High-Impact Weather and Climate Events

"The Pole Creek Fire was a lightning-caused fire in Juab, Sanpete, and Utah counties in central Utah in the Western United States. The fire is the largest in Utah in 2018. The fire was first reported on Thursday September 6, 2018. It merged with the Bald Mountain Fire on Monday September 17, 2018. An area of 100,000 acres was burned." - Wikipedia

"A very strong severe thunderstorm develop over Teller County during the afternoon of August 6th, 2018, then traveled southeast over the Highway 24 corridor, reaching the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The severe thunderstorm dropped 3 - 4" hailstones over the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and southern Colorado Springs. The estimated damage caused by this event was $173 million. A good overview of the injuries at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo can be found here. Follow this link for a meteorological write-up of the event: https://www.weather.gov/pub/20180806_ElPasoHail" - National Weather Service

The Spring Creek Fire started on June 27 and was contained on 9/6. The fire burned 108,045 acres, was human caused, and had an estimated cost of $35M. More than 140 homes were lost and another 120 were damaged. The fire was human caused and a Danish man on an expired visa was charged.

"On the evening of June 18th, a severe storm in northern Colorado produced baseball-sized hail and powerful winds. The storm damaged cars and homes in the Boulder area, before moving northeast toward Fort Morgan, where 70 mph winds and baseball-sized hail wreaked havoc in Morgan County. Storm reports included heavy rain in many parts of Colorado, with funnel clouds and tornadoes in the Eastern Plains." - NOAA NCEI

"A rare nocturnal severe thunderstorm developed over southern El Paso County during the early morning hours of June 13th, 2018. The severe thunderstorm dropped 3.0" hail over the southern Colorado Springs metropolitan area and Fountain. The estimated damage caused by this event was around $169 million dollars. Follow this link for an in-depth meteorological analysis and for more images: https://www.weather.gov/pub/20180613_ElPaso_Hail" - National Weather Service

416 & Burro Fire Complex. The 416 Fire started on June 1, 2018 and was fully contained by July 31. It burned 54,000 acres, mostly in the San Juan National Forest, and cost $25M to fight, but there was no loss of life or structure. Total estimated cost was $35.5M. Investigators determined that it was caused by burning particles from the exhaust stack of a coal-burning steam locomotive owned and operated by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Company. The federal government sued the railroad company in 2019. The Burro Fire started June 8, 2018 and was contained August 1 after burning 4600 acres of the San Juan National Forest. Investigators determined that it was human-caused, though the exact cause was not found. The Burro Fire cost $3M to fight. At one point the two fires nearly merged, coming within a few miles of each other.

"Gov. Herbert declares drought emergency for all of Utah." An extreme to exceptional drought centered on the 4-corners region began in mid-February 2018 and lasted almost an entire year, with relief from the exceptional drought designation lifting finally in January 2019. Almost the entire states of Utah and Arizona, northern New Mexico, and the southwestern portion of Colorado were under severe, extreme, or exceptional drought designation for much of the year. For the 2018 water year, the USGS stream gage on the San Juan River near Bluff, Utah, (09379500) broke its 92-year record for lowest total discharge, 481.8 kaf (the average has been 2.94 maf). It was the driest water year on record (beginning 1895) for the state of Utah, with 8.07" of precipitation, and in Colorado, it was the driest since 2002 with 12.8" of precipitation. According to the Salt Lake Tribune,16 of Utah’s major reservoirs were less than 20 percent full at the end of water year 2018, prompting the governor to declare a drought emergency for the state that was not rescinded until October 2019." - Salt Lake Tribune

"A potent and moist late spring storm produced heavy snow and rain across southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska from May 17th through the 19th. Snow amounts across southeast Wyoming ranged from 4 lower elevations to 36 inches over the mountains. Across western Nebraska, rain changed to snow early Thursday morning, with heavy snow falling Thursday and Thursday night. Numerous tree damage and power outages were reported." - National Weather Service

Severe thunderstorms in late afternoon produced giant hail up to baseball size (2.75") that pummeled a swath extending from Golden northeast through north Denver. Hail size exceeded 2" across Denver and Jefferson Counties and damaged over 50,000 homes, over 100,000 vehicles, and many businesses. Colorado Mills Mall in Lakewood was closed for 6 months to repair roof and interior damage. NOAA officially estimated damages of $2.5B, or $3.9B in 2022 dollars, which is higher than an early estimate of $1.4B by RMIIA that was widely reported. In either case, it was the most costly hailstorm in Colorado history.

"A powerful winter storm impacted a large part of southeast Wyoming and the western Nebraska Panhandle on February 22-24, 2017. The storm originated over eastern Siberia February 15, and intensified as it tracked across the Gulf of Alaska." ... "Days preceding the storm were warm and dry, characterized by temperatures in the 60s and lower 70s. As the cold front passed, high temperatures at Alliance, Nebraska, fell from 73 degrees on February 21 to 34 degrees February 23. The snow began for areas west of the Laramie Range on the afternoon of February 22, and spread east of Interstate 25 early in the morning on February 23. Snowfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour were observed before diminishing in the evening and overnight February 24. A broad swath of 12+ inches of snow was reported, including a 20-mile wide band of 20 to 25 inches extending from near Wheatland, Wyoming, east through Torrington, Wyoming, and Alliance, Nebraska. The dry air shown by the numerical models caused a sharp cutoff in snow amounts to the south, with only 2 to 5 inches along the Interstate 80 corridor from east of Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Sidney, Nebraska. One to three inches of snow fell in and around Laramie. In addition to the snow, gusty northerly winds resulted in considerable blowing and drifting snow, especially across western Carbon County, Wyoming, with blizzard conditions around Muddy Gap. This storm resulted in major impacts to transportation, resulting in numerous road closures across a large part of the region." - National Weather Service