A high wind “warning ” issued by the National Weather Service didn’t seem to do justice to Monday’s reality, as gusts as high as 109 mph blew across the state.
Besides that high mark at Kenosha Pass, the Weather Service said gusts reached 94 mph at Gold Hill, 91 at Nederland and 88 at Aspen Springs.
The conditions made driving something of an adventure.
U.S. 285 was closed between Fairplay and Grant about 9 a.m. because of high winds, blowing snow and poor visibility.
That stretch of road reopened about 9 p.m., according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The wind speeds weren’t the only rapidly elevating numbers.
According to the Weather Service, the temperature Monday at Denver International Airport went from 12 to 39 degrees in one hour. The low temperature for the day was minus-5 degrees; the high was 55, a leap of 60 degrees.
Tuesday’s forecast called for considerably less wind, with the Denver metro area seeing mostly sunny skies and a high temperature in the lower 40s.
By late Tuesday night, however, a cold front is expected to move in, and by Wednesday, the high temperature is forecast to be in the 20s.
