By Jenn Schuch and Scott Harrison
j.schuch@krdotv.com
Wednesday began what will be a windy few days in southern Colorado, with gusts over 40 miles an hour. Some areas of the region reported wind speeds above 90. That's hurricane force, and windy even by normal colorado standards.
The Pikes Peak region has had its share of storms this spring, but Wednesday it was clouds of dust which darkened the skies and the mountain horizon. Most of the dust comes not from Colorado, but from the southwest, which is caught in the same weather pattern. The dust likely would be worse without recent rainfall in the area.
The winds caused plenty of power outages, and blew down a line near I-25 and Garden of the Gods road. "A wire had fallen into the back yard of a residence," explains firefighter Aaron Anderson, who responded to the scene. "We cleared the residence and made sure it wasn't going to be occupied by any people."
Colorado Springs Utilities reported about 6,000 customers briefly lost power from power lines downed by either wind or fallen tree limbs and branches. Most of those customers had power restored by evening.
The Colorado Department Of Health issued a dust advisory as a precaution; advising people sensitive to dust, to stay indoors. For most residents, however, a few leaves and some broken branches were the only signs of damage from the strong wind. The winds apparently affected NEWSCHANNEL 13 as well, forcing the temporary use of a backup generator.
Large amounts of dust in the air prompted people to call NEWSCHANNEL 13 asking if there was a fire burning somewhere. As STORMTRACKER 13 meteorologists reported, hurricane-level wind gusts hit some areas. One gust just south of Westcliffe reached 82 miles-per-hour. Large trees were uprooted in Monte Vista. Here is a list of peak gusts we measured locally:
- Briargate: 44 miles-per-hour
- Cripple Creek: 57 miles-per-hour
- Falcon: 47 miles-per-hour
- Fountain: 49 miles-per-hour
- Manitou Springs: 37 miles-per-hour
- Monument: 52 miles-per-hour
- Motor City: 37 miles-per-hour
- Powers & Galley: 39 miles-per-hour
- Pueblo: 44 miles-per-hour
- U.S. 24 & Peterson: 45 miles-per-hour
If the wind impacted your day in some way, let us know about it by sending KRDO an e-mail under the "Contact Us" tab.
