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Hurricane Force Winds Batter Front Range

DENVER (CBS4)- Colorado got blasted with two rounds of strong gusty winds on Sunday. The first wave hit the Front Range Mountains and Foothills with hurricane force winds enhanced by a driving jet stream and approaching cold front. Gust 74 mph and above are hurricane force.

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Credit (CBS4)

These winds hit early in the day and sparked several small fires here and there across the region including one near Ken Caryl and C-470. A second, larger fire near Idaho Springs that caused some evacuations.

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(credit: CBS)

The wind caused a wave of dust to sweep over the Denver metro area at around 3 p.m.

Video shared by CBS4 viewer Kristina Martinez shows the dust cloud moving over downtown Denver.

Other strong winds include low 70 mph gusts in Golden and Floyd Hill.

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Credit (CBS4)

The second wave of wind produced a huge plume of dust that covered the Denver Metro area and a large stretch of the I-25 corridor.

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Credit (CBS4)

This front also, dropped temperatures by about 15 degrees in about 10 minutes. Gust tracked thru the Metro area as high as 40 to 50 mph Sunday afternoon.

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