MASSIVE tornado chewing up northern Denver exurbs!

CNN.

Good luck to those of you in the area. Take cover!

Storm passed right over town NW of Denver. Was heading NW toward the NE of Ft Collins.

Being called a Super-Tornadic super cell.

Live chopper shots over Weld County.

Area Emergency Operations Center activated. Hail damage reported and EOC building.

Numerous reports of touchdown in Windsor, CO. Passed over fire station. Golf ball sized hail. Awaiting word following tornado's passage.

Damage reports from other sources now coming in.

Thanks for the "heads up!" Tuning in now... :scared:

The plains are experiencing strong winds all the way to Canada right now.
Everyone should be on alert in surrounding areas too.

I watched the videos on CNN and they were chilling. I hope that your sister is okay, too...:hug:

2 NW MILTON RESERVOIR WELD CO 4026 10466 TREE UPROOTED TORNADO MOVING ACROSS PASTURE (BOU)
PLATTEVILLE WELD CO 4022 10482 TORNADO 1/2 MILE WIDE (BOU)
GILCREST WELD CO 4028 10478 TORNADO IN TOWN (BOU)
3 E MILLIKEN WELD CO 4032 10480 EXTREMELY LARGE TORNADO (BOU)
8 W GREELEY WELD CO 4042 10490 DIRECT HIT ON STATE FARM BUILDING. CARS TOSSED OFF OF ROAD. TREES DOWN. SWIFT COMPANY ROOF TORN OFF. TORNADO 3/4 TO 1 MILE WIDE

Hope all y'all are keeping safe out there.

:scared:

warehouse or large sprawling office or manufacturing complex.

Reports said it took a direct hit. Hope they were insured.

I heard those "good hands" people dropped a shitload of folks after Hurricane Andrew....

They're the good hands people who turned those hands over and let much of Florida drop. Florida has recently suspended their ability to do business insuring homes or businesses there.

they just stopped writing new policies, especially in NOLA itself.

I have USAA...I never have to worry!

Sorry. Bitter I guess.

in 1966!

Damage in Downtown Topeka

About 820 homes were destroyed and 3000 damaged as entire blocks were leveled to splinters in seconds. Every building on the Washburn University campus was damaged, many totally destroyed from the tornadoes violent winds estimated at around 300 mph. The Capitol Dome sustained damage from tremendous flying debris, as did many downtown Topeka buildings. Power and other utilities were out in much of the community for weeks.

Damage in Southwest Topeka

Most of the Topeka received excellent warning as storm spotters were deployed early, and a tornado watch had been in effect for several hours. Many people were at home having dinner and watching TV when the warning was announced and sirens sounded. Thorough and specific tornado educational plans in place through the county and city for many years paid off as residents took cover.

Total dollar cost was put at $100 million making it, at the time, the costliest tornado in American history. Even to this day, with inflation factored in, the Topeka tornado stands as one of the costliest on record. The violent tornado passed directly over Burnetts Mound, in southwest Topeka, ending an old Indian legend that the mound would protect the city from tornadoes.

A tornado that wide is a major disaster!

:scared:

http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=4835fe9788e111d4&ei=L7w1SM6VC4Lq_AG1w5GqCw&url=http%3A//ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h1feGO-SeAqWSkE6boOi6FZTSNHQD90QREJ00&cid=0&usg=AFrqEzdx43znpuo7ik6vvmaUobk7me-QVA
The National Weather Service says a large tornado has been spotted on the ground three miles east of Milliken and 45 miles north of Denver.

Weld County sheriff's spokeswoman Margie Martinez said two tractor-trailer rigs were overturned during the storm Thursday, but no injuries have been reported.

The tornado was moving to the northwe

http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/1-0&fp=4835fe9788e111d4&ei=L7w1SM6VC4Lq_AG1w5GqCw&url=http%3A//www.vaildaily.com/article/20080522/NEWS/896475293&cid=0&usg=AFrqEzekZK9g6EBwRVsRGeIQFzANlXwzuA
Authorities say a large tornado has touched down about 45 miles north of Denver and is moving northwest toward Fort Collins.

