As firefighters continue to battle a large wildfire near Colorado Springs, the extent of destruction caused by the fire is now being realized. While assessments will continue in the coming days, it is now known that at least one person has been killed and nearly 350 homes destroyed. Get the latest on the fire and view new pictures of the blaze on Examiner.com
Summer is barely a week old and yet hundreds of thousands of acres in the West have burned causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. As Colorado and New Mexico cope with record-setting disasters, many are asking questions about the lack of a competent air tanker fleet after a decade of decline. Read more on Examiner.com about why President Barack Obama may face tough questions when he comes to Colorado tomorrow.
Tuesday afternoon the Waldo Canyon Fire west of Colorado Springs exploded with extraordinary ferocity. The blaze moved toward the Air Force Academy prompting the base to evacuate some personnel.
The scene that evening was an eerie one as the sky was darkened by the smoke and the setting sun provided an orange cast. Click here to view a slideshow on Examiner.com of some amazing photos from the academy as the flames encroached.
The only Department of Defense wildfire fighting team is being deployed to aid in the battle against wildfires ravaging Colorado. The hot shot crew from Vandenberg Air Force Base is expected to be on the lines of the Waldo Canyon Fire near the Air Force Academy. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com and check out the amazing slideshow of the fire approaching the academy.
Just days into summer Colorado was already experiencing a devastating season of wildfires. On Tuesday the fires became an inferno forcing more than 30,000 residents across the state to evacuate ahead of the flames. Get the latest on the Waldo Canyon Fire, Flagstaff Fire and more on Examiner.com
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper today issued an executive order banning all open burning and the use of personal fireworks across the state. As the High Park Fire shows, conditions are tinder dry and while lightning was the cause of that blaze, man is often to blame for wildfires as well.
“We can’t completely eliminate the threat of wildfire because there’s no way to control Mother Nature,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “But we can take steps to reduce the risks of more wildfires starting. This ban is a necessary step to help protect people, property and the beautiful state we live in.”
The ban will put a damper on 4th of July fireworks festivities but is a necessary step to protect life and property. For campers, there will be limitations in unimproved locations but fires in permanent pits within developed campgrounds will still be allowed as long as the local authority allows it.
You can read Gov. Hickenloopers statement here and the full text of the executive order here.
The High Park Fire now ranks as the third largest blaze in Colorado history. In 96 short hours the blaze grew to encompass an area more than 72 square miles and is now only 10% contained and still growing.
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Now at 14,000 acres, the High Park Fire continues to grow unabated. Winds had shifted overnight sending the smoke over the metro area and Thornton but this afternoon they moved to the east. Satellite imagery, shown in the video below, clearly shows the smoke plume stretching through Colorado into Wyoming and Nebraska and starting to impact South Dakota.
Be sure to check out our Wildland Fire Activity and News page for the latest.
Northeastern Colorado closed out 2011 with pummeling high winds on New Year’s Eve. Wind gusts of tropical and hurricane storm strength slammed into the region causing damage and claiming one life.
In the Denver metro area gusts approaching 50mph were common while areas in the foothills and mountains to the west and on the plains to the northeast saw much higher speeds. Here in Thornton we recorded a maximum gust of 44.9mph in the predawn hours.
Following is a summary of the event from the National Weather Service:
Post-Storm Summary of the New Year’s Eve Windstorm
A fast moving upper level storm system, along with a deep low pressure system over Nebraska and high pressure building over Utah, combined to create a powerful windstorm across Northeast and North Central Colorado on December 31st. The high wind event began in the mountains after midnight Friday night, and then spread across the plains early Saturday morning. The height of the windstorm on the plains occurred around mid day when numerous gusts between 60 and 80 mph were reported.
The strong winds produced damage to fences and some roofs, and also knocked down trees resulting in power outages to approximately 19,000 residents. Some trucks were also blown off the road, and 1 fatality occurred due to a flying tree limb on U.S. Highway 36 north of Boulder.
Visibilities over the northeast corner of the state were also reduced significantly by a combination of blowing dust and blowing snow.
