DENVER-
A storm predicted to bring up to 12 inches of snow for higher areas from Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge dumped rain along the Front Range and brought a tornado to the Eastern Plains.
Weather spotters reported a tornado just south of Holyoke in northeast Colorado just before 4:30 p.m., the National Weather Service said. No damage or injuries were immediately reported.
By evening, 8 inches of snow was reported at Coal Creek Canyon, about 11 miles southwest of Boulder, and 5.5 inches was reported at Fraser, in Grand County, meteorologist Frank Benton said. About 4 inches was reported at Estes Park in northern Colorado, but reports were still coming in.
With recent warm weather and wind melting the snowpack much faster than average, any precipitation was welcome, although it affected driving conditions.
As of Saturday, the state’s snowpack was 77 percent of the 30-year average.
