Powerful windstorm slams region, gusts near 70 mph reported near Sidney

SIDNEY, Neb. — A powerful windstorm swept across the Nebraska Panhandle, southeast Wyoming and parts of northeast Colorado Thursday afternoon, producing widespread damaging wind gusts, blowing dust, road closures and hazardous travel conditions across the region.

The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning through 9 p.m. Thursday across the Nebraska Panhandle, southeast Wyoming and northeast Colorado.

Forecasters reported sustained west winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts reaching up to 75 mph across the region.

Early storm reports showed numerous wind gusts exceeding 60 mph. A gust of 69 mph was reported southwest of Sidney, while 66 mph was recorded near Gering and 65 mph near Buford, Wyoming. Other reports included 68 mph near Glendo, Wyoming and 61 mph near Dix in western Nebraska.

The strongest winds have been observed across southeast Wyoming, where several locations recorded gusts between 80 and 91 mph earlier Thursday.

In addition to the damaging winds, the National Weather Service issued a Blowing Dust Advisory across the Nebraska Panhandle through 6 p.m. Blowing dust has reduced visibility in some areas and created dangerous driving conditions.

A Dust Storm Warning was also issued Thursday afternoon for parts of Albany and Laramie counties in Wyoming, including the Cheyenne area, where visibility dropped to less than a quarter mile as strong winds carried large plumes of dust across Interstate 25 and Interstate 80.

Officials warned that sudden visibility reductions could create life-threatening travel conditions.

The extreme winds have also led to numerous travel restrictions and closures across the region.

According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Interstate 25 was closed to all commercial traffic from the Colorado border north to Douglas due to the ongoing windstorm. Interstate 80 westbound from Laramie to Rawlins was closed to all traffic following multiple crashes, while the same stretch of interstate was also closed to all commercial vehicles due to the extreme blowover risk.

Elsewhere across Wyoming, portions of Interstate 25, Interstate 80 and other highways were closed to light high-profile vehicles weighing between 40,000 and 75,000 pounds.

In Colorado, Interstate 25 was closed in both directions between Fort Collins and the Wyoming state line, while several other highways including U.S. Highway 85 were also shut down due to the extreme winds.

The powerful winds have also caused power outages. More than 14,000 customers lost electricity in Laramie County, Wyoming, while smaller outages were also reported in northeast Colorado.

The weather also impacted local schools. Banner County Schools in Harrisburg canceled classes Thursday due to the dangerous wind conditions.

Landfills in Sidney and Sterling were closed due to the strong winds.

The windstorm has also created dangerous fire weather conditions across the region. The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning through Thursday evening for all of western and north-central Nebraska.

Meteorologists say west winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph combined with humidity levels between 12 and 20 percent and temperatures climbing into the 70s could allow any fire that starts to spread rapidly and become difficult to control.

As of Thursday afternoon, one grass fire was reported near County Road 111 and County Road 112 northeast of Bridgeport in Morrill County. Multiple agencies were also requested for a fire that spread through a corn field in Chase County.

Forecasters say winds are expected to gradually weaken later Thursday evening, though breezy conditions could continue into the weekend.