The morning of May 22, 2008 dawned like most in Colorado during the spring with sunny skies and mild temperatures. Soon though Mother Nature began cooking a dangerous concoction of conditions that would spawn a deadly, monstrous tornado in the shadow on the Rocky Mountains.

A fast moving jet stream coupled with quickly rising temperatures and unusually high humidity ripened conditions for what we now simply call the ‘Windsor tornado.’ Soon after 11:00am that morning a monstrous supercell thunderstorm could be seen erupting to the north of the Denver area.

Tornado warnings were soon issued by the National Weather Service and a Gilcrest police officer radioed, “We have a tornado on the ground!”

Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com with video and photos

The infamous Windsor tornado was captured by a webcam as it ripped across Weld County, Colorado on May 22, 2008. (MyWindsorWeather.com) Click the image to view a slideshow from the deadly tornado.

A pleasant day ahead for northeastern Colorado.  Look for high temperatures in Thornton today to reach the mid to upper 70s.  We will be under partly sunny skies for a good part of the day.

Scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop in the high country later.  There is just a slight chance they will hold together and move across to lower elevations but right now it looks like most of the activity will be confined to our west.

See the image for today’s outlook and get the extended forecast here: http://www.thorntonweather.com/forecast.php

Thornton, Colorado weather forecast for Wednesday, May 22, 2013.

The National Weather Service has completed its initial damage survey of the area near Moore, Oklahoma, where a deadly tornado struck yesterday. Its assessment pegs the twister as an EF-5 packing winds in excess of 200 mph – the highest rating possible on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.  Only one percent of all tornadoes achieve this strength.  Including yesterday’s twister, there have been 59 in the U.S. since 1950.  Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com

Piles of debris and cars lie around a home destroyed by a tornado May 21, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. (Getty Images)

As residents of Moore, Oklahoma wake this morning they are faced with the seemingly insurmountable task of recovering from the deadly tornado that struck yesterday. For one Oklahoma woman, the recovery will be a little bit easier as her dog was discovered alive, buried under the rubble during a television interview.  Read the rest of this heartwarming story on Examiner.com.

The devastation in Moore, Oklahoma is immense but amazing stories of survival are being seen. Click the image to watch a heartwarming video of a dog owner reunited with her beloved companion. (Getty Images)

The tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma yesterday has claimed at least 91 lives and caused hundreds of injuries. As the death toll mounts, the twister will go down in history as one of the deadliest in U.S. history.

• Editor’s note, 5/21/13, 9:23 a.m. MDT: Amy Ellis with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner has said that previous counts released by their office for lives lost as reported in this story were incorrect. The Medical Examiner said their office now puts the death toll at 24, 9 of which were children.

Forecasters had warned that Monday would bring dangerous severe weather, the third of a series of days in the past week that had been deadly. Warnings went out as the tornado formed near Newcastle and began its deadly trek to the northeast.

The minutes were crucial to saving lives but as the storm grew in ferocity, even the most robust shelters were proven incapable of withstanding the onslaught.

Click here for a complete update including stunning video and photos of the devastation.

Cars marked with an orange ‘X’, denoting they had been checked for occupants, are piled up in what was the front entrance to the damaged Moore Medical Center after a powerful tornado ripped through the area on May 20, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. Click image to view a photo slideshow of the devastation. (Getty Images)

We started of the workweek yesterday with a little bit of rain (0.07″) and cool conditions.  Today we start to dry out and warm up.

Look for a high temperature approaching the 70° mark under partly sunny skies.  To our east the plains will be breezy while to our west in the high country showers will linger.

Over the longer term look for continued warming into this weekend with a slight chance for thunderstorms most days.

See the image for today’s outlook and get the extended forecast here: http://www.thorntonweather.com/forecast.php

Scenes of devastation were being played out south of Oklahoma City Monday evening in the wake of a massive tornado that ripped through the suburb of Moore. Packing winds up to 200 mph, the twister tore through the landscape leaving little but rubble behind.  At least 51 people have been confirmed dead and the death toll is expected to climb.  Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com

Scenes of destruction in Moore, Oklahoma are captured in this screen grab of a Vine video by a local resident. (Vine / David Massey). Click to watch storm chaser video of the tornado.

May 19 to May 25: This Week in Denver Weather History

Severe weather takes to the forefront in our look back at this week in Denver weather history. We see many historical flooding events that were commonplace in the late 19th / early 20th century before controls were put in place. Almost everyone will recall the Windsor tornado, an EF3 monster that struck the town five years ago.

From the National Weather Service:

18-19

In 2011…a severe thunderstorm in central Adams County produced large hail and heavy rainfall on the 18th. Large hail from 1 inch to 1 3/4 inches in diameter…was reported in Commerce City…2 miles south-southeast of federal heights…Northglenn…and 2 miles south of Thornton.

In Commerce City…the storm uprooted trees and knocked out power lines. A carport was lifted off the ground and struck the power lines overhead. Heavy rain…from 1.0 to 1.5 inches fell in less than 2 hours in Commerce City and near Brighton. The combination of hail and strong winds broke windows in Northglenn.

