Fierce windstorm leaves trail of damage
January 25, 2017
It is the first month of the new year, and already on January 9th, 2017 there was a destructive windstorm that blew through Colorado. Winds that were Category 2 related to the hurricanes scale.
That morning, several school districts were closing due to the high winds and the loss of power. National Weather Service reported that Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base got a high of 101 m.p.h. winds and Monument got a high of 70 m.p.h. Officials were warning everyone to stay inside and to not go near any windows due to the collapse of trees and power lines as well as the blowing debris that made the outside extremely dangerous.
Due to power lines falling over 1,693 people in the Colorado Springs area were without power for more the 24 hours. It was a difficult time for residents living in Colorado Springs.
“I was without power for a total of 35 hours. All my family could eat were sandwiches because we weren’t prepared. It also got extremely cold at night so it was difficult to sleep” said Maddie Mitchell 12.
There were 19 crews out working during the storm trying to restore the power, but it took longer than expected. After several hours with no power, most people gained it back, but some didn’t and crews were saying it was due to the mast in their electrical box being broken, and the a electrician would have to fix it
That afternoon, the winds got so dangerously high, 101 m.p.h. Were recorded at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base that morning. This ended up to a ban on high profile vehicles driving on the highway between Monument to New Mexico’s border.
“I went out for lunch that day over by Highway 105, and the truck stop was just overflowing with trucks It was difficult to navigate around them because of how many there were” said Megan Best, 11.
Before the ban was announced, truck drivers were driving down the highway and it was reported that 9 semi have toppled over, including a bus- luckily no one was injured. Since it was ban to drive high profile vehicles, Lewis Palmer School District had to cancel all bus services, making it a very crazy afternoon for parents and students.
The next day, in some parts of neighborhoods it looked like a tornado had gone through the area with cars being crushed because of ginormous trees being blown over, to fences looking like they were torn apart. It was certainly a day of cleaning up for most Colorado Springs residents.