Thunderstorms doused Colorado with rain and lightning on Wednesday, flooding some communities in the state’s foothills and sending others on the Eastern Plains ducking for cover from hail, according to the National Weather Service.
A tornado was spotted near Fleming — about 20 miles east of Sterling in northeastern Colorado — at 6:25 p.m. Wednesday and confirmed by local law enforcement, . Information on the twister’s size and magnitude was not yet available Thursday morning.
Roughly 6.5 miles southeast of Fleming, residents of Dailey reported 3-inch hail at 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to the weather service’s severe storm reports .
That’s about the size of a teacup, sitting between 2.75-inch hail the size of baseballs and 4-inch hail the size of softballs, , which is part of the same federal agency as the weather service.
Any larger than 1 inch across, the size of a quarter, is considered “severe,” according to the storm lab.
Other severe hail reports from Wednesday night’s storm, according to the weather service, include:
- 1.5-inch hail near Berthoud at about 7:45 p.m. That’s the size of a walnut or a ping pong ball.
- 1.75-inch hail near Brush at about 8:45 p.m. That’s the size of a golf ball.
- 2-inch hail near Fort Morgan at about 4:20 p.m. That’s the size of a hen egg.
- 2.5-inch hail near Proctor, roughly 20 miles northeast of Sterling, at about 6:15 p.m. That’s the size of a tennis ball.
On the other side of Denver, the overnight storms brought “significant rainfall” and flooding to Jefferson and Clear Creek counties, .
The storm hovered over Evergreen for roughly two hours and dropped an estimated 6 inches of rain, sheriff’s officials said. Water levels above Evergreen Lake exploded from 12 cubic feet per second to 1,200 cubic feet per second. Below the lake, in Morrison, water levels on Bear Creek went from 6 cubic feet per second to 1,890 cubic feet per second, according to the sheriff’s office.
Cactus Jack’s Saloon and Grill of water rushing down Bear Creek in Evergreen at 11:51 p.m. Wednesday. The next morning, the restaurant showing flooding inside and on its patio.
“Muddy debris remains visible across multiple roadways, and some entrances to Jefferson County Parks and Open Space areas may be affected,” sheriff’s officials stated. “Several residents have also reported flood damage to their homes.”
An unspecified number of bridges in Evergreen were damaged or washed out, . As of Thursday morning, no injuries had been reported from the flooding.
The storms were severe enough that Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Morrison .
Heavy rain also caused several rockslides along a stretch of U.S. 6, shutting down the highway in both directions between Floyd Hill and Golden. It’s unknown when the highway will reopen.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
