Strong, gusty winds picked up dust on Colorado highways, leading to traffic backups, highway closures and even a semi getting blown over. Video from Jefferson County, Colorado shows some of the impacts.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo.– It was a very windy morning in Colorado on Thursday as wind gusts blew up dust, closed highways and even knocked over semi trucks on the road.
Video from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office showed intense winds picking up and blowing dust across the highway as a line of cars sat waiting to go.
Thick dust blocks the view of a highway in Colorado during a windstorm.
(Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office / FOX Weather)
The sheriff’s office said a semi truck had been knocked over by the high winds.
The FOX Forecast Center said wind gusts as high as 81 mph were recorded Thursday morning around the time, and in the area of Highway 93 where the incident happened.
Throughout the morning, wind gusts remained high, between 60 and 70 mph.
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A semi truck blown over on Highway 93 in Jefferson County, Colorado.
(Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office / FOX Weather)
Another video taken by the sheriff’s office showed the semi on its side, pushed off the highway.
Tall grass next to the truck was blowing intensely by the gusty winds.
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A photo showed a second highway closure due to a second semi-truck rollover on Lookout Mountain.
A semi truck blew over on the highway at Lookout Mountain in Colorado on March 12, 2026.
(Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office / FOX Weather)
The winds were caused by a clipper system delivering a windstorm across the Plains and Great Lakes.
As the clipper continues its quick eastward track, it is creating a broad swath of damaging winds that began Thursday morning in the Northern Rockies and High Plains, where gusts were measured between 70 and 80 mph.
The FOX Forecast Center said the Cheyenne Regional Airport in Wyoming recorded a 90 mph wind gust report, breaking an all-time record.
Winds died down in the afternoon and remained calm on Thursday evening.
