Tornadoes can and do strike at night and during winter months. Are you prepared?
Tornadoes are one of nature’s most violent storms. Able to strike without warning, they bring death and destruction with frightening frequency. Twisters can be scary enough to just think about and when you consider one striking at night when you can’t see it and aren’t expecting it, the odds of survival diminish.
Over the last three years, there has been an average of 1297 tornadoes per year and on average 91 tornado-related deaths per year. While not as common during the winter months, tornadoes can and do occur every month of the year and they do strike at night.
Seeking to draw attention to the dangers nighttime tornadoes present, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its National Weather Service announced an effort to increase awareness. In a press release today, the services said that with the El Niño conditions we are experiencing, Florida and the Gulf Coast region stand a greater risk of tornadoes.
NOAA reminded all residents of the United States that a NOAA All Hazards Radio is the first line in defense against not only tornadoes, but all natural disasters. Also announced were new severe weather outlooks that will be issued when conditions are favorable for such storms.
Something you will not see in Thornton - tornado sirens.
In yesterday’s Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel, the paper wrote about tornado sirens and warning systems in the north metro area – or rather the lack thereof. Appropriately titled “Sound of silence”, the article points out that Thornton is not alone in their lack of any sort of severe weather warning system.
Westminster, Northglenn, Federal Heights and Adams County leave citizens to fend for themselves as well. Brighton and Commerce City have siren systems to protect residents of their cities.
Emergency managers cited a number of reasons including the ever-present cost consideration and the fact that severe weather season in Colorado is relatively shortlived. It is the opinion of ThorntonWeather.com that these thoughts are all extremely shortsighted and cities are risking their citizens’ lives.
One of the more interesting sections of the article reflects that:
Mike Reddy, captain of emergency management for the Westminster Fire Department, said Mother Nature often provides enough warning for those people who are caught outside during severe weather.
“To me it’s like lightning. If you are out playing golf and there is lightning, it’s best to go inside where it’s safe,” Reddy said. “Tornado sirens are a very expensive investment that it turns out are used three weeks out of the year.
With all the media coverage and alternative approaches, there are more effective ways for people to be notified.”
Reddy added that the information he gets from dispatch about severe weather can be found on the local news channel or Internet.
Do tornadoes strike in the Denver area? 177 have been recorded in the metro area alone since 1950. They have occurred as early as April 10th and as late as October 14th. Map courtesy TornadoPaths.org.
Captain Reddy may wish to familiarize himself with the history of tornadoes in Colorado. Since 1950, tornadoes have been recorded as early as April 10th and as late as October 14th – in the Denver metro area alone. Further, through yesterday, 177 twisters have been recorded in the metro area during that same time frame so despite what some may say, they are not rare.
If a warning system saved your life or the lives of your family, wouldn’t it be worth it?
We recently wrote an article on Examiner.com detailing the current state of emergency warning system across the metro area. While we had similar results in our talks with various cities that the Sentinel did, we also found that many communities are taking advantage of lower-cost, high tech solutions that incorporate notifying residents of emergencies using email and text messaging. These types of systems have the added benefit of having multiple uses and can be used to notify residents about other significant events including Amber Alerts, wildfires, chemical spills, civil disasters and terrorist attacks.
We recognize that siren systems are expensive and limited in their reach. However, we applaud those communities that are taking steps using other methods and implore Thornton and other north metro area municipalities to do the same.
What do you think? Should north metro communities invest in emergency alert systems to protect their citizens? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!
This funnel cloud was seen on Tuesday, June 9, from the Thornton Civic Center (looking north). Image courtesy Lisa Wilson, the City of Thornton.
MetroNorth Newspapers in the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel covered the recent bout of severe weather in the most recent edition of Thornton’s hometown newspaper. In part, the article says:
As a former producer for 9News, Todd Barnes has chased a few tornadoes in his time. On Sunday, however, the storm found him.
