On Wednesday, a total of eight tornadoes touched down in the Denver metro area. In addition, Colorado was also facing a fierce thunderstorm that produced piles of hail, which caused residents to take shelter.
Three tornadoes touched down in Araphoe County, one in Denver County, and four in Adams County. The first tornado was reported at 2:05 p.m. in Aurora, and the last was at 5:06 p.m. in Adams.
The Weather Service issued a tornado watch, which will be in effect until 8 p.m. local time. Jim Kalina, a meteorologist, said, “Denver’s kind of in the clear right now unless something else develops.”
With the threat of the tornadoes, authorities at the Denver International Airport were forced to suspend flights. Passengers were asked to seek shelter and remain outside the facility. Airport officials said that the terminal building sustained some water damage.
The scene at Denver Airport
Although the airport was not directly hit by the tornado, it was still affected. Frontier Airlines reported that six of their planes had to be removed from service because of hail damage.
Kalina also said that this is the peak time for tornadoes to hit the Denver area. According to Frank Cooper, a meteorologist with the NWS in Boulder, the stormy weather was triggered by the southeastern winds, which resulted in a pattern he called the “Denver cyclone.”
Denver’s geography also played a part in the development of the storm. Denver is surrounded by high terrains and mountains. As the winds picked up speed, Denver’s terrain set up a “swirl,” and the Denver cyclone took effect.
According to reports, the affected cities and neighboring areas escaped the violent tornadoes without getting significant damages.
The Colorado Department of Transportation sent out crews to clear roadways after large hailstones rained down. According to the Denver police, up to 5 inches of hail built up on 67th Avenue.
Watch supercell tornado develop over Denver
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