A strong upper level system once again moved across the region during this time, providing a setup for very strong winds to develop. Highest winds were observed across the higher terrain, however, high winds were also noted near the I-25 corridor.
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 strong upper level system once again moved across the region during this time, providing a setup for very strong winds to develop. Highest winds were observed across the higher terrain, however, high winds were also noted near the I-25 corridor.
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 4, 10:43 PM MST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1143 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 .UPDATE... Issued at 1111 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 ...Further Adjustments made to High Wind Warnings to begin the mountains at 11 PM... Based on latest mesonet observations with 65 to 75 mph gusts occurring in the lee of the Sangre De Cristo mountains and cross-sections in 00z soundings showing best mountain wave potential from midnight through 12z, have bumped up timing on High Wind Warnings to begin at 11 PM. Also started Huerfano county at 12z as latest projections show an earlier start along portions of the I-25 corridor Tuesday morning. All other details still look on target. -KT UPDATE Issued at 915 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 ...Expanded High Wind Warnings to include the northern Sangres De Cristo and Wet Mountains, Wet Mountain Valley and Huerfano county... Based on 00z high res data, have expanded current suite of high wind warnings to include all of the southeast mountains and adjacent lower elevations including Huerfano county. Already seeing some response in winds along the lee of the northern Sangres and HRRR shows this increasing after 06z (midnight) with potential for high wind mountain wave development through 12z (6 AM). Potential for high winds spreads into the adjacent lower elevations in the 12z to 15z (6 AM to 9 AM) timeframe. Have started High Wind Warnings around 3 to 6 hours earlier as well. Model cross-sections show this event shifting from a mountain wave overnight into the early morning hours to a more deep mixing high wind event by Tuesday afternoon, with the Wet mountains and adjacent I-25 corridor seeing the strongest winds in the late morning and afternoon. There are still some challenges to this forecast with the potential for the Wet Mountains and Wet Mountain valley to come up a little shy of high wind criteria. Portions of El Paso in the lee of Pikes Peak and the Wets, where a distinct wind minima will extend, may also avoid the higher gusts. But spotty high wind criteria will still be possible in other locations of these counties, so current suite of high wind warnings is basically throwing a larger lasso around many of these potential localized high wind areas. Gusts to 80 mph will be possible for the mountain areas, with gusts 60 to 65 mph for the lower elevations. Northern El Paso shows some drying in the dew points towards 00z but its still not enough to get below 20% RH which is the lower bound value for critical fire weather even with high wind criteria. So will leave the Red Flag Warnings as is for now. As more of the 00z suite of models arrives, this will continue to be reassessed. -KT && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Tuesday) Issued at 338 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 1) Strong winds over parts of the region tonight into tomorrow. 2) Fire weather concerns over parts of the region. 3. Some wind driven snow over the central mtns this evening into tomorrow. Currently...System which brought some impressive snow amounts to parts of the region last night into this AM has moved east, and skies were predominantly clear over the region at 2 pm. However...a strong weather system which promises to bring LOTs of wind to the region was pushing into NW CO per sat pix imagery. This system was beginning to have an influence as south to southwesterly winds were beginning to pick up across the plains, with temps across the plains ranging from the mid 40s in N El Paso county to around 60 generally south of the Arkansas River. Valleys were generally in the 40s in the 50s. Temps aloft were still rather cold as mtn top temps were in the teens. This Afternoon Into Tonight... Main concern is wind will begin to start to ramp up shortly over the mtns as the system to our NW moves closer to the region. Winds of 15 to 30 mph by this afternoon will be in the 30 to 50 knt range by midnight and will continue to increase during the predawn hours. Strongest winds will affect the central mtns, the Pikes Peak region and the eastern mtns tonight. with the overall strongest winds over Pikes peak Snow will start to ramp up Prior to midnight, with most of the snow occurring over the central mtns. Snow amounts will not be all that much, but the combo of winds and snow will make for difficult travel conditions over the passes tonight in the central mtns. Prior to sunrise, winds will work down the mtns, and the Upper and Mid Ark