No injuries have been reported, but Weld County sheriff's spokeswoman Margie Martinez says two tractor-trailer rigs were overturned and electricity has been knocked out to some customers in Greeley.

The tornado was about 20 miles from Fort Collins, a city of 130,000, and 45 miles north of Denver.

It was moving northwest at nearly 30 mph

When she received word of this. She doesn't seem to be around right now - hope work had them take cover. :scared:

university and downtown Ft Collins.

She's in SE Ft. Collins, on Technology Pkwy

:scared: :scared: :scared:

I know a bunch of people at the university. I was pretty worried. I'm sad for the people who did get hit and hope everyone's OK, but if that thing had hit Ft. Collins it would have been MUCH worse.

Funny as hell, though!!

:thumbsup:

:spray:

My landlord and MD (one and the same person) just flew out this morning for Denver to attend a conference. Hope she is ok!

Ft Collins area is about 90 miles north of Denver.

EF4 or 5 from the looks of it.

200 mph is EF5.

It would also be the first '5' tornado ever recored in Colorado.

FtCollins webcam


http://www.metrowestfyi.com/story_display.php?sid=9543

I've never seen anything like that

:wow:

It's so big it looks fake.

CNN reporting second one on the ground north of Denver.

awed and terrified, at the same time, at what nature can unleash.

i sometimes have tornado nightmares, but nothing like this monster has ever occupied my subconscious. Not any more ...

I hate tornadoes and am fascinated by them. This one looks really big.

Anybody seen one in real life.

oak trees which had been on Andrew Jackson's home since his day in to toothpicks. A piece of the Sonic Restaurant roof flew off and cracked my windshield, it was foggy and debris was flying everywhere.

The day started out beautiful but got dark in the afternoon. I and a friend were "housesitting" at a friends 2nd story apartment overlooking a major street. When the electricity went out and we could see it getting bad we went downstairs to the laundry room (it was a brick building and the laundry room took up the entire ground floor). After a little while all hell broke loose. We could see outside the open door and everything was flying up Brookside. Sheet metal, roofing, anything not tied down and rain. Lots of rain. 10 minutes later it was all over and the sun was shining. Every car in the parking lot had their windows blown out from the gravel on the roof of the building next door. Power lines were down everywhere. The trees were bare of leaves and limbs were all over the streets. The car wash that used to be between us and Brookside was now a concrete pad.

We spent the night in the darkness on the balcony listening to music on a battery powered radio and getting spotlighted by the National Guard. Luckily it was only a category 3 tornado. Something ya never forget though.

Neat, though. I admit I find them fascinating, when they aren't killing people and breaking things. The weirdest thing about the experience was watching the wind suddenly shift direction as the tornado passed by to our north--all the air was being sucked in TOWARD the tornado, and the grass and trees were all bending in that direction.

one mile ahead of my friends and me as we were headed west in a van. There was quarter-sized hail blowing sideways. We pulled over since it felt like the van was going to be flipped and watched the super cell cross the highway. We really couldn't see the actual funnel cloud because it was so wide but it looked like the sky came down and swallowed the earth. We sat and waited about 15 minutes to make sure it was clear before starting up again. When we got to the place where it crossed the road, there was a cop directing traffic around some debris and big potholes. The cop told us it was at least an F-4 because it had torn up some of the pavement from the edges of the highway. That's as close as I ever care to get.

hid in our bathroom linen closet while it went over. The sound was incredibly loud, like a freight train. It touched down two blocks away in a trailer park, killing several ppl and destroying many trailers.

I hope everyone is able to take cover.

Thanks --

CNN.com and MSNBC.com don't have it on their front page -- shouldn't this be breaking?

