Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
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435 NOUS45 KBOU 060859 PNSBOU COZ030>051-062300- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 259 AM MDT THU JUN 6 2024 ...Today in metro Denver weather history... 2-7 In 1921...heavy rainfall for nearly a week...from the 2nd to the 7th...on top of streams already swollen by mountain snowmelt...produced widespread flooding over the South Platte River basin...including the tributaries through the canyons to the west and southwest of Denver. Heavy rainfall over the 6-day period totaled 3.36 inches in Boulder...4.98 inches in Morrison...4.27 inches in Castle Rock...and 2.94 inches in the City of Denver. Rainfall amounts in the foothills were estimated between 3 and 6 inches. The narrow-gage tracks of the Colorado and Southern Railroad were destroyed in the Platte canyon. From the mouth of the canyon through the city to near Brighton... the river spread from 1/2 to nearly 1 1/2 miles wide... flooding farm and pasture land and destroying or damaging many bridges. In the city...many businesses along with as many as 500 homes were inundated...forcing their evacuation. Bridges were swept away. The high waters flooded the rail yards and stock yards in lower downtown...closing three adjacent packing houses. The heavy rains also caused flooding on Boulder Creek in Boulder on the 6th. 5-6 In 1977...from the 5th to the 6th...lightning caused several power outages and moderate damage to a railroad building. 6 In 1954...thunderstorm winds at speeds of 50 mph with gusts as high as 59 mph briefly reduced the visibility to 1 mile in blowing dust at Stapleton Airport. In 1967...the public reported golf ball to 1 3/4 inch diameter hail in the city...3 miles west-southwest of Stapleton International Airport. The amount of damage was unknown. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 46 mph at Stapleton International Airport. In 1981...hail to 3/4 inch in diameter was reported in east Denver. In 1990...golf ball size hail was reported near Strasburg on I-70 east of Denver. In 1991...a tornado was spotted by National Weather Service personnel and weather spotters...14 to 17 miles northeast of Stapleton International Airport. A funnel cloud was sighted over south Aurora just east of Buckley Field...and a tornado was spotted just east of Watkins. No damage was reported. Thunderstorms moved through Aurora and dropped hail up to 1 inch in diameter. The storms also produced heavy rain... up to 1 inch in 30 minutes...causing flooding of streets. Water was reported hood deep...stranding motorists. Water covered fire hydrants at some intersections. In 1995...a waterspout sighted over Standley Lake in northern Jefferson County...quickly dissipated once it reached shore. A brief tornado...which was momentarily visible by a dust debris cloud on the ground...damaged the roof of a house in Westminster. A funnel cloud was sighted just south of Lafayette. Hail from 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter fell over north Boulder. Thunderstorm outflow produced north wind gusts to 44 mph at Denver International Airport. In 1997...a tornado touched down near Baseline Reservoir just east of Boulder. The tornado struck a home...tearing off part of the roof. A storage building nearby was nearly leveled and 5 trees were uprooted. The twister then moved onto Baseline Reservoir...forming a huge waterspout. Several recreational vehicles and a boat dock were also damaged. A nearly stationary line of thunderstorms dumped 4.60 inches of rain on portions of Thornton. Extensive flooding of streets and underpasses and other low lying areas was reported. Several businesses were flooded and basements in the area were damaged. Rainfall totaled 1.02 inches at Denver International Airport and 1.24 inches at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. Large hail...up to 1 3/4 inches in diameter...fell over the City of Denver with 3/4 inch hail measured in Littleton and near Henderson. In 1999...high winds developed for a brief time in and near the foothills of Boulder. The Gamow Tower on the University of Colorado campus recorded a wind gust to 87 mph. Winds peaked to 71 mph atop Niwot Ridge near the Continental Divide west of Boulder. In 2003...a small tornado touched down near Strasburg...but did no damage. In 2012...severe thunderstorms broke late in the evening... striking areas hardest from Denver southward. Locations impacted by the storms included but were not limited to: Aurora...Castle Rock...Centennial...Highlands Ranch...Lone Tree... Parker and Surrey Ridge. The storms produced a barrage of large hail...damaging straight line winds...flash flooding