River Valley along with the Wet Mtn valley will be impacted. As for hilites, High Wind warnings go into affect for the Mid Ark Rvr valley and Teller county/Pikes Peak around 3 AM. Tomorrow... High wind threat and Fire weather threat ramp up. A high wind warning goes into affect at 7Am for the southern Sangres and last until around noon. By mid morning, mixing will be underway and the strong winds will start to push out onto the plains, with strong winds expected to be ongoing by late morning and into the afternoon time period. The strongest winds are expected to occur over eastern Fremont, Pueblo and El Paso counties. with the overall strongest winds across eastern Fremont and NW Pueblo counties. Strongest winds in EL Paso county will be over northern El Paso county. As for Colorado Springs, winds will be quite squirrelly this region as Pikes Peak will be blocking the strong winds flow, As for Fire Weather, A RED FLAG warning has been issued for the lower elevations of Las Animas and Baca counties and for southern EL Paso county. Although it is going to be winds across ALL of the plains tomorrow, areas along the Arkansas river received quite a bit of wetting rain, and this area will likely be too moist for fire spread. However, areas along the NM/OK border did not receive any significant rain and this area is receptive for fire spread. For El Paso county, quite a few areas relived rain, but it was very light, generally less than 0.05 per CoCoRahs reports, and it will be windy withe relatively low RH values. As for northern El Paso county, this area was NOT included in the Red Flag warning area as RH values will likely be too high (>20 percent). The San Luis valley and SW mtns will also be quite windy tomorrow, but winds should remain below high wind criteria. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday night through Monday) Issued at 338 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 Key messages: 1) Tuesday evening through early Wednesday morning, snow will be possible over the northern Continental Divide and Rampart Range, which will be coming to an end. Some rain/snow showers could occur over the upper Arkansas River Valley. 2) Spotty critical fire weather conditions will be a concern over the southern plains for early Tuesday evening for southern El Paso County, but due to recent rainfall, should not be of much concern for the southern plains with the exception of Baca County. 3) More widespread critical fire conditions will be likely over the plains and San Luis Valley for Wednesday during the afternoon and early evening. Widespread fire weather conditions will be possible Thursday afternoon/early evening over the plains and San Luis Valley again. Northerly winds will still be strong and gusty over most of the CWA on Thursday. 4) Northerly winds will continue to be strong and gusty over the plains on Friday. Winds will increase out of the southwest over the CWA for Saturday. Some spotty areas of fire weather concerns will be possible over the southeastern plains and along the I-25 corridor for Friday and Saturday afternoon/evening. 5) A potentially high impact low pressure system will result in very critical fire weather conditions over the plains and San Luis Valley on Sunday afternoon and into Monday of early next week. Snow will begin over the Central Mountains and then spread out over the eastern mountains by later in the evening on Sunday and throughout the day on Monday with rain showers over the lower elevations. Thunder could also be possible. Detailed discussion: Tuesday night through Wednesday... The shortwave trough will continue to exit the region with only a few lingering snow showers expected over the northern Continental Divide and Rampart Range. High pressure will subsequently build in to the west and the tightening of the pressure gradient will increase northerly winds. Combination of this will low relative humidity values will result in widespread critical fire weather conditions for Wednesday afternoon and early evening over the most of the plains and the San Luis Valley. Winds have been a little under for the NBM and therefore a blend of the 90th percentile was utilized once again as they were yesterday to enhance these. Dewpoints for Wednesday afternoon and early evening have also been slightly adjusted down as well as they have been for the past few days, using a NBM 10th percentile blend. It will also be very windy over the higher terrain and with the recent snowfall, there could be areas of blowing snow across the higher peaks. Temperatures will still be relatively cool with the northerly wind flow, even with mixing due to the gusty winds. On Tuesday night, lows will drop to the upper 20s and lower 30s over the plains, and then generally in the teens and 20s in high country, with single digits for the highest peaks. On Wednesday, high temperatures will only get up into the 50s for the plains and San Luis Valley, and anywhere from the 40s for high mountain valleys, to the 20s and teens for the highest peaks. Thursday through Saturday... An upper level jet over Colorado coupled by the deepening low