Click on the 9news at noon live webcast.

http://www.9news.com/

:hi:

http://www.weather.gov/alerts/co.html
Larimer County Below 6000 Feet, N, Northeast Weld County, Central, South Weld County (Colorado)

TORNADO WARNING
COC013-123-221900-
/O.NEW.KBOU.TO.W.0008.080522T1824Z-080522T1900Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1224 PM MDT THU MAY 22 2008
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
NORTHEASTERN BOULDER COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN WELD COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
* UNTIL 100 PM MDT
* AT 1223 PM MDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED A TORNADO
4 MILES WEST OF DACONO...OR 24 MILES NORTH OF DENVER. THIS STORM
WAS MOVING NORTH AT 33 MPH.
* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO NIWOT...
DACONO AND LONGMONT.
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SAFE SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN
THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR
HANDS.
LAT...LON 4025 10525 4025 10503 4006 10493 4002 10515
TIME...MOT...LOC 1823Z 160DEG 29KT 4010 10504

The threat is shifting into Kansas.

Sure looks bad up to the north though. Good luck everyone.

not getting any of bad stuff. My friend is originally from Denver, been in Kentucky 30+ years and is scared to death of tornadoes. She recently retired and was looking forward to moving back to Colorado because "they don't have tornadoes." She might want to re-think that move.

Stay safe.

In 22 yrs here I've seen one in Denver and there were the ones in Limon and Holly. Hey who knows with climate change where we might be seeing strange weather phenomena next??

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 335
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
150 PM CDT THU MAY 22 2008

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

WESTERN KANSAS KANSAS
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 150 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF
MCCOOK NEBRASKA TO 55 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF DODGE CITY KANSAS.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

They usually re-appear somewhere over in Kansas or Nebraska?

one supposedly was moving in a north-westerly direction.

Is that normal?

Thats why it was moving NW. The more widespread action is expected in Kansas and Nebraska later today. Those storms will move a more natural north and northeast direction.

I have noticed that the really severe storms happen in OK and MO and sometimes AR an TN. --- Just an observation. I live in Southern CO - about 70 miles to the south of the storm.

When a low pressure system sets up to the south in NM, it causes "upslope" winds. Those usually create the most powerful storms in winter, so I wouldn't be surprised that it's happening in summer too.

many homes were in the path of that thing.

Yikes! Hope all are well...

I hope people stay safe.

Catching it on MSNBC. The day care looks destroyed. Apparently they took the kids to the bank and kept them safe in the bank vault.

http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20080522/NEWS/977968740
At least one death has been reported to Weld County officials this afternoon in relation to the weather conditions.

According to Weld Commissioner Dave Long, a death has been reported near the missile silo park near Colo. 257 near 10th Street in west Greeley.

No other details are available at this time.

Bit of a strange thing, eh??

Pics look like an awesome strom.

UGH

Really freaky place, you'd never know from looking at it that it was a silo. Kind of surreal knowing it's past and seeing picnic tables there. Nice views of the mountains. But really, really, really close to where one of my best friends used to live! :scared:

According to my friend in Ft. Collins. :(

They lived in a mobile home in NE Ft. Collins.

BTW, Ft. Collins NEVER EVER gets tornados.

Fort Collins-area historical tornado activity is above Colorado state average. It is 24% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 6/4/1976, a category 2 (max. wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado 1.4 miles away from the Fort Collins city center .

On 4/23/1960, a category 3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 33.4 miles away from the city center injured one person and caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Fort-Collins-Colorado.html

sP

so that tornado (Cat 2 barely qualifies as more than a dust devil, BTW) 1.4 miles from the center of town would have been out in a farm field somewhere, lol.

The Fort is 130,000 people now, VERY built-up, and a Cat 5 is, well, ginormous. I know Cat 5 tornados - I was in Xenia in 1974.

I think you found the only two tornados ever documented in the Ft. Collins area. I lived there for years. We weren't in Tornado Alley, trust me.

