Feb 20, 2012; 10:56 AM ET
Presidents Day 2012 will be remembered for a strong wind event set to take shape over the Southwestern part of the country.
A storm system ejecting out of the Rockies will spawn a low pressure system on the lee side of the Rockies today.
This low pressure system combined with high pressure over Utah will create a strong northerly gradient across the Rockies.
When a strong pressure gradient sets up, the atmosphere produces wind to try and equalize the pressure.
The tighter the gradient, the stronger the wind gusts that are produced.
In this case, gusty winds will develop rather quickly this morning across the Rockies and High Plains. A strong northwest wind will be the rule from eastern Colorado down through central and eastern New Mexico into the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.
Winds will gust around midday and this afternoon to 60 mph from just east of Albuquerque through Roswell and Clovis, N.M.
60 mph wind gusts are also likely into the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles from Guymon, Okla. through Amarillo and Lubbock, Tex.
Gusty winds to this magnitude can easily produce areas of blowing dust which can reduce visibility to below 1/4 at times. Blowing dust is most likely across eastern New Mexico and western Texas, including across Lubbock, Amarillo, and Midland, Texas.
Gusty winds will be felt all the way into eastern Colorado to the east of the Front Range, including Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Denver where winds can gust to 50 mph.
Residents in the high plains from Goodland to Dodge City, Kan. won't miss out on the gusty winds either! Winds across western Kansas may gust to between 50 and 60 mph with just a little less wind over the rest of the state.
Gusts to 50 or 60 mph can easily down tree branches and small trees. Power outages could become a problem, especially from midday Monday through Monday evening.
Residents are urged to tie down any loose objects outside as they can be easily tossed in a wind storm of this magnitude.
As the aforementioned low pressure system slides into the Plains later today and tonight, the winds will begin to diminish from west to east across the Rockies and High Plains. Though not before affecting millions of residents of the U.S.
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