Power Outage in Thornton, CO

Strong outflow winds damaged four power poles which downed power lines.

Intense thunderstorm winds downed several power poles.

Intense thunderstorm winds knocked down several power poles along State Highway 79 and 112th Avenue.

Straight-line winds sheared several power poles off at the base.

A gustnado knocked down a power pole and destroyed a small storage shed.

Thunderstorm winds downed power poles along CO 79.

Strong microburst winds associated with high based showers and thunderstorms produced wind gusts up to 65 mph. North of Strasburg, the winds damaged four power poles and knocked down power lines. South of Limon along State Highway 71, a wind gust blew one-half of a modular home onto its side.

Severe thunderstorms produced several short-lived landspouts, large hail, damaging winds. Five landspouts, all rated EF-0, touched down briefly in portions of eastern Adams and Morgan Counties. Large hail, up to half dollar size, was observed in eastern Adams, Logan, and Washington counties. Intense thunderstorm winds, ranging from 60 to 80 mph, were reported in northern Lincoln, western Logan, and southeastern Washington counties. The winds downed a power line along Logan County Road 34, north of Sterling. Minor tree damage was observed in northeast Lincoln County.

A strong spring storm dropped across the Great Basin, and then moved eastward across Colorado. Isolated but strong thunderstorms preceded the system on the 17th with hail up to nickel size near Boulder Airport and Brighton. Significant snow fell across the Front Range mountains and foothills over the next couple of days. The heaviest snowfall occurred in Boulder and Larimer Counties. Along the Interstate 25 Corridor, rain turned to snow on the morning of the 18th, heaviest from around Broomfield northward. The heavy wet snow snapped the limbs of fully leaved trees and caused scattered power outages. Eight hundred trees on the campus of Colorado State University were damaged. Some trees in and around Fort Collins completely collapsed under the weight of the snow.||A couple of barns collapsed in Larimer County. One was a historic barn in Estes Park, with another in northeast Loveland. Fifty-five head of cattle were inside the collapsed barn in Loveland; three were injured and later euthanized. Numerous branches and trees snapped around Fort Collins and in the foothills. Elsewhere, several scattered smaller power outages were reported. Three to nearly 5 inches of liquid precipitation occurred, as rain or a mix of of rain and snow, fell around Greeley and 12 miles northwest of Briggsdale.||Storm totals in the Front Range mountains and foothills included: 42.0 inches near Allenspark, 41.5 inches near Ward, 36 inches at Estes Park, 32 inches near Pinecliffe, 30.5 inches northwest of Golden, 30 inches near Nederland, 26 inches near Breckenridge, 25 inches near Aspen Springs and Bear Lake State Park, 18.5 inches northwest of Rustic, 16 inches at Copper Mountain and Dillon, 15 inches at Drake, 14 inches at Aspen Springs and Deadman Hill, 13 inches at Tower, with 9.5 inches near Evergreen. On the west side of the Interstate 25 Corridor, storm totals included: 10 inches near Superior and Louisville, 6 to 8 inches in and around Fort Collins, 6 inches in Lafayette, 5 inches in Broomfield and Loveland, and 4 inches near Niwot.

Two brief but powerful gustnadoes developed along a convergence line that formed in the suburbs just north and west of Denver. Three power poles were knocked down. In addition, a small storage shed was destroyed.

Severe thunderstorms produced large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes in Washington, Weld and northern Lincoln Counties. Two small EF1 tornadoes occurred near Genoa. One Structure, an outbuilding, was destroyed and one house had minor damage. Two grain silos were destroyed. in addition, power lines were blown down in the area and a semi was blown into a car on Interstate 70.

On the evening of the 30th, high based showers and thunderstorms produced microburst winds over portions of northern Jefferson, eastern Boulder and southwest Weld Counties. Peak wind reports included: 77 mph at White Ranch Open Space; 72 mph, 2 miles north of Longmont; 67 mph, 1 mile south-southwest of Erie and Firestone; 60 mph, 3 miles south of Mead and 59 mph, 5 miles northwest of Henderson. The wind downed power lines in Weld County which sparked a small fire.||High winds then developed over parts of the Front Range Foothills, Urban Corridor and Northeast Plains through the morning of the 31st. Peak wind gusts included: 98 mph, 2 miles south-southeast of Gold Hill; 77 mph, 4 miles west-southwest of Eldorado Springs; 63 mph, 4 miles east-northeast of Loveland; 62 mph at Cedar Point; 61 mph at Akron Airport, Centennial, and Fort Morgan Airport; 60 mph at Holyoke and 1 mile southwest of Windsor; 59 mph at Buckley AFB; and 58 mph, 1 mile east of Greeley.

High winds associated with a fast moving cold front spread across the Urban Corridor and northeast plains of Colorado. Several wind gusts to around 60 mph were observed as the cold front made its way across the region. The cold front also spawned severe thunderstorms that preceded a potent spring snowstorm. The severe weather included three tornadoes, damaging straightline winds and large hail, ranging in size from nickel to walnut size. The storms were most intense in and around Washington County where three weak tornadoes developed. A severe thunderstorm produced damaging straightline winds which flipped a mobile home, blew the roof off a barn and downed numerous power lines. A woman inside the home was not injured. Half the town of Akron was left without power after six power poles were knocked down between Brush and Last Chance. In Denver, the cold front produced a peak wind gust to 52 mph when it moved through Denver International Airport. The strong winds toppled trees and caused several flight delays and cancellations. In Longmont, the wind knocked over a tree which landed on to a house.

A severe thunderstorm in central Adams County produced large hail and heavy rainfall. Large hail up to golfball size, heavy rain and strong winds reportedly broke windows. In Commerce City, the storms uprooted trees and knocked out power lines. A carport was lifted off the ground and struck the power lines overhead. ||Along the Front Range, moderate to heavy snow showers develop overnight. Storm totals included: 10.5 inches at Gold Hill, 9.5 inches, 3 miles west of Jamestown; 9 inches at Lake Eldora; 8 inches at Never Summer and 7 miles east-northeast of Virginia Dale; 7 inches at Roach Snotel; with 6 inches, 11 miles southwest of Gilpin and 4 miles east-northeast of Nederland.

Severe thunderstorms produced large hail up to the size of ping pong balls in the Arvada area, damaging automobiles. As the severe thunderstorms developed across the Northeast Plains, large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes were reported. Most of the wind damage occurred in Washington County, south of Akron. Strong thunderstorm winds reportedly blew down sheds and snapped six power poles; and a roof was partially taken off one house. Silos were also destroyed by the wind. Several cars in Otis had their windows shattered by hail. The windows of houses and buildings in the areas were also broken. Heavy rain associated with the storms also caused flash flooding in Morgan and northern Washington Counties. County officials reported 9 to 24 inches of water over many roadways in and around Fort Morgan and Brush. Heavy rain caused flooding along State Highway 71 south of Brush. Many farm fields were completely covered in water as Little Beaver Creek and numerous irrigation ditches had jumped their banks. A storm spotter near the intersection of County Roads 14 and P measured over 5 inches of rainfall.