Another strong system moved across the region, providing a long period of high winds over much of southern Colorado during this period. While high winds up to around 80 mph were the main concern, several hazards ranging from high winds and extreme fire danger, to a localized severe thunderstorm risk across the southeast plains, to snow and blowing|snow across the central mountains were observed.
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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.
Another strong system moved across the region, providing a long period of high winds over much of southern Colorado during this period. While high winds up to around 80 mph were the main concern, several hazards ranging from high winds and extreme fire danger, to a localized severe thunderstorm risk across the southeast plains, to snow and blowing|snow across the central mountains were observed.
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 Apr 22, 10:20 AM MST, 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1120 AM MDT Fri Apr 22 2022 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 347 AM MDT Fri Apr 22 2022 Key Messages: 1) High Winds and Extreme Fire Danger along with extensive blowing dust today through this evening 2) Potential for isolated Severe Thunderstorms far eastern plains 3) Snow and Blowing snow central mountains tonight The western U.S. upper trough will take on a negative tilt today as it moves through the Great Basin and closes off over WY and northern CO tonight. On the southern periphery of the storm, this will put southeast CO under a strong mid/upper level jet core. The lee side surface low will deepen rapidly today and will shift eastward through the plains during the late afternoon and evening as strong dynamics from the upper system moves in from the west. Multifaceted hazardous weather impacts will spread across southern CO ranging from high winds and extreme fire danger, to a localized severe thunderstorm risk across the southeast plains...to snow and blowing snow across the central mountains. High Winds and Extreme Fire Danger: The primary concern will be the high winds and extreme fire danger which should ramp up across the San Luis Valley, southeast mountains and southeast plains late this morning through this afternoon. Deep mixing will bring gusts up to 60 to 70 mph, with the strongest gusts occuring mainly south of highway 50. The lower elevations of Chaffee county have been consistently hitting 58+ mph so will include this zone into the suite of Red Flag Warnings. The higher surrounding terrain has high wind criteria gusts of 75 mph which does not look likely at this point. With a south southwesterly wind component, this will pose hazards to high profile vehicles on east-west or northwest-southeast oriented roads. Extensive blowing dust will be likely this afternoon with the potential for 1/4 mile or lower visibility at times especially in the more dust prone areas. It is quite possible dust storm warnings will be needed as well, though will have to wait to see where these pockets of more dense blowing dust occur. This could evolve into a long fused dust storm warning event depending on how extensive the poor visibility gets. But for now will let the high wind warning products address this potential. These strong winds will coincide with very low humidity values to result in Extreme Fire Danger across much of southern CO today. Given the strong winds, conditions will be volatile for fire spread and this event will be on the higher side of the Red Flag Warning spectrum. A large enough portion of zone 220 (Chaffee and Lake counties) will be impacted by critical fire weather conditions today, and given that the fuels status has flipped to the critically dry category, will be including them in the Red Flag warning. This will be for elevations mainly below 9500 feet. As the cold front crosses the mountains this evening, humidity values will come up and Red Flag Warnings may be able to come down a little sooner for western portions of the warning area. Otherwise, Red Flag Warnings will continue until 9 PM. An isolated severe thunderstorm risk still exists across the far southeast plains late this afternoon and evening along a sharpening dry line. While most CAMS models keep storm initiation just east of CO border , the high res NAM members have been consistent with a more western dry line position and the potential for initiation across Kiowa, Bent, Prowers and Baca counties. CAPE values of 2000+ J/kg will reside near the KS border with deep layer shares around 50 kts. Hodographs take on a more curved structure between 00z and 03z with the potential for surface winds to back a bit. The position of the SPC marginal to slight risk severe area looks on target with large hail and damaging winds the most likely storm risks. An isolated tornado can not be ruled out near the KS border, and if a more westward dryline position does verify this could back a little further into eastern CO. All of these mesoscale details will need to be honed down as we see how things evolve later today. It still looks like there will be 2 windows for severe thunderstorm development with one this afternoon in the 21z-00z time frame along the dry line and another this evening through around midnight as the cold front overtakes the dry line and fires off a line of thunderstorms which will push east into Kansas. Snow will spread into the Continental Divide tonight. Snowfall totals are hitting low end advisory criteria with around 2 to 7 inches of snow across western Chaffee county with a little less across eastern Lake county. However given the blowing snow potential tonight, will highlight this area with winter weather advisories as visibilities could be make travel difficult tonight into Saturday morning. Overall it will be a complex and multi-faceted hazardous weather event over the next 24 hours. Please monitor the weather closely. -KT .