pressure system downstream over the Great Lakes, and a ridge over the western CONUS further amplifying with a strengthening high pressure, will enhance the northerly wind flow over the CWA, and especially over the plains for Thursday and into Friday until it transitions far enough to the east to not have a significant influence and the pressure gradient weakens. On Thursday and Friday, the strong and gusty northerly winds will continue to be an issue, more so for the entire CWA on Thursday and just the plains on Friday. Critical fire weather concerns will likely be in place during the afternoon and early evening for most of the plains and the San Luis Valley. On Friday, the area of concern becomes more confined to the southeast plains, although some spotty fire weather conditions could exist over portions of the I-25 corridor. Northerly flow will still keep the southeast Colorado relatively cool, with highs still only topping out in the upper 50s for most locations on the plains. With the air mass becoming more modified by Friday, high temperatures will be back around the seasonal average for this time of year. For Saturday, deterministic models have been becoming more consistent with showing a longwave trough deepening over the northwest CONUS, and this will begin to influence the winds as they increase out of the southwest over most of the CWA. The increasing downsloping winds will cause some spotty areas of critical fire weather conditions over some areas of the plains, and it will also allow for very warm temperatures across the plains, with low 80s likely in the lower Arkansas River Valley. Sunday through Monday... Deterministic models and ensemble members have continues to become more finely tuned in agreement with a major shortwave trough with a slightly negatively-tilted axis, that is associated with the deepening longwave trough over the northwest CONUS, which will continue to propagate towards the region. This major shortwave had the potential to be a high impact weather event, although it is still too far out in the forecast period to have any high confidence that this will come to fruition. Currently, ECMWF model trends have kept the surface low pressure center with this system to eject out over the plains a little further to the north than what the GFS and Canadian models are displaying. Ensemble members has also been indicating that this will be drier over most areas of the plains, which suggests the the low will remain further to the north due to the projected path bringing it in from the southwest. If this ends up happening, given the strength of the 700 mb wind flow ahead of this trough over the southeast plains at over 60kts, there could potentially be very high winds that will result in a possibly dire situation with fire weather conditions over this region and much of the plains. Temperatures with the ensembles do show quite a bit of variance, which could allude to the possibility that there could be some change in the location of the low pressure system, and this could also change the impacts of how critical fire weather conditions could be over certain areas. However, given the latest trends, it is appearing to be more likely that fire weather conditions will be very concerning for Sunday, and possibly Monday as well. These trends will need to be further analyzed in the upcoming days as we get closer to the weekend. Along with the winds, this system looks to bring heavy amounts of snow to the mountains and even the possibility of thunderstorms. -Stewey && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Tuesday night) Issued at 1111 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 VFR conditions expected for all three terminals with strong gusty west winds spreading into the TAF sites during the mid to late morning. Both KCOS and KPUB could see a period of low level wind shear for a few hours prior to west northwest winds spreading into the terminals. The greatest uncertainty on timing will be at KCOS where the transition from WNW winds to east to northeast winds in the lee of Pikes Peak will be right over or just north of the terminal. Have left timing of onset of WNW winds at 17z for KCOS but this could range from 16z to 19z in the spread of possibilities. KPUB will be much more likely to see periodic gusty west winds with LLWS at times between 09z-15z before steadier stronger west winds settle in. Gusts to around 45 kts will be possible at all three terminals Tuesday afternoon. Winds will shift around from the north early Tuesday evening behind a cold front with winds decreasing after 01-02z. -KT && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Fire Weather Watch from Wednesday morning through Wednesday evening for COZ224-227>237. Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 7 PM MDT Tuesday for COZ227-230- 233-237. High Wind Warning from 6 AM to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for COZ079-080- 087. High Wind Warning from 3 AM to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for COZ077-078. Winter Weather Advisory until midnight MDT Tuesday night for COZ058-060. High Wind Warning until 6 PM MDT Tuesday for COZ072>076-081-082. High Wind Warning from 9 AM to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for COZ062- 083>086. && UPDATE...KT SHORT TERM...HODANISH LONG TERM...STEWARD AVIATION...KT
