Andy Stein
The Rare Colorado Derecho
A derecho is a line of strong storms with damaging winds that holds its intensity for a very long time. You’ll typically find derechos in the Midwest and eastern U.S., which makes what hit Colorado on June 6 a rare occurrence: This was the first derecho to impact Colorado in modern records. There were 91 reports of damaging winds in a single day, smashing the old record of thirty back in May 2006. The highest wind report came from Winter Park, which measured 110 mph.
The Yuma Heat Burst
Colorado is known for its temperature swings, but the one in early July in Yuma was a record-breaker. A collapsing (or weakening) thunderstorm sent down a plume of air in what s known in meteorology as adiabatic warming. The temperature in Yuma at 2 a.m. was 68 degrees. By 4 a.m., the temperature had risen to 88 degrees. And just two hours later, the temperature was back to 64 degrees.