* Its F5 and EF5, not category 5. Tornadoes not hurricanes.
* An EF2 is not a dust devil. EF2 has winds of up to 135 mph.
* While Fort Collins is not in tornado alley, parts of Eastern Colorado are, or at least right on the edge.

Brain fart, lol. Especially since I would jump all over somebody else who did that!

F2 is a glorified dust devil in my book, but you must understand my point of reference as a resident of Xenia, OH in 1974. I admit my bias.
http://www.april31974.com/

tell that to the 15 people who died and their families in F2 tornadoes in your famous outbreak...
sP

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

and you should know it having been in Ohio...but the whole hyperbole of NEVER EVER is what ticks me off...WHY would you say something like that when it is simply not true or even close to it? Hell, the city data site indicates that the activity there is HIGHER than the NORM in Colorado...they just reference two tornadoes in the vicinity.

I know it is weird...we had a tornado hit downtown ATL recently and THAT had never happened either in modern records...a tornado has never hit my house either...but we had 14 within a 20 mile radius recently.

sP

60 years, and I have NO recollection of ANY tornados there, period. Out east by Greely, certainly. But not in the Fort.

That little one in 1976 obviously happened, but made no impression whatsoever on me (probably because of the OH 1974 thing). Sort of like the little earthquakes we get here in LA all the time. Compared to Northridge, which I was practically at the epicenter of, they are NOTHING.

Going through a really huge natural disaster permanently changes one's perspective on the much smaller ones.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/bou/awebphp/statssvr.php

Larimer County... 29 tornadoes since 1950
Weld County (right next door) 218 since 1950

Weld County line, too.

"Greality" ALWAYS got the warnings..........we never did.

I grew up in tornado alley (Texas Panhandle) but have never seen a tornado. I heard one, however, and they really do sound like freight trains. At the time I wondered why a freight train was coming through town at 9 pm since trains only came through a couple times a week and always during the day.

If you ever see a green sky, it's time to take cover and keep your eyes peeled.

I, too, heard a tornado but did not see it. It passed by our home, missing us by two-tenths of a mile. It was dark and my parents and grandparents were visiting us for the weekend. My Dad and Grandpa were at the kitchen door, holding it open and watching the sky as the lightning flashed (lots of trees around our property so you couldn't see much). Then we heard it and the lights went out. Dad and I looked at each other right away and both said, "That's a tornado!" and my Grandpa poo-pooed us, insisting it wasn't!! Killed two people - a little girl in a trailer home and a woman who was sucked out of her vehicle as they were driving down the interstate which was just a few blocks from our home. It was a crazy and scary experience. The tornado was rated a strong F3 or possibly a weak F4. That was nasty enough. It damaged or destroyed 16 or 17 farms, if I recall correctly.

And yes, I will also confirm that they really do sound like a freight train.

Windsor


Weld Co


Link to info, what's open, roads, etc.
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=8884

I saw the clouds up north on my way into work today. about an hour before this OP was posted. Thought they looked like big trouble, but figured it wouldn't really hit until it was much farther out in the plains. It was crazy windy here, and we were under a tornado watch, but I had no idea anything had touched down so close. Fort Collins is about 50 minutes north of me, I have good friends there and in Greeley--which may have been right in the path. :( Off to scour the net for news coverage, thanks for the heads up.

They are asking Windsor residents to report in, find out who is where. More debris to deal with. Please let us know what we can do to help, if you have recommendations. Close to home, am glad you're ok.

http://origin.denverpost.com/extremes/ci_9344925

Offered my Katrina PTSD credentials if they need any couselors. Windsor is about an hour away from my home now, I might as well be useful.

The Fort Collins Red Cross is taking donations: http://www.northerncolorado.redcross.org/ If your'e going to call them, know the number on the web site is wrong. Correct number is: 970-226-5728.

You're such a sweetie, UP. :hug:

Good luck to your friends.

Yes it was bad, but Katrina was much much worse.