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 954 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 COZ058>089-093>099-060400- 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- 954 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...Tonight Snow will spread back into the central mountains tonight and Tuesday with strong winds and blowing snow resulting in hazardous travel conditions over the higher peaks and passes. An additional 1 to 7 inches will be possible by late Tuesday night. Damaging winds will spread into the higher peaks of Teller county and the Sangres around midnight, then spread into the adjacent lower elevations of the Wet Mountain Valley, Wet Mountains, Fremont county and the I-25 corridor late tonight through Tuesday morning. Gusts up to 80 mph will be possible across the mountains with gusts up to 65 mph possible across the lower elevations. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Strong winds will continue on Tuesday with the potential for damaging wind gusts across the southeast mountains, adjacent valleys and I-25 corridor through Tuesday afternoon. Winds will gust up to 80 mph across the mountain areas with gusts up to 60 to 65 mph across the lower elevations. Elsewhere, gusts to 40 to 50 mph can be expected. High fire danger will develop across southern El Paso, Las Animas and Baca counties Tuesday afternoon due to a combination of gusty winds and low relative humidity and dry vegetation. While critical fire weather conditions will be more expansive across the plains, wet conditions from recent rain and snow will mitigate critical fire weather conditions some. Snow and blowing snow will continue across the central mountains through Tuesday evening where a total of up to 7 inches of accumulation will be possible. Another windy and dry day can be expected for Wednesday with the potential for more expansive high fire danger across the San Luis Valley and all of the southeast plains as strong winds Tuesday dry out the vegetation. Northerly winds will gust from 40 to 55 mph across area. Another round of critical fire weather conditions will be possible on Thursday for the same areas. Spottier critical fire weather conditions will be possible for Friday and Saturday, then windy conditions will return late weekend into early next week which will bring a return of elevated fire danger. Another chance for rain and snow showers will spread across the mountains and valleys Sunday and Monday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will be likely tonight across the central and southeast mountains and adjacent lower elevations. 31/31
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1043 PM MDT MON APR 4 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1035 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 ENE PONCHA PASS 38.45N 106.01W
04/04/2022 M75 MPH FREMONT CO MESONET
MESONET STATION FW3603 SALIDA.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1048 PM MDT MON APR 4 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1034 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SW SWISSVALE 38.44N 105.96W
04/04/2022 M62 MPH FREMONT CO MESONET
MESONET STATION BEKC2 BEAR CREEK.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1105 PM MDT MON APR 4 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1058 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 6 SW WESTCLIFFE 38.07N 105.53W
04/04/2022 M70 MPH CUSTER CO MESONET
MESONET STATION CW5478 WESTCLIFFE.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1111 PM MDT MON APR 4 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1054 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 9 NNW WOODLAND PARK 39.11N 105.14W
04/04/2022 M52 MPH TELLER CO MESONET
MESONET STATION HACC2 MANCHESTER.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1144 PM MDT MON APR 4 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1128 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 6 SW WESTCLIFFE 38.07N 105.53W
04/04/2022 M72 MPH CUSTER CO MESONET
MESONET STATION CW5478 WESTCLIFFE.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1149 PM MDT MON APR 4 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1134 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SW SWISSVALE 38.44N 105.96W
04/04/2022 M64 MPH FREMONT CO MESONET
MESONET STATION BEKC2 BEAR CREEK.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Six miles southwest of Westcliffe.
Salida Airport.
Two miles south southwest Manitou Springs.
Six miles south southwest Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs airport.
Two miles northeast Aguilar.
Bosque.
Fremont County airport.
Needle Creek.
Nine miles north northwest Walsenburg.
Willis Creek.
Bear Creek.
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: 1025228, 1025262, 1025223, 1025264, 1025227, 1025229, 1025237, 1025232, 1025235, 1025265, 1025261, 1025236, 1025233, 1025225.