Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
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056 NOUS45 KBOU 080859 PNSBOU COZ030>051-082300- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 259 AM MDT SAT JUN 8 2024 ...Today in metro Denver weather history... 7-9 In 1979...rain...at times with thunder on the 7th...fell almost continuously through the morning of the 9th. Rainfall totaled 2.28 inches at Stapleton International Airport over the 3 days. High temperature of only 49 degrees on the 8th was a record low maximum for the date. 8 In 1873...lightning struck and killed one man and damaged several houses. The thunderstorms produced heavy rain in the city...which caused a great deal of water damage. At 2:40 PM heavy rain began and by 4:00 PM 1.40 inches of rain had fallen. Two buildings under construction...with a projected cost of 100 thousand dollars...were badly damaged. The stone foundation and some of the brick walls were carried away by the storm waters. Many basements were flooded...which damaged goods stored there. Rainfall totaled 1.71 inches. In 1964...lightning struck a building in Boulder...starting a fire and burning two workmen. In 1968...a severe thunderstorm flooded streets...and hail- damaged trees and gardens...including flowers at a large commercial nursery in Boulder. In 1969...severe hail damaged property...trees...and gardens... and heavy rain flooded streets and underpasses throughout metro Denver. The heaviest amounts of rain fell in south Denver and Englewood where unofficial totals of 5 to 6 inches were reported. Hail accumulated to 3 or 4 inches on the level and 2 to 3 feet deep in drifts. Mud...debris...and hail carried by the heavy runoff clogged drains and increased the amount of flooding. About 40 cars and a large truck were inundated at an underpass on an interstate highway...and several more were inundated or buried in mud in other areas. A large number of basements were flooded. Streets and highways were heavily damaged in some areas. Rainfall totaled 1.66 inches at Stapleton International Airport. In 1974...a late spring storm dumped 1.79 inches of rain over metro Denver...causing local flooding. Strong gusty winds accompanied the storm...downing some power and telephone lines. Northwest winds gusted to 56 mph at Stapleton International Airport where a trace of snow fell. Measurable snowfall occurred at mid-day over Aurora and suburban areas to the south of Denver. A number of people were temporarily stranded in the mountains west of Denver where heavy snow fell. Low temperature of 37 degrees equaled the record minimum for the date. High temperature of 50 degrees was a record low maximum for the date. In 1986...strong thunderstorm winds blew down a garage wall in Littleton and caused minor roof damage to several homes. Boats were overturned and damaged at a sporting goods store nearby. As the storm moved northeast it produced a small tornado...which touched down in extreme southeast Denver and moved northeast into Aurora. The twister did most of its estimated one million dollars damage shortly after touching down in an apartment complex and a shopping center. Two apartments were completely unroofed; wooden chimney facings were demolished and metal pipes were twisted. Many trees up to 25 feet high in the complex were uprooted. Doors were ripped off their hinges...and several parked cars were damaged. In the shopping center...a wall of a building was stripped of its brick facing...and many windows were broken. The twister picked up an aluminum rowboat...carried it 250 feet over some apartments...and deposited it in a vacant storefront. Around 200 cars were damaged in the shopping center. Benches bolted to the pavement were knocked over. Six people suffered minor injuries caused by flying debris. After hitting the shopping center and apartment complex...the tornado moved northeast into a residential area where it toppled some trees and damaged several fences. The same storm later produced 3 separate small tornadoes 5 miles north of Watkins. In 1987...torrential rain produced extensive flooding across metro Denver. I-25 was closed for a time through central Denver...and a trailer park in Lakewood was partially evacuated due to high water. Several streets in Boulder were closed due to flooding. There was extensive basement flooding and water damage in Lakewood and southeast Denver. Lightning hit a power plant in Denver that supplied electricity to storm drain pumps which exacerbated street flooding in some areas. Rainfall from the thunderstorms totaled 1 1/2 to 2 inches at many locations in Lakewood central and northeast Denver. The heaviest amount of reported rain was in Lakewood where 2 1/4 inches fell in just 2 hours. At Stapleton International Airport...1.62 inches of rain fell in an hour. Rainfall totaled 1.76 inches for the day. In 1988...a tornado touched down 15 miles northwest of Bennett and stayed on the ground for 15 minutes. The twister was observed by National Weather Service personnel at Stapleton International Airport. No damage was reported. In 1989...a small tornado hit a neighborhood in southeast Aurora. The twister hit a dozen homes...blowing out windows...knocking down fences...and partially unroofing one house. About a half dozen trees were felled. A basketball pole was severely bent. The tornado was on the ground for about 2 minutes. Total damage was estimated at 50 thousand dollars. Lightning also struck a home in Parker...causing 25 hundred dollars damage. In 1992...very heavy thunderstorm rains drenched southwestern Weld and eastern Boulder counties. Measured rainfalls of over 2 inches an hour caused St. Vrain Creek to rise 2 feet out of its banks. Boulder Creek was also out of its banks along U.S. Highway 287. I-25 flooded with 3 to 5 feet of water along a 9-mile stretch from the Erie exit to the Frederick exit. The highway was closed for over 6 hours while snowplow drivers and farmers with tractors rescued stranded motorists. Water rose into homes along South Boulder Road in Lafayette. Several small county roads were washed out along the Boulder County/Weld County line. An off-duty National Weather Service employee measured 3/4 inch hail in Thornton. Several locations north of Denver had small hail up to 6 inches deep. A funnel cloud was spotted 18 miles northeast of Stapleton International Airport. In 1998...severe thunderstorms dropped large hail across metro Denver. Hail as large as 1 3/4 inches in diameter fell near Columbine in Jefferson County. One inch diameter hail fell in Aurora and Littleton with 7/8 inch hail in Arvada and 3/4 inch hail at Centennial Airport... near Greenwood Village...and in Parker. In 2004...heavy rain and large hail caused flooding and flash flooding across northeast Jefferson County. In Golden... heavy rains triggered a small mudslide on U.S. Highway 6 near the intersection of Colorado Highway 119. Automated rain gages in the area registered 2 to 3 inches of rainfall in one hour. Near the Colorado Mills Mall...numerous streets were inundated with 1 to 3 feet of water and hail...which stranded several vehicles...including a fire engine. About 30 basements were flooded in Golden and Lakewood. Many windows in both homes and cars were shattered by the large hail. Hail as large as 1.5 inches in diameter was measured in and near Golden with hail to nearly an inch in diameter a few miles north of Evergreen. In 2007...the low temperature in Denver bottomed out at 31 degrees...which established a new record minimum for the date. It also became the latest date of the last freeze in Denver. In 2014...in Aurora...a tornado touched down near the Blackstone Country Club...it lifted some golf carts and flipped an empty construction trailer. One of the carts was thrown on top of a caddy walking nearby; he was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. It was assigned an EF-1 rating. In Englewood...lightning struck a tree which damaged two nearby homes and a truck. Large hail...from 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter...was reported near Buckley Air Force Base and near Castle Rock. Other short lived tornadoes touched down near Byers and Roggen. In 2019...severe thunderstorms erupted around metro Denver late in the afternoon and spread eastward onto the plains. The largest hail fell around Castle Rock...where hail up to 2 1/2 inches was reported. Elsewhere...the hail ranged from 1 to 1 1/2 inches. $$