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Tag: Denver Tornadoes

  • Denver Tornadoes: At Least 4 Tornadoes Touched Down

    Wednesday, May 21, was a night full of severe weather for the Denver, Colorado area.

    Not only did at least four tornadoes touch down, the storms brought heavy rain, intense lightning, and icy hail.

    The National Weather Service reported that four tornadoes were documented in Watkins, East Denver, Aurora, Byers and Leader.

    Jeff Piotrowski, a witness to the severe outbreak, told CNN that he had seen five tornadoes touch down not too far from the Denver International Airport.

    “This thing is spinning up multiple tornadoes,” Piotrowski recalled. “There were tornadoes on the outer ring of the circulation, … and then there’s the main tornado vortex closer to the storm.”

    Although the airport was not directly impacted, the storm definitely affected the flight schedules. The airport’s spokeswoman Kate O’Malley explained that six planes had to be taken out of service, due to hail damage, and 38 flights had to be diverted with 90-minute delays. They also had their hotel and transit workers take shelter in their garage while the storms ravaged through the area.

    The aftermath of the storm left flooded streets, and roads covered in ice; looking like a winter storm had just swept through.

    No injuries have been reported.

    Image via Twitter

  • Denver Tornadoes Cause Hail Storm And Disrupts Airport

    On Wednesday, a total of eight tornadoes touched down in the Denver metro area. In addition, Colorado was also facing a fierce thunderstorm that produced piles of hail, which caused residents to take shelter.

    Three tornadoes touched down in Araphoe County, one in Denver County, and four in Adams County. The first tornado was reported at 2:05 p.m. in Aurora, and the last was at 5:06 p.m. in Adams.

    The Weather Service issued a tornado watch, which will be in effect until 8 p.m. local time. Jim Kalina, a meteorologist, said, “Denver’s kind of in the clear right now unless something else develops.”

    With the threat of the tornadoes, authorities at the Denver International Airport were forced to suspend flights. Passengers were asked to seek shelter and remain outside the facility. Airport officials said that the terminal building sustained some water damage.

    The scene at Denver Airport

    Although the airport was not directly hit by the tornado, it was still affected. Frontier Airlines reported that six of their planes had to be removed from service because of hail damage.

    Kalina also said that this is the peak time for tornadoes to hit the Denver area. According to Frank Cooper, a meteorologist with the NWS in Boulder, the stormy weather was triggered by the southeastern winds, which resulted in a pattern he called the “Denver cyclone.”

    Denver’s geography also played a part in the development of the storm. Denver is surrounded by high terrains and mountains. As the winds picked up speed, Denver’s terrain set up a “swirl,” and the Denver cyclone took effect.

    According to reports, the affected cities and neighboring areas escaped the violent tornadoes without getting significant damages.

    The Colorado Department of Transportation sent out crews to clear roadways after large hailstones rained down. According to the Denver police, up to 5 inches of hail built up on 67th Avenue.

    Watch supercell tornado develop over Denver

    Image via YouTube