and several short lived tornadoes. The hail ranged in size from 1 to 2 inches in diameter...and caused extensive damage to homes and automobiles. The hail inundated the roadways with several inches of hail in Douglas County. Consequently... snow plows had to be called out to clear the roadways. The combination of torrential hail and heavy rain produced flash flooding in parts of Elbert...Douglas and Arapahoe Counties...as thunderstorms brought up to 3.35 inches of rain to some areas within 90 minutes. In Aurora...Picadilly Road was closed from flooding north of 6th Avenue. A water rescue took place on South Gun Club Road in Arapahoe County...where floodwaters were rushing to depth of 3 feet. Flash flooding forced the closure of several streets and roads from Parker south to The Pinery...where the floodwaters inundated the roadway with up to 2 feet in several locations. At Centennial Airport...a historic B-17 Flying Fortress suffered extensive damage as hailstones as large as ping pong balls struck the aircraft. Although the airframe itself did not require repair...the fabric-covered ailerons and elevators were extensively damaged. The hail came straight down and punched holes in the fabric-covered control surfaces. The aircraft landed just hours before the storm hit to participate in a weekend tour stop. Lightning also struck two homes...one in Lakewood and the other in Parker. Straight line winds downed trees and power lines in Aurora. As a result...scattered electrical outages affected around five thousand residents. At Denver International Airport... 0.61 inches rainfall was recorded along with a peak wind gust of 41 mph. In 2016...powerful thunderstorms fired up along the Urban Corridor and produced damaging hail...strong outflow winds... heavy rain and lightning. Golf-ball size hail in Highlands Ranch caused extensive damage including broken windows on homes and windshields on vehicles. Heavy rainfall...also produced street flooding. In and around Highlands Ranch... anywhere from 2.3 to 2.8 inches of rainfall was observed... with 1.0 to 1.5 inches around metro Denver. At Denver International Airport...0.38 inches of rainfall was recorded. In 2020...a combination of an upper level trough moving northwest across the state...coupled with a strong surface pressure gradient...led to numerous reports of high wind gusts across the Denver the surrounding region. Most of the wind damage occurred with the passage of a rare derecho; a large fast-moving complex of thunderstorms with powerful straight-line winds. In addition...strong wind gusts from 59 to 71 mph not associated with the derecho... occurred prior to and following the passage of this system. By midday the derecho...moved over the mountains...and then rapidly northeast across the I-25 corridor by mid afternoon. Wind gusts from 60 to 80 mph were common with a few gusts exceeding 90 mph. The highest gust observed was 110 mph...at the Winter Park Ski area...around 12000 feet. Xcel Energy reported more than 208000 customers lost power because of the storm statewide. Widespread tree damage was reported. The intense wind toppled a billboard that crashed onto Denver bakery. Two delivery trucks parked nearby were heavily damaged. Two injuries occurred in Denver...one seriously. A man and his nine-year-old daughter were injured by a fallen tree. They were standing in front of a family members house when the incident occurred. The tree impaled the father through his back and he required several surgeries. His daughter sustained cuts and bruises that required stitches. Southwest winds gusted to 78 mph at Denver International Airport...with a peak gust to 76 mph at Centennial Airport. 6-7 In 2004...from the 6th to the 7th...a brief hot spell produced 3 temperature records. High temperatures of 95 degrees on the 6th and 98 degrees on the 7th were record maximum temperatures for the dates. Low temperature of 68 degrees on the 7th was a record high minimum for the date. In 2007...from the 6th to the 7th...an unusually strong storm system brought very strong winds to the Front Range Foothills and Urban Corridor. Peak gusts included: 92 mph at Boulder...85 mph...2 miles southwest of Boulder...83 mph... 10 miles south of Boulder and 55 mph at Denver International Airport. High winds forced the closure of Mt. Evans Road and Trail Ridge Road. Several trees were uprooted across the Urban Corridor. In Aurora...the driver of a car was injured when some building material blew off the Fitzsimmons Complex. The debris landed on the car and knocked the driver unconcious. The wind forced the cancellation of 60 flights at Denver International Airport. Xcel reported outages in Boulder...Denver...Lakewood and Longmont. $$