If you hear Denver’s outdoor warning siren system Wednesday morning, don’t be alarmed. At 11 a.m., the city will conduct a full three-minute test of the siren system.
This test is done annually in advance of tornado season. Every siren in the county will be simultaneously sounded, including those at the airport.
Colorado averages just under 50 tornados a year, with the peak season taking place between May and July.
There hasn’t been a large tornado in Denver in more than 30 years, since a twister touched down near Broadway and Evans Avenue. An EF-3 came close in 2015, smacking the Berthoud-Longmont area. There was also an EF-3 tornado in nearby Windsor in 2008. Weld County, the site for both of those events, is Colorado’s most active tornado area.
The last twister in Denver was in 2015 when a storm produced a tornado just east of downtown.
There hasn’t been a large tornado in Denver since 1988.
