High winds developed in and near the Front Range Foothills. Peak wind gusts included: 91 mph, 3 miles southeast of Tolland; 88 mph, 4 miles north-northwest of White Ranch Open Space; and 81 mph near Brainard Lake.
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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 BOU wrote it up.
High winds developed in and near the Front Range Foothills. Peak wind gusts included: 91 mph, 3 miles southeast of Tolland; 88 mph, 4 miles north-northwest of White Ranch Open Space; and 81 mph near Brainard Lake. Other noteable gusts included 74 mph near Berthoud Pass, 72 mph near Pinecliffe, and 69 mph at the junction of highways 93 and 72.
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 Dec 10, 4:42 AM MST, 1 hour 13 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 442 AM MST Sun Dec 10 2023 .KEY MESSAGES... - High winds up to 80 mph in the higher mountains and Front Range Foothills today. - Areas of blowing snow along Highway 93, between Golden and Boulder, is a concern today. - Light snow in the mountains through Monday, possibly spilling onto northern plains Monday night. - Still uncertainty around cutoff low through the Southern Rockies Wednesday, but most impacts should stay south. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 240 AM MST Sun Dec 10 2023 Satellite imagery showing mostly clear skies at the moment. There is a good amount of clouds and moisture not far off to the north over Wyoming. This area of mainly mid and upper level moisture spans west- northwestward to the Pacific Ocean. This will result in mostly cloudy skies for a good part of the day. However, expect enough breaks in the clouds to push temperatures well into the 40s and lower 50s across northeast Colorado. Some of this Pacific moisture will get wrung out over the north central mountains. Lapse rates are rather poor, but enough moisture and orographic lift will be in place for areas of light snow. Favored northwest facing slopes could see up to 4 inches of snow through tonight, but most locations will see less than 2 inches. Along and just east of the Front Range Mountains, a mountain wave is expected to develop this morning with wind gusts to 75 mph possible over the Front Range Mountains and higher foothills. Warm air advection will lead to poor lapse rates and mixing across the plains. HiRes models showing narrow swaths of stronger winds extending east off the foothills and on to the plains. This seems reasonable do to the poor mixing. So we may very well see some locations gust to 40 mph out of the west and then just 10 miles away to the north/south, winds may be light out of the east. .LONG TERM...(Monday through Saturday) Issued at 240 AM MST Sun Dec 10 2023 For Monday, the northwest flow pattern will relax a bit and shift more westerly during the day. Moisture depth decreases in the mountains with the light snowfall diminishing a bit in the afternoon over the higher mountains. There is a weak trof and associated cold front which will back in across northeast Colorado Monday evening which increases low level moisture over the lower elevations. There is some initial weak QG forcing but the brunt stays up in Wyoming. Could see just enough moisture, shallow upslope and lift for a slight chance of showers across the northeast plains, especially near the Wyoming border. The main feature over the west this week which will be a developing closed low over the Great Basin on Tuesday before dropping into southern Arizona by late Wednesday. The models are in better agreement on this scenario which will mean the brunt of any precipitation will mainly stay south of our forecast area. As the low drops down into Arizona it does pump up low level moisture back into southern Colorado, possibly as far north as the southern Elbert and Lincoln counties on Wednesday. This could result in a chance of snow showers. By Thursday, the low has drags farther south that Colorado turns dry again. For the period late in the week and into the weekend, high pressure ridge builds across much of the west with dry conditions and warming temperatures expected for the mountains and plains. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Monday morning) Issued at 442 AM MST Sun Dec 10 2023 VFR conditions to prevail through tonight with highs clouds persisting overhead. After the southerly drainage winds at DEN and APA, west-northwest winds will develop around 18Z. Gusts to 30 knots will be possible through late afternoon, 22-23Z. At BJC, west winds are expected to be stronger with gusts to 40 knots possible. HiRes models show these stronger winds may not be widespread with some eddies producing weak easterly winds. Wind forecast confidence is low, with gusty west-northwest winds the most likely scenario, but far from certain. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until 5 PM MST this afternoon for COZ033>036. && SHORT TERM...Meier LONG TERM...Entrekin AVIATION...Meier
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 313 AM MST Sun Dec 10 2023 COZ030>051-111015- 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- 313 AM MST Sun Dec 10 2023 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS... This hazardous weather outlook is for northeast and north central Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Strong winds will intensify in the Front Range Mountains and Foothills this morning, with gusts up to 80 mph possible through the day. The strong winds will also cause areas of blowing and drifting snow, and poor visibilities. Highway 93 between Boulder and Golden will be especially vulnerable to the blowing snow, as well as open areas in the foothills and higher mountain passes above timberline. Occasional light snow will fall in the mountains today, mainly over far north central Colorado where favored northwest facing slopes could see 4 inches of snow through tonight. Elsewhere in the mountains, snowfall through tonight is expected to be less than 2 inches. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Mostly light snow will fall in the mountains Sunday into Tuesday, although several inches of snow will be possible around Rabbit Ears Pass and the Park Range. Another storm system dropping to our south would bring a chance of snow Tuesday night through Thursday. At this time, any snow is expected to be light and mainly over the mountains and then further east and south across the Palmer Divide. Dry and warmer again towards the end of the week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter reports of high winds will be appreciated.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A peak wind gust to 81 mph occurred near Brainard Lake.
A peak wind gust to 91 mph occurred near Tolland, with gust up to 88 mph near White Ranch Open Space.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 2023
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: 1143995, 1143996.