Power Outage in Greeley, CO

Intense thunderstorm wind gusts downed several power poles.

Straight-line winds downed a large tree limb at the University of Northern Colorado. Power lines were also downed in northeast Greeley.

Storm chaser confirmed a multi-vortex tornado near Interstate 76. The tornado continue to track northeast and crossed over Empire Reservoir along the Weld/Morgan county line. At least a dozen trailers were damaged or destroyed. Two campers suffered minor injuries. Many power poles and trees were knocked down. Approximately 10 irrigation pivots were destroyed.

Near Weld County Roads 31 and 66, downed power lines started a small fire in some trees.

Strong thunderstorm winds downed power lines which resulted in temporary road closures.

A small tornado touched down. Four power lines were downed and a fence snapped. Some stock trailers were also overturned.

A powerful tornado swept north-northwestward across Weld County and into Larimer County, carving a path of destruction, nearly 39 miles in length. The tornado, up to one-mile wide at times, initially touched down northeast of Platteville and finally lifted 6 miles west-northwest of Wellington. A tornado assessment in the aftermath of the tornado revealed extensive areas of damage. On the enhanced Fujita Scale there were pockets of EF3 damage, mainly near the Missile Silo Park Campground, and to businesses and home in eastern Windsor. ||There was one fatality, and 78 injuries. One man was killed when he tried to escape the trailer park in his motor home. Preliminary estimates from FEMA indicated 850 homes were damaged, and nearly 300 homes were significantly damaged or destroyed. Privately insured damages totaled $147 million, and the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Associated reported $1 million of damage to electric transmission lines.

Strong winds from a dry microburst downed tree branches and electrical lines which knocked out power for several hundred residents. One woman was injured when a tree limb fell on her as she was helping to change a tire. The woman was taken to the hospital but the extent of her injuries was not available.

Heavy rain, large hail and intense thunderstorm winds occurred in Greeley and vicinity. At least 50 trees were knocked down damaging cars and homes. Scattered power outages affected approximately 10,000 homes and businesses. A 341-ft radio tower was also blown down, knocking a local radio station off the air. In central Greeley, 10 garden level apartments were flooded at the Brentwood apartment complex. Extensive crop damage was reported in La Salle, Greeley, Milliken and Platteville. Approximately 20-30 percent of the crops in the area were damaged.

Lightning struck a home, damaging the attic. Scattered power outages were also reported throughout Greeley. In addition, heavy rain that accompanied the thunderstorms caused minor street flooding in and around the city.

Severe thunderstorms produced damaging winds and large hail in Logan and Weld counties. Intense winds knocked down trees, power poles and power lines in Logan County. Peak wind gusts ranged anywhere from 60 mph to 80 mph. In Weld County, a severe thunderstorm produced quarter size hail.

A landspout developed in southwest Weld County, 2 miles southwest of Firestone. The tornado traveled north-northeast, and ended 3 miles northwest of Platteville. The tornado reached an intensity of EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with estimated wind speeds of 99 mph. There were no injuries, but at least two calves were killed, and several chickens. The cloud base was so high, the landspout was visible from a distance of 40 miles. ||In total, seven properties sustained damage. Two homes were destroyed, meaning more than 50% of the home sustained damaged, with an estimated loss of those homes at $429,176 Three homes were damaged but not destroyed, with the estimated cost of damage at $101,336. Two businesses were hit, a feedlot and a dairy. The feedlot suffered the loss of two buildings, one was caused by a downed power line and the other from the tornado. Downed power lines led to a closure of Weld County Road 21 between Highway 66 and Weld County Road 32.5. The dairy was hit but had limited damage to roofs and some out buildings. The estimated cost of damage to those businesses had not yet been determined.

Severe thunderstorms produced two tornadoes, along with damaging hail and straight-line winds. Both tornadoes were assigned an EF2 rating. One tornado snapped several power poles, while the other demolished a well constructed pole shed. Very large hail, up to 3.25 inches in diameter in Logan County, damaged vehicles, homes, trees and crops. The storms impacted parts of eastern Boulder, Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick and Weld counties.

Severe thunderstorms moved across Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, Elbert and Weld counties. The storms produced winds gusts to around 80 mph, quarter size hail and very heavy rain; they downed trees and damaged homes and vehicles. A farm off of York Street in Broomfield lost 200 acres of corn. The storm also caused scattered power outages that took several hours to restore.

Intense thunderstorm winds caused tree damage and downed power lines in Weld County.

Severe thunderstorms produced strong winds and very heavy rainfall, up to 2 inches in 30 minutes. In Central Weld County outflow winds caused damage to trees and power lines near Eaton. About 5,000 Xcel Energy customers in the Eaton and Greeley areas were left without power. The heavy rain completely flooded the basement of one residence in Eaton.

An outflow boundary moving produced several small landspouts or gustnadoes along its leading edge as it moved across Weld County. One tornado knocked down power lines and snapped a fence. In addition, some stock trailers were overturned. Strong thunderstorm winds in Weld County pushed a semi up against a house.

Scattered high based thunderstorms, producing frequent lightning but very little rain, ignited dozens of grass fires across eastern Weld, Logan, Morgan and Washington Counties. Outflow winds, coupled with an already strong surface pressure gradient and extreme drought conditions, allowed the fires to quickly scorch over 12,000 acres of farmland. Strong winds also snapped some power poles in Washington County, blew out windows and damaged some roofs. The Akron Airport measured a peak wind gust to 64 mph (56 kts) while Wiggins recorded a wind gust to 63 mph (55 kts). Wind gusts elsewhere generally range from 40 to 50 mph.