Tornado Threat Denver, Cheyenne Thursday Evening
Tornado Threat Denver, Cheyenne Thursday Evening
By Bill Deger, Meteorologist
Twitter user @BarrettTyron took this photo Wednesday evening in Colorado showing mammatus clouds, often seen near a tornado-producing thunderstorm.UPDATE:
As of 8:00 p.m. EDT, reports of earlier, unconfirmed tornadoes had been reported 7 miles south of Wheatland, Wyoming and in Laramie County, Wyoming accompanied by up to 1.25" hail.
Tennis ball-sized hail (2.5") was reported in Arapahoe County, CO.
After a pounding from multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms late Wednesday, damaging storms again threaten the central High Plains.
Unfortunately, tornadoes will again be possible in the Denver, Colorado Springs and Cheyenne metropolitan areas.
The potential for a repeat performance of severe weather from eastern Colorado into a portion of southeastern Wyoming and western Nebraska will be driven by the same weather system which triggered Wednesday's storms.
A nearby low pressure system, southerly feed of moisture and winds twisting with height will support the formation of scattered thunderstorms capable of producing large and damaging hail, torrential rain and even tornadoes.
The greatest risk for severe storms and tornadoes will exist from about 5:00 p.m. local time until midnight.
Since part of the time of concern is after dark, an extra element of danger is added to the severe weather threat.
Wednesday evening, there were seven reports of tornadoes across the Front Range, including one that just missed the northern boundary of Denver International Airport.
Another severe thunderstorm with some rotation approached downtown Denver around midnight, though fortunately a tornado did not touch down.
Other storms throughout the evening brought hail larger than golf balls and dumped tremendous amounts of rain in a short amount of time, causing flash flooding that submerged automobiles.
Though the day will likely feature a good amount of sunshine and warm temperatures, residents in and nearby Cheyenne, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Laramie, North Platte and Scottsbluff should not let their guard down, especially this evening.
Instagram user @breezyjohnston took this photo of hail in Colorado Wednesday evening. Numerous other photos taken late Wednesday in Colorado showed hail covering the ground.
At the first sign of a thunderstorm, head indoors and stay abreast of the latest information. If a storm becomes warned for a tornado in your area, waste no time in getting to a lower-level interior room.
Even if a storm shows no sign of dropping a tornado, that could change quickly given the environmental conditions that will exist. In addition, some thunderstorms could even generate wind gusts comparable to that of a tornado without the formation of a funnel.
Damage by hail to cars, vegetation and even some structures will be another big concern with the storms expected to form. If you can, move your automobile to a carport or garage in advance of any thunderstorm.
Fortunately, much less volatile weather is in store for the region Friday and Saturday. However, temperatures are forecast to approach record highs in some areas.