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 347 AM MDT Fri Apr 22 2022 There is decent agreement in the models through the extended period, with modest ensemble spreads. Overall, confidence in the extended forecast is elevated. The main concerns will be continued fire weather conditions across the region, and rain/snow potential through Monday. Saturday through Monday...the strong upper level low will continue to lift northeast away from the area, as a secondary shortwave trough moves into Utah and across Colorado. Ahead of this shortwave, strong westerly flow will remain in place across southern Colorado, with another round of dangerous fire weather conditions expected Saturday. Winds will initially be westerly, and swing northwest during the afternoon. Gusts in excess of 40 mph are expected, and combine with humidity values near or under 10 percent to produce the dangerous fire weather conditions. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for the lower elevations. Snow shows are expected over the higher terrain, with a few inches possible through Saturday afternoon, mainly north of Cottonwood Pass. The secondary shortwave trough will shift east out of Utah and across Colorado Sunday into early Monday. As this system approaches, a cold front will drop south over the Plains Saturday night into Sunday morning. This will shift low level flow northeasterly upslope, and usher in better moisture. The latest guidance continues to indicate a decent shot of high elevation snow, and lower elevation rains for areas along and west of the I-25 corridor. Several inches of snow are expected, from the Central Mountains, southeast into the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountain Ranges. These areas will need to be monitored for possible winter weather highlights. As for the lower elevations, snow levels should remain elevated through the day on Sunday, lowering to near 6 kft by Monday morning. A dusting of snow may be possible over the Palmer Divide, down to near ColoradO Springs by Monday morning. Overall, rainfall totals do not look overly impressive with this quick moving system. Areas along the lower slopes of the Eastern Mountains could see a quarter inch of rainfall, while areas into the I-25 corridor could see up to a tenth of an inch. Shower activity should come to an end Monday morning as the upper system shifts east into the Central Plains. A few lingering showers are possible on the Raton Mesa, ending by Monday afternoon. Elevated fire weather conditions will remain possible across the San Luis Valley on Sunday due to gusty southwest winds and continued low relative humidity values. Tuesday into Friday...flat, zonal high pressure will build across southern Colorado for mid week before the next upper storm system begins to impact the area by Friday. Temperatures will warm during this period, with 80s expected across the Plains. With the drier weather, a return to spotty, near critical fire weather conditions are forecast, from the San Luis Valley, into the Eastern Plains each afternoon Tuesday through Thursday. Southwesterly flow will increase by Friday with more widespread critical fire weather conditions possible. Weak energy moving through the ridge on Wednesday may spark a couple of showers along the Continental Divide. Otherwise, dry conditions are expected through late week. Mozley && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon) Issued at 1113 AM MDT Fri Apr 22 2022 Mostly VFR conditions at all stations but there may be periods of blowing dust causing LIFR conditions starting around 22Z for a couple of hours. Winds will be mostly gusty throughout the forecast period with gusts ranging from 25 to 50 KTS at KCOS and KPUB and up to 60 KTS at KALS. Winds will be predominately out of the southwest early in the forecast period, then out of the northwest late in the forecast period at all stations. - Riser && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until midnight MDT tonight for COZ062-069>075- 077>080-083>089-093>099. Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for COZ220>222- 224>237. Fire Weather Watch from Saturday morning through Saturday evening for COZ222-224-227>237. Winter Weather Advisory from 6 PM this evening to noon MDT Saturday for COZ058-060. && SHORT TERM...KT LONG TERM...MOZLEY AVIATION...RISER
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1137 AM MDT Fri Apr 22 2022 COZ058>089-093>099-231745- Western Mosquito Range/East Lake County Above 11000 Feet- Leadville Vicinity/Lake County Below 11000 Feet- Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Western Chaffee County Between 9000 and 11000 Feet- Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Feet- Western Mosquito Range/East Chaffee County Above 9000 Feet- Saguache County West of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- Saguache County East of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Upper Rio Grande Valley/Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Feet-Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Del Norte Vicinity/Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Alamosa Vicinity/Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Southern San Luis Valley- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Feet- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Northwestern Fremont County Above 8500 Feet- Western/Central Fremont County Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000 Feet- Wet Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Teller County/Rampart