph possible over the next few hours. Wind speeds over the high elevations will decrease through the late afternoon but will stay in the 60 to 70 mph range through Wednesday. For the plains models show a weak back door cold front pushing into the NE by 12z Wednesday morning. I do not expect this to make it past the I-25 corridor as it will have to battle with the deepening lee trough. The main impacts will be a ENE push of winds with little strength behind it and a slight drop in temperatures. Along the base of the foothills the previously mentioned lee trough will help to keep downsloping over the west with lows staying in the 30s. Have inched them up a bit to account for the continued mountain wave but still expect lows slightly above freezing. For Wednesday model cross sections show increasing mid level moisture moving into the mountains by the afternoon. With the increasing moisture and upper jet some light snow over the Park range will be possible into the evening hours on Wednesday. The cold front continues to look rather shallow so will go with predominately MOS guidance with highs in the low 50s along the base of the Palmer and into the 40s over NE plains. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday night through Tuesday) Issued at 401 PM MST Tue Jan 30 2018 Strong northwest flow will continue through the weekend. A strong shortwave will move through early Thursday, with another strong wave or two in the Sunday-Tuesday time frame. There are weaker waves in between, with some tendency for ridging on Friday into Saturday. So the forecast hangs on the interplay between ripples of forcing aloft and the oscillation of the low level cold front over the plains. The first wave will bring a period of snow to the mountains, and enough lift for a good threat of showers over the northeast plains. In general there's not a lot of moisture to work with, and the forcing is only around for about 12 hours, so snow should be light. Orographic hot spots in the northern mountains could pick up a foot of snow, with less towards I-70. On the south edge of the moisture on the plains there could be some freezing drizzle. At worst it could be like the event about two weeks ago, but this environment looks drier/more marginal. Drying/warming then for Thursday night/Friday/Saturday, though there may still be a little orographic snow over the mountains. For Sunday through Tuesday, much depends on the exact orientation and placement of the shortwaves and flow aloft. While the overall pattern is in pretty good agreement, there will be a sharp line between the warm and cold air so there is rich potential for big changes in the forecast. Ensemble MOS guidance suggests highs in the 20s (maybe even teens) back in the cold air, and 50s on the warm side of the front. The best agreement is in a strong shortwave about Sunday that should shove the cold air into northeast Colorado and bring a chance of snow. After that, the details will be hard to pin down. Hard to argue with the blended model solution, but users should be aware of the big range of possible outcomes from Sunday into the middle of next week. The good news is that if there is snow it should be mainly jet- related and on the light side. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Wednesday evening) Issued at 401 PM MST Tue Jan 30 2018 VFR conditions are expected for the period. Winds continue to be the forecast challenge of the day with multiple eddies combined with an enhanced mountain wave over the region. Prevailing winds will be south to southwest with occasional gusts to 25 knots, though there may be a tendency toward southeast winds at times at KDEN/KAPA through 00z. On Wednesday, with the strengthening of the lee side low to the SW winds will switch to a more SE for DEN and BJC by 15z and continue to move NE with the onset of the cold front from 18-21z. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...Bowen LONG TERM...Gimmestad AVIATION...Bowen
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1058 AM MST Tue Jan 30 2018 COZ030>051-311800- 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- 1058 AM MST Tue Jan 30 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for northeast and north central Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Winds over the region will increase over the area through tonight. Wind speeds will be strong in the high country and down into the foothills. Sporadic gusts of 70 to 80 mph will be possible at the highest elevations above treeline by this afternoon. Below treeline in the high country, gusts will likely be in the 50 to 65 mph range which may impact travel for lightweight and high profile vehicles as well as outdoor recreation. Across the plains, gusty winds of 25 to 30 mph will bring warm temperatures under mostly cloudy skies due to wave clouds. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Areas of light snow, and possibly some freezing drizzle, will develop across the area Wednesday night and continue into Thursday morning. An inch or two of snow will be possible under the snow bands over the northeast plains, with most of the accumulation expected to hold over the northern sections from around Fort Collins and Loveland through the Greeley, Fort Morgan, and Akron areas. A mixture of light freezing drizzle and light snow will be possible south of that including the Denver metro area. In the mountains, accumulations of 3 to 6 inches can be expected from around Rabbit Ears Pass to Rocky Mountain National Park, with lighter amounts of a dusting to 3 inches in the Summit County area. Travelers Wednesday night into Thursday morning may see slick and hazardous winter travel conditions. Drier and warmer weather will develop across the plains Friday, while the next weather system will bring another shot of colder temperatures and a chance of snowfall by next weekend. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed today or tonight. Bowen/Gimmestad
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2018
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: 736208, 736209, 736210, 736211.