The following is a list by county of maximum wind gusts associated with this powerful windstorm…
Location Maximum Wind Gust
Adams…
Bennett 60 MPH
Front Range Airport 60 MPH
Arapahoe…
Deer Trail 59 MPH
Centennial 55 MPH
Boulder…
1 W Lyons 101 MPH
4 NW Boulder 84 MPH
Boulder 81 MPH
NCAR Mesa Lab 79 MPH
North Longmont 75 MPH
Boulder Municipal Airport 59 MPH
2 NNW Louisville 58 MPH
Broomfield…
Rocky Mountain Regional Airport 58 MPH
Clear Creek…
Berthoud Pass 94 MPH
Denver…
Buckley AFB 64 MPH
Denver International Airport 59 MPH
Douglas…
Centennial Airport 55 MPH
10 SSE Castle Rock 52 MPH
Highlands Ranch 50 MPH
Elbert…
10 E Parker 67 MPH
Elizabeth 55 MPH
Grand…
Berthoud Pass 94 MPH
11 N Kremmling 80 MPH
9 S Fraser 80 MPH
Jefferson…
3 SSE Pinecliffe 111 MPH
3 S Golden 86 MPH
Highway 72 and 93 Junction 79 MPH
National Wind Technology Center 77 MPH
3 NNW Morrison 76 MPH
4 S Rocky Flats 73 MPH
2 E Golden 67 MPH
2 E Northeast Lakewood 64 MPH
2 ENE Lakewood 64 MPH
3 W Conifer 62 MPH
Wheat Ridge 55 MPH
Larimer…
4 E Loveland 73 MPH
Natural Fort Rest Area 71 MPH
5 NW Fort Collins 67 MPH
3 NE Loveland 67 MPH
Wellington 63 MPH
4 E Fort Collins 63 MPH
Virginia Dale 62 MPH
Fort Collins 57 MPH
Lincoln…
3 W Cedar Point 80 MPH
Limon Airport 74 MPH
Logan…
Sterling Airport 73 MPH
Sterling 70 MPH
Crook 65 MPH
Morgan…
Wiggins 61 MPH
Park…
Kenosha Pass 79 MPH
Fairplay 77 MPH
Wilkerson Pass 58 MPH
Phillips…
4 E Haxtun 70 MPH
Holyoke 63 MPH
8 S Holyoke 62 MPH
Summit…
7 S Frisco 126 MPH
9 E Dillon 90 MPH
7 SSW Frisco 86 MPH
Washington…
Akron 75 MPH
Woodrow 73 MPH
5 NW Woodlin School 67 MPH
Weld…
4 ENE Eaton 80 MPH
3 NNW Cornish 79 MPH
2 NNW New Raymer 77 MPH
10 NE Pawnee Buttes 74 MPH
Briggsdale 72 MPH
9 NNE Briggsdale 72 MPH
7 N Rockport 70 MPH
Greeley Airport 67 MPH
4 ENE Severance 63 MPH
Eaton 63 MPH
1 N Greeley 62 MPH
6 E Berthoud 62 MPH
2 W Keenesburg 58 MPH
Milliken 56 MPH
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) released updated outlooks for winter 2011 – 2012 indicating it could be a snowy one for the northern half of Colorado.
The original outlooks from the agency released previously offered a drier picture, primarily based on the influences of La Niña in the Pacific. Given however that the current event is relatively mild, its effects are limited, particularly this far inland.
For the meteorological winter from December 2011 to February 2012, NOAA places virtually all of Colorado in an area that has equal chance of well above, well below, or near-normal temperatures. However, the northern half of the state, including Denver, is given a 33% chance of experiencing above normal precipitation.
NOAA said:
The winter outlook for this winter favors above average temperatures across much of the South, from New Mexico across the Southeast to the Atlantic coast… and also favors below average temperatures across much of the Northern plain, the Northern Rockies, the Pacific Northwest, and a good part of the West as well as the southern half of Alaska.
With regards to precipitation, we see those areas most likely to experience below-average precipitation across the South– in particular Florida and Texas– with a better than even chance of being wetter than average across much of the North– particularly from the Ohio valley and the Northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.
Last year, Denver experienced second least snowiest snow season on record as the city only recorded 22.8 inches (21.2 inches in Thornton). This season the picture is much improved with 22.2 inches having been recorded so far – nearly as much as all of last season.
On the net:
Fed by a strong jet streak roaring above the Colorado Rocky Mountains, a mountain wave setup over the western half of the state yesterday. Strong winds were the result and were combined with heavy snow in the central and northern mountains.
The incredibly strong winds that would be the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane ripped through Colorado’s high country in the past 24 hours. Many locations reported gusts in excess of 100mph downing power lines and trees and creating hazardous driving conditions.
The top wind gust reported by the National Weather Service was 115mph south of Frisco in Summit County.
Berthoud Pass saw a 113mph gust at the Mines Peak Summit (12,500 feet) with sustained winds to 86mph. After sending that reading, the station’s anemometer (wind sensor) broke.
Other locations recording gusts near 100mph included Loveland Pass at 100mph and Kenosha Pass recorded 101mph. Berthoud in Larimer County saw 99mph and the National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa lab in Boulder recorded 90mph.
Here in Thornton we thankfully didn’t see winds nearly that fast however ours were notable. We recorded a 38mph gust Saturday afternoon and a 47mph gust shortly after midnight Sunday morning.
High winds like these, while quite strong, are not entirely unusual. Dangers from these powerful winds include power outages, flying debris, collapsed structures and the potential to overturn vehicles. Learn more in our story, Winter weather preparedness: The threat of high winds in Colorado.
Below is a water vapor satellite showing the mountain waves as the moved across the southern part of Colorado.
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