Hurricane Force Winds Batter Front Range
DENVER (CBS4)- Colorado got blasted with two rounds of strong gusty winds on Sunday. The first wave hit the Front Range Mountains and Foothills with hurricane force winds enhanced by a driving jet stream and approaching cold front. Gust 74 mph and above are hurricane force.
These winds hit early in the day and sparked several small fires here and there across the region including one near Ken Caryl and C-470. A second, larger fire near Idaho Springs that caused some evacuations.
The wind caused a wave of dust to sweep over the Denver metro area at around 3 p.m.
Video shared by CBS4 viewer Kristina Martinez shows the dust cloud moving over downtown Denver.
Other strong winds include low 70 mph gusts in Golden and Floyd Hill.
The second wave of wind produced a huge plume of dust that covered the Denver Metro area and a large stretch of the I-25 corridor.
This front also, dropped temperatures by about 15 degrees in about 10 minutes. Gust tracked thru the Metro area as high as 40 to 50 mph Sunday afternoon.
