A severe storm dumped hail and rain on the Denver metro area Friday afternoon, flooding commuters during rush hour and delaying flights at Denver International Airport.
Several inches of rain fell in the span of a couple hours, and tornado sirens went off in downtown Denver about 5 p.m.
“We are seeing a lot of standing water all over the metro area, but it is even going a little farther south down on the interstate,” said Paul Peterson, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. A tremendous amount of hail fell from Colorado 7 north of the metro area down through Greenwood Village, Peterson said. Traffic slowed, but no major wrecks were reported.
“There was not too much other than the lookie-loos and folks wanting to jump out and take pictures of the hail,” he said.
Fire departments across the metro area dealt with a high number of calls for help, mostly from people who panicked as the water level rose under their cars. “We had numerous water rescues with several people trapped,” said Denver Fire Lt. Phil Champagne.
Lightning strikes were reported, and several small fires broke out because of downed power lines in the city, Champagne said.
Thunderstorms are very common in June, said Bob Glancy, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
