Loud, wet, threatening weather rumbled along the Front Range Wednesday evening, with lightning flashing and hail falling. A wide-spread tornado watch, including Denver, expired at 9 p.m., but thunderstorm watches remained in effect for the northeastern plains until 2 a.m.
A severe thunderstorm warning remained for parts of Adams and Arapahoe counties until 10 p.m.
At Coors Field, the grounds crew scrambled to cover the infield at about 5 p.m.; the Colorado Rockies were originally scheduled at 6:10 p.m. to play the Los Angeles Dodgers. The game finally started at 8:20 p.m., but experienced one more 16-minute delay.
Thunder rumbled in downtown Denver, where skies were cloudy and dark, clapping at about 5 p.m., just in time for the evening commute amd a severe thunderstorm warning was issued.
Hail was reported from Morrison to Littleton to Highlands Ranch to Larkspur, if Twitter pictures can be believed.
The National Weather Service reported a severe thunderstorm over Elizabeth, with up half-dollar sized hail in some areas, just after 5 p.m.; the storm was moving east at about 15 mph, damaging vehicles and properties along the way.
The stormy weather was also whipping up winds, up to 50 mph in some spots.
“The main thing is to stay tuned for warnings and try to stay inside a shelter,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Frank Cooper.
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In addition to the tornado watch, Cooper said golf ball-sized hail to baseball-sized hail was possible.
FORECAST:
Forecasters say rivers could run high as new precipitation mixes with snowmelt. Minor flooding is expected along the Cache La Poudre and South Platte Rivers in Weld County.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
