© Jennifer Dickson
Tree damage in Evergreen from Saturday’s derecho.
A derecho packing winds in excess of 75 mph moved across Wyoming and Colorado Saturday, damaging homes and knocking down trees and power lines.
The storms produced several hurricane-force wind gusts, including a
110 mph gust in Winter Park, Colorado, according to the National Weather Service. Winds up to 99 mph were reported in Great Divide, Colorado, and 81 mph in Rock Springs, Wyoming. A 78 mph wind gust was reported at Denver International Airport.
Enough significant wind gusts were recorded on Saturday that a record was set for most significant wind gusts in one calendar day.
The derecho, a strong line of thunderstorms that produces hundreds of miles of straight-line wind damage, developed in far eastern Utah Saturday morning, then raced northeastward across Colorado and Wyoming into the western Dakotas and western Nebraska during the afternoon and evening hours, a track of at least 750 miles in about 12 hours, according to Elizabeth Leitman, a meteorologist with NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.
The line of storms formed on the southern flank of a developing low pressure system over the northern Rockies and southwestern Canada.
Comment: Nearby at Tamarack up to 10 inches of snow has been reported: