Severe weather pounds Denver area for second day
A “large and extremely dangerous tornado” in northeastern Highlands Ranch was confirmed Thursday afternoon by the National Weather Service in Boulder as severe thunderstorms pounded the Denver area for a second straight day.
The storm downed trees and damaged roofs in the heavily populated C-470 area. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The tornado — which was confirmed at about 3:30 p.m. — moved southeast, according to the weather service.
A tornado warning was issued for north-central Douglas and southwestern Arapahoe counties. It expired shortly after 4 p.m.
Large cone #tornado plants in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on south side of Denver. Captured by my copilot @DouglasHicks1 LIVE storm chase continues: https://t.co/IGuKI7bQUX pic.twitter.com/Hw8cSNmhwx — Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) June 22, 2023
A video posted to Twitter by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office showed strong winds whipping trees near the intersection of Highlands Ranch Parkway and Zotos Drive. Other images posted on social media showed downed trees in the area.
A Colorado Sun reporter saw uprooted trees and downed branches in Highlands Ranch.
South Metro Fire Rescue said it was “responding to dozens of calls in Highlands Ranch … for storm-related damage, including roof damage, trees down, natural gas leaks and electrical problems.” The reports were south of C-470 near Quebec Street.
“No reports of any injuries so far,” the department said in a tweet that included an image of damage to one of its stations.
Severe weather is expected throughout Thursday afternoon and evening across the Front Range. Large hail was reported in the Evergreen and Morrison areas, as well as in Lakewood.
There was localized flooding in some parts of the Denver metro area.
The National Weather Service sent a push alert to cellphones in Denver warning of baseball-sized hail — prompting Lakewood to activate its tornado sirens — but hail that size apparently never fell.
Thousands of people lost power in the storm, according to Xcel Energy. Many flights at Denver International Airport were delayed.
Severe weather also hit the Denver area on Wednesday, causing flooding and damage.
A hailstorm Wednesday evening at Red Rocks Amphitheatre injured about 100 people who were attending a concert. The venue posted on Twitter that it offered its “sincere best wishes to everyone affected by last night’s storms across Colorado.” Venue officials said a concert scheduled for Thursday evening is still on but the gates will open later.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Colorado Sun staff writer Jennifer Brown contributed to this report.
Source: The Colorado Sun