In the foothills…moderate to heavy snow showers developed overnight. Storm totals included: 10.5 inches at Gold Hill…9.5 inches…3 miles west of Jamestown; 9 inches at Lake Eldora; with 6 inches… 11 miles southwest of Gilpin and 4 miles east-northeast of Nederland. At Denver International Airport…total rainfall over the 2-day period totaled 1.71 inches.

In addition…a peak wind gust to 37 mph was recorded on the 18th.

18-20

In 1915…3.9 inches of snow fell in the city. The estimated amount of snow that melted as it fell was 6.2 inches which would have totaled an estimated 10.1 inches of snowfall. Precipitation totaled 1.03 inches. North winds were sustained to 32 mph on the 18th. Low temperatures dipped to 25 degrees on both the 18th and 20th…establishing record minimums for both dates.

In 1988…prolonged heavy rainfall drenched metro Denver. The event began when heavy thunderstorms on the 18th caused some street flooding and power outages…followed by steady rain on the 19th and 20th. Rain amounts across metro Denver totaled 3 to 4 inches. Rainfall totaled 3.71 inches at Stapleton International Airport where north winds gusted to 39 mph on the 20th. Four to eight inches of snow fell in the foothills above 7 thousand feet.

19

In 1927…southeast winds were sustained to 40 mph with gusts to 44 mph.

In 1956…a thunderstorm wind gust to 54 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.

In 1969…hail stones to 1 inch in diameter were measured in Arvada and Aurora. Some minor damage was reported. Pea to marble size hail fell in Westminster.

In 1972…a tornado was reported by aircraft about 5 to 10 miles east of Parker.

In 1988…lightning started a fire at a house in the Denver suburb of greenwood village…causing 2 thousand dollars in damage.

In 1991…strong thunderstorms over east metro Denver produced wind gusts of 56 to 60 mph. The strong winds downed power lines…trees…and fences at some locations in Aurora. Thunderstorm outflow winds gusted to 60 mph at Stapleton International Airport.

In 1994…severe thunderstorms rumbled across metro Denver. The storms produced wind gusts averaging 65 mph and hail up to dime size. Wind gusts to 77 mph were recorded in Brighton. Numerous trees and power poles were downed by the winds. One power pole fell onto spectators at a high school graduation ceremony in Commerce City…injuring 6 people. In Fort Lupton…trees fell onto 2 parked cars… Knocking out the windshields. Hail to 3/4 inch in diameter was reported in Littleton. A thunderstorm wind gust to 52 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.

In 1995…a slow moving tornado…which was mainly discernible by its dust and debris cloud…was spotted 2 miles northeast of Denver International Airport or about 10 miles northwest of Bennett. No damage was reported.

In 2007…lightning struck a 33-ft statue of Jesus at Mother Cabrini Shrine…in the foothills west of Golden. The blast broke off one of the statue’s arms and a hand…and also damaged a foot. It cost an estimated $200000 to repair.

In 2009…lightning struck the roof of a residence in Highlands Ranch. The home was not a total loss…but the fire caused extensive damage.

In 2010…a thunderstorm produced hail up to 7/8 inch in diameter in Thornton.

19-20

In 1864…a devastating major flash flood occurred on the normally dry and sandy Cherry Creek in Denver. The flood was caused by heavy thunderstorm rainfall and hail over the palmer ridge to the south of the city in both the Cherry Creek and plum creek basins. Nineteen deaths occurred along the South Platte River and Cherry Creek in Denver. The torrent swept cattle and sheep along with large trees and houses before it washing out several bridges…and moving large structures from their foundations. All city records were destroyed when city hall washed away. The rocky mountain news building…built on stilts in the middle of the creek…was totally destroyed by the raging waters…which were as deep as 5 feet on the morning of the 20th. Once the flood waters receded…much sand and gravel was left behind. Property damage from the flood was estimated at nearly one million dollars. This was the first major flood of record in the city.

» Click here to read the rest of May 19 to May 25: This Week in Denver Weather History

Severe weather across the nation’s heartland yesterday caused a great deal of destruction and caused at least one death.  In a news story reporting on the events, Reuters did at least provide a bit of amusement to what is a serious topic.

The story opened with the sentence, “A dangerous, half mile-wide hurricane struck near Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon.”

We have heard that global warming will lead to extreme weather events but sure don’t recall any of those dire predictions mentioning micro hurricanes in tornado alley.

A Reuters news story discussing yesterday’s devastating tornado outbreak mistakenly refers it a half-mile wide “hurricane.”

A weak system passing by will bring temperatures down and give us a good chance for some precipitation.  Look for high temperatures today to reach only in the mid-60s.

We should see one round of light rain showers this morning, then a bit of a break followed by a second round by late afternoon / early evening.  In the mountains some areas above 8,000 feet will actually be seeing accumulating snowfall.

We will start a warm up tomorrow and by this weekend we should be seeing temperature readings back into the 80s.

See the image for today’s outlook and get the extended forecast here: http://www.thorntonweather.com/forecast.php