Barnes, communications manager for the City of Thornton, was shopping at Costco in the Larkridge development near 162nd Avenue and Interstate 25 when he witnessed the funnel cloud form. The tornado touched down at 1:17 p.m. one mile north of Broomfield, near the northwestern edge of Thornton.
“There’s nothing like watching a tornado touch down,” Barnes said Monday. “It’s incredible.”
Another funnel cloud was spotted over the city at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. It appeared only briefly, high in the sky at a nearly 90-degree angle, before disappearing, according to witnesses. A tornado did touch down outside Firestone shortly after 5 p.m., but no serious damage was reported.
Do you subscribe to the Sentinel? Why not? There is no other source of truly local news available to Thornton and Northglenn residents and MetroNorth News and the Sentinel do an outstanding job of providing the depth of news and information area residents really need. If you haven’t read the Sentinel, pick up a copy and check it out. They do have a website but it isn’t particularly noteworthy and doesn’t have the same information you get in the print version. Subscriptions for the paper are very inexpensive and I would highly recommend it to everyone who lives in the area. Check it out and support Thornton’s hometown newspaper!
On June 3, 1981 a tornado struck Thornton in what is the worst twister to have struck the Denver metro area. Despite this, Thornton does not have any sort of emergency alert system to warn citizens of tornadoes or other civil disasters. Image courtesy the City of Thornton archives.
As we have discussed before, the City of Thornton is lacking any type of system to alert citizens of severe weather like we have seen recently. In the last week, parts of Thornton have been under Tornado Warnings as funnel clouds circled in the sky and citizens are understandably concerned.
We at ThorntonWeather.com continually remind people that the Denver metro area is at the far western edge of Tornado Alley and funnel clouds, tornadoes, hail and other types of severe weather are not unusual at all. It was 28 years ago last Wednesday in fact that the costliest tornado to ever hit the Denver metro area struck Thornton. Accounts vary but 53 people were injured, at least 25 homes were destroyed and hundreds more damaged.
The danger is real – tornadoes can and do strike in the Thornton area. In some ways it is surprising that the city did not implement some sort of system in the wake of the tornado in 1981. Many municipalities in the metro area do have warning sirens including Denver, Aurora, Englewood, Commerce City and Brighton.
Thornton Mayor Erik Hansen has told ThorntonWeather.com that the city will look at ways to inform citizens when severe weather is imminent. This may take the form of utilizing the reverse 911 system or as we suggested to him, a possible new text alert system that would deliver alerts to citizen’s mobile phones. It is our firm belief that some sort of system to be used not only for severe weather but for other civil disasters is a wise and prudent investment for the city to take.
The Denver area is at the western edge of Tornado Alley and as we have seen historically and in recent days, the danger is real. Click image for larger view. Image courtesy NOAA.
This week the city posted some tornado safety tips on its website that are worth reviewing. You may also wish to review our Severe Weather 101 series which provides more in depth information on the entire array of spring and summer severe weather (links below).
We will continue our conversations with the city about how they can improve communication with Thornton residents about severe weather and keep you updated as appropriate. If you are so inclined, contact your city council representatives and let them know you want to see Thornton implement an emergency alert system.
This funnel cloud was seen on Tuesday from the Thornton Civic Center (looking north). Image courtesy the City of Thornton.
Severe weather has returned to the Denver metro area and the Front Range Tuesday afternoon. At approximately 4:50pm and for nearly one half hour afterwards trained spotters reported numerous funnel clouds over the Northglenn, Thornton, and Broomfield areas. No tornadoes touched down however.
Do you have pictures of the severe weather? Email them info@thorntonweather.com and we will post them.
At 5:11pm local law enforcement reported a tornado four miles northwest of Firestone moving at 20mph. This area remains under a Tornado Warning until 5:00pm.
If you are in an area under a Tornado Warning, do not try to outrun the storm or chase it in your vehicle. Immediately seek shelter in a building. If no structure is available, seek shelter in a ditch or low spot. If in your home or other building go to an interior hallway or ideally the basement.
