Update 1:30 p.m.: A tornado was spotted west of Colorado Springs, according to from the National Weather Service.
The magnitude of the tornado is unknown, but it touched down near Woodland Park, near the edge of Pike National Forest, at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday.
It downed multiple trees and power lines in the area, according to the initial storm report.
As of 1:30 p.m., the area where the tornado was spotted remained under a . That watch covers Colorado’s Front Range, including Denver, and most of the Eastern Plains.
Tornadoes, up to apple-sized hail and damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph are all possible, forecasters said.
Update 11:10 a.m.: Colorado’s Front Range and much of the Eastern Plains is under a as tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds loom in the forecast, National Weather Service officials said.
The severe weather watch is in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday and includes the entire metro Denver area and Interstate 25 corridor as far west as Park County and as far east as Sterling.
Tornadoes, scattered apple-sized hail and scattered wind gusts up to 70 mph are forecast, according to the agency.
Original story: Hail up to the size of tennis balls attacked parts of Colorado in a rare overnight storm, and a second wave of severe weather is expected to hit Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Between 2:20 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, hail ranging from the size of quarters to the size of tennis balls was reported north and east of Denver, .
The wave of severe weather that brought the hail was forecast to wind down at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, .
Parts of Colorado north and east of Denver will remain under a until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
A second round of storms is expected to form over the Front Range mountains at about noon and move east, lasting through roughly 6 p.m., weather service forecasters said.
The afternoon storms are forecast to bring up to 3-inch hail, roughly the size of a teacup; 80 mph wind gusts; and heavy rain, forecasters said in a .
The strongest chance for 3-inch hail will be in southeastern Colorado, forecasters said. The largest hail forecast in northern Colorado is 2 inches.
A few tornadoes could also touch down on the Eastern Plains during the afternoon storm, forecasters said in the outlook.
is considered severe and are damaging, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, which is part of the same federal agency as the weather service.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