Range Above 7500 Feet/Pikes Peak Between 7500 And 11000 Feet-Pikes Peak Above 11000 Feet- Canon City Vicinity/Eastern Fremont County- Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge/Rampart Range Below 7500 Feet- Colorado Springs Vicinity/Southern El Paso County/Rampart Range Below 7400 Feet-Pueblo Vicinity/Pueblo County Below 6300 Feet- Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Feet- Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Feet- 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- 1137 AM MDT Fri Apr 22 2022 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Damaging winds and extreme fire danger will spread across most of south central and southeast Colorado through this evening. Strong south to southwest winds will gust up to 70 mph, which when combined with very low relative humidity and the persistently dry conditions, will result in volatile conditions for rapid fire spread. Strong cross winds will occur on east west oriented roads and extensive blowing dust could reduce visibility to under 1 mile at times. Road closures and power outages will be possible. Isolated and potentially severe thunderstorms will be possible near the Kansas border this afternoon and evening, with the main hazards being hail up to 2.5 inches and damaging wind gusts of 60 mph or more. However, an isolated tornado cannot be entirely ruled out, especially close to the Kansas border. These severe weather risks will be highly dependent on the position of a dry line which is expected to advance eastward across the plains late this afternoon through tonight. For now, the area with the greatest risk for severe thunderstorms will be Kiowa, Bent, Prowers and Baca counties with locations along the Kansas border having the highest risk. Snow will spread into the mountains tonight with 2 to 7 inches of accumulation possible by Saturday morning across the eastern Sawatch and western Mosquito ranges. Areas of blowing snow will cause poor visibility over the mountain passes tonight. Lighter amounts of 1 to 3 inches will be possible across the eastern San Juan and La Garita mountains and the crest of the Sangre De Cristo mountains. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Snow showers are expected Saturday from the La Garita Range, north into the Central Mountains. Minor snow accumulations possible, with the highest totals forecast north of Cottonwood Pass. Dangerous fire weather conditions will spread across southern Colorado Saturday afternoon, with winds gusting in excess of 40 mph and low humidity values. A quick moving storm system will impact the region Sunday into Monday with high elevation snow, and lower elevation rainfall, mainly west of Interstate 25. Snow levels will initially start out high, lowering to 6000 feet by Monday morning. Minor snow accumulations are possible from the Central Mountains, south into the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountain Ranges. A dusting of snow may be possible by Monday morning over the Palmer Divide. Near critical fire weather conditions will remain possible over the San Luis Valley on Sunday. Spotty, critical fire weather conditions will be possible each afternoon, Tuesday through Thursday due to low relative humidity values, and gusty winds. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will be likely today and tonight across all of south central and southeast Colorado. GARBEROGLIO/10
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
732 AM MDT FRI APR 22 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0646 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 5 SW LA VETA 37.46N 105.07W
04/22/2022 M53 MPH HUERFANO CO MESONET
MESONET STATION FW8680 LA VETA.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
733 AM MDT FRI APR 22 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0718 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 6 SW WESTCLIFFE 38.07N 105.53W
04/22/2022 M53 MPH CUSTER CO MESONET
MESONET STATION CW5478 WESTCLIFFE.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1104 AM MDT FRI APR 22 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1038 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 6 SW WESTCLIFFE 38.07N 105.53W
04/22/2022 M60 MPH CUSTER CO MESONET
MESONET STATION CW5478 WESTCLIFFE.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1123 AM MDT FRI APR 22 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1105 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 6 S TRINIDAD 37.09N 104.52W
04/22/2022 M56 MPH LAS ANIMAS CO MESONET
MESONET STATION CO025 025N008 RATON PASS.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1124 AM MDT FRI APR 22 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1025 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 NNW LA VETA PASS 37.62N 105.19W
04/22/2022 M50 MPH COSTILLA CO MESONET
MESONET STATION CO028 160W278 LA VETA PASS.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
19 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Lamar airport.
Colorado Springs airport.
Gobblers Knob.
Buena Vista airport.
Springfield airport.
Alamosa airport.
Trinidad airport.
Air Force Academy.
Blown over power poles on Highway 17 near Center.
Pueblo airport.
La Junta airport.
Fremont county airport.
Cheyenne Mountain.
One mile west northwest Colorado City.
Six miles northeast Manitou Springs.
Three miles east northeast Manitou Springs.
Nine miles north northwest Walsenburg.
Five miles south Air Force Academy.
Apache City.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2022
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: 1029351, 1029343, 1029349, 1029338, 1029337, 1029335, 1029339, 1029344, 1029353, 1029348, 1029346, 1029341, 1029345, 1029352, 1029342, 1029347, 1029350, 1029340, 1029336.