100 MPH Wind Gusts Hit Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains Early Saturday
DENVER (CBS4) - Strong wind gusts hit the mountains of south-central Colorado early Saturday morning. The National Weather Service placed the area under a high wind warning for the potential to see gusts as high as 100 mph.
A weather station located near Stonewall recorded a wind gust of 100 mph at 7:09 a.m. on Saturday. The station is located at an elevation of 8,406 feet.
A few hours later at 9:14 a.m. a weather station near the Spanish Peaks, at an elevation of 9,750 feet, recorded a gust of 90 mph. The Spanish Peaks are a pair of prominent mountains located in the southwestern part of Huerfano County.
The highest gust recorded as of this posting was 108 mph at 6:55 a.m. at the Tercio Ranch Airfield located near Weston.
In addition to the high wind it is unusually warm and dry across a large part of eastern Colorado. The weather is causing extreme fire danger and has prompted a red flag warning to be issued for Saturday afternoon.