Suspected microburst causes damage to power lines in Northern Colorado

Footage out of Greeley, Colorado, shows significant damage to power lines believed to have been caused by a microburst.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. on Saturday, knocking down and snapping multiple power lines. Multiple trees and branches also appear to have been broken in the microburst.

Photos of the scene appear to show a significant amount of smoke and a small fire in the nearby grass. Colorado Department of Transportation traffic cameras in the area show a burn scar along U.S. 85 near Highway 34.

The Greeley Police Department says the interchange at highways 85 and 34 is closed due to a grassland fire. They said fire and police personnel are in the area, and there is no current estimate of when the lanes will be reopened.

Xcel Energy's outage map shows 36 outages reported in the surrounding area, affecting 3,252 customers. Power restoration estimates vary by location.

A microburst is a concentrated burst of sinking air that descends from a thunderstorm and strikes the ground. The air then spreads rapidly outward, producing strong and sometimes damaging winds across a relatively small area.

The National Weather Service said, "There have been at least 3 outflow boundaries that have moved through Greeley in the last 2 hours or so. The Greeley airport (KGXY) observations show several periods this afternoon with wind gusts of 25-40 mph. Unfortunately, these are the closest (and best) observations to that area."

According to CBS Colorado Meteorologist Joe Ruch, there were "likely some isolated gusts that were stronger than that, as indicated by velocity."