The tornado that struck Aurora, Colorado has been rated an EF1 with 100 mph winds by the National Weather Service. Image courtesy Sean Strachan. Follow the link below to go to Examiner.com for more images.
The tornado that touched down in the Denver suburb of Aurora and caused damage to a local mall and apartment complex has been rated an EF1 by the National Weather Service. After two days of evaluations, the service said that the twister most likely had winds of 100 mph, placing it in the middle of that rating.
The four other twisters that struck the area will be rated later this week. Because they were short lived and struck in open areas, they mostly likely will be rated as EF0 twisters with winds from 65 mph to 85 mph.
The other tornadoes were reported in the area of 144th and I-25, one was reported five miles south of Bennett, one five miles south of Deer Trail and one three miles north of Byers.
A funnel cloud near Thornton on Sunday, June 7, 2009. Image courtesy John Wagner, Warrior Legacy Foundation. View our slideshow below for more images.
For a brief period of time this afternoon, Thornton and western Adams County were under a Tornado Warning as a funnel cloud was spotted passing. Thankfully the storm quickly weakened and the threat diminished. The image at the right is courtesy John Wagner of the Warrior Legacy Foundation. This was from approximately 136th & Washington looking northwest.
View images from ThorntonWeather.com visitors in our slideshow below. Also check out two videos of the twister below!
Please stay aware of the latest severe weather in Thornton. As of this writing a Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in effect and conditions could rapidly deteriorate again.
Damage along Washington was extensive from the tornado that struck Thornton on June 3, 1981. (City of Thornton archives)
It was 28 years ago today that the worst tornado to ever strike the Denver metro area hit Thornton. June 3, 1981 is a day that will forever be remembered by longtime residents of the north metro area.
Last year the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel did a story about it which you can read by clicking here. Also, below is the entry from the National Weather Service’s history calendar – it is very interesting and serves as a good reminder that severe weather can strike anywhere.
In 1981…severe thunderstorms produced tornadoes over metro Denver. The first tornado touched down at the intersection of Alameda Ave. And Sheridan Blvd. The twister moved north along Sheridan Blvd….damaging businesses…apartment buildings…homes…and vehicles. Over ten homes were unroofed. The roof of one landed in the middle of a neighborhood park. At least 10 mobile homes were wrecked.
The tornado curved to the northeast into northwest Denver… Hopping up and down in several places. Very strong winds outside the actual funnel caused 20 to 30 thousand dollars in damage in downtown Denver. The third floor of one old building was demolished. No major injuries were reported from the tornado…although several people were hurt slightly in traffic accidents on Sheridan Blvd. in the confusion caused by the storm. Damage in Lakewood alone was estimated at 200 thousand dollars.
At the same time… The worst tornado to ever hit metro Denver struck Thornton. Coming from the same thunderstorm that spawned the Denver twister…the Thornton tornado tore a swath through the heart of the city. 87 homes were destroyed…110 others damaged at least moderately. In all…600 homes in a 100 block area sustained some damage. The twister also hit shopping centers…several restaurants…and other buildings. Seven of the 42 injured were considered serious. The storm was strong enough to snap lamp posts in half and drive a 6- inch slab of wood 2 feet into the ground. Damage was estimated at up to 50 million dollars.
The same storm that struck Thornton produced another damaging tornado that touched down in the northwest section of Fort Lupton. This twister damaged 16 homes and numerous cars and campers. Two children were slightly injured when the car they were in was knocked about and its windows shattered by the storm. The twister also damaged two commercial buildings. Damage was very spotty…and observers said the storm hopped up and down at least 3 times. Dollar damage was estimated at 500 thousand dollars.
The thunderstorm complex that produced 3 damaging tornadoes also dropped large hail which damaged many cars over northwest Denver. One to 2 inches of rain fell in less than an hour…flooding a mobile home park with 3 to 4 feet of water on the northwest edge of Denver. The high water damaged about half of the 392 homes in the park. Local flooding was also reported in other areas across metro Denver. A tornado was also sighted near Franