DENVER—An unusual string of rain and snow storms has prompted flood threats across eastern Colorado, spawned tornadoes and resulted in the cancellation of a popular spring festival.
Thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday flooded fields 12 miles north of Denver where Thorntonfest had been scheduled for Saturday, according to The Denver Post. The National Weather Service warned of possible flooding in Moffat County in northwest Colorado and on the eastern plains.
Homeowners were also on alert in the mountains west of Boulder where slopes left bare by a wildfire in September spurred concerns about flooding. No floods or mudslides had been reported as of Thursday.
A tornado briefly touched down southeast of the Colorado Springs airport late Thursday afternoon, firefighters told The Gazette. No damage was immediately reported.
Denver International Airport has received 3.66 inches of rain in May, the weather service said. That’s more than double the amount of precipitation that fell in the first four months of the year, and the rain is expected to continue until next week.
Spring Creek and the Cache la Poudre in Fort Collins in northern Colorado were running full. The Coloradoan reported the creek had spilled onto portions of a pedestrian trail.
In the mountains, parts of Gilpin County saw almost 6 inches of fresh snow Wednesday and Thursday. Boulder County got more than 4 inches and the lower elevations in Jefferson County got at least 2 inches of new snow.
Statewide snowpack levels are at 181 percent of average and more snow is expected to fall in western Colorado as a large storm continues to move east from Utah.
The abundance of late-spring snow moved the Aspen Skiing Co. to reopen Aspen Mountain to skiers and snowboards on Memorial Day weekend. Highway crews trying to clear the 12,095-foot Independence Pass near Aspen and 12,183-foot Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park in time for the holiday weekend were plowing their way through snow drifts than 20 feet deep.
