The Eastern Plains and Front Range spent most of Saturday under severe weather warnings, with hail, high winds, and heavy rains pelting the region.
There were at least six confirmed tornado touchdowns, although all were short-lived. Only one tornado near Lucerne, north of Greeley, had reports of damage associated with it, according to the National Weather Service.
Strong winds partially destroyed the velodrome under construction in Erie near County Line Road and East Bonnell Avenue and resulted in power outages in that area.
Heavy winds as the storm approached the metro Denver area caused seven incoming flights at Denver International Airport to be diverted and contributed to 45-minute delays for others.
Strong
Hail storm near Windsor, Colorado, on Saturday, August 3, 2013 (Photo courtesy Jason, @nocok9cop)
winds severely damaged the roof at Wons liquor store on East 160th Avenue and Washington Street.
Traffic on Interstate 25 came to a standstill near Colorado Highway 7 as the storm passed through the northern suburbs and into Denver.
Heavy rains caused streets in Westminster, Thornton and other areas to flood, according to police reports. Several cars were stuck in high water at E-470 and I-70 due to a flash flood.
Lightening also delayed the 7 p.m. start of the Broncos scrimmage at Sports Authority Field at Mile High for 45 minutes.
Weather conditions improved during the evening, allowing tornado watches that were supposed to last until 10 p.m. to be canceled early.
North central Arapahoe County and southwest Adams County, however, remained under a flash flood warning until 10:45 p.m.
Slow-moving storm cells throughout the afternoon resulted in multiple tornado warnings for Larimer, Weld, Morgan, Lincoln, Washington, Elbert and El Paso counties. Those warnings were often followed by flash flood warnings because of heavy rains.
Flooding and heavy hail were reported in Greeley, Evans and other northern Colorado towns. The Greeley Tribune received reports of 2 feet of water on U.S. 85 and 37th Street.
A tornado briefly touched down five miles north of Milliken and five miles west of Greeley, generating tennis ball-sized hail, the National Weather Service reported.
Among the first areas hit by severe weather was Morgan County, which received a tornado warning at 1:53 p.m. after a tornado was spotted 13 miles southeast of Fort Morgan.
Another tornado was spotted at 4:07 p.m. north of Genoa in an unpopulated area.
Although Saturday was expected to be one of the coolest days of the week, the temperature at Denver International Airport reached 89 degrees a little before 1 p.m.
"Sunday it's gonna warm up again to near 90," said Jim Kalina, meteorologist at the National Weather
Service in Boulder. "Today will be the coolest day probably of the week. Thursday and Friday looks like it might be cooled down a little bit."
Kalinda forecast a 30 percent chance of rain in Denver Saturday night and Sunday night, and a 20 percent chance during the day Sunday.
Kalina said there are still a few weeks left in monsoon season.
"After the middle of August it starts to dry out more," he said.
Ally Marotti: 303-954-1223, amarotti@denverpost.com or twitter.com/AllyMarotti
Source: http://feeds.denverpost.com/~r/dp-news-local/~3/50jr3dn9V8Y/afternoon-storms-and-high-near-80-degrees-forecast
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