Rain and hail pounded portions of the Front Range Tuesday afternoon and evening, as it has done most days this month in what’s been one of the wettest and most turbulent months of June in recent memory.
The thunderstorm dropped 1.54 inches on the official weather-recording station at Denver International Airport between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday, which set a record for the date for Denver rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
The old record was 0.69 inches set in 1906.
So far this month, Denver has collected 3.91 inches of precipitation. The average for the entire month is less than half that, 1.56 inches.
The metro region now stands at 1.75 inches above average precipitation for the year, after beginning the year with the 10th driest January on record.
The severe thunderstorm Tuesday afternoon produced a tornado that touched down briefly in an open field five miles east of Matheson in in Elbert County just before 5 p.m., but no damage was reported.
At 8:07 p.m. a tornado was reported about 17 miles east of Sterling as a severe thunderstorm producing 1-inch hail and heavy rain moved through the area, according to the National Weather Service.
The severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect for northeastern Colorado until 9 p.m.
At about 8:45 p.m. the Colorado Department of Transportation closed eastbound Interstate 76 because of a rollover accident involving a semitrailer truck. Visibility in the area about 30 miles east of Sterling is said to be down to zero in heavy rain and wind.
The line of thunderstorms also produced an inch of quarter-sized hail across Parker, as well, and minor flooding was reported near Cherry Creek, according to the Weather Service.
