PUNKIN CENTER, Colo.—A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for much of eastern Colorado on Thursday after a funnel cloud was sighted near Punkin Center, about 50 miles east of Colorado Springs.
Tornado warnings issued earlier in the day were canceled. There were no reports of a tornado touching down.
Up to 5 inches of snow was forecast in the Colorado mountains above 9,000 feet.
“People towing trailers and such may be leaving expecting some nicer weather, and when they get to the mountain passes, they’re going to say, ‘What’s this white stuff?'” said John Kyle of the Weather Service office in Grand Junction in western Colorado.
“It’s such a late-season storm,” he said.
Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park was closed. Colorado 5, which reaches the summit of 14,264-foot Mount Evans, was closed at Summit Lake, about 1,200 feet below the peak.
It was the second straight day of severe weather on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. On Wednesday, at least two tornadoes were reported in Yuma County, about 120 miles northeast of Denver, along with 6 inches of hail and 3 1/2 inches of rain.
Wheat and corn crops were damaged and some basements in the town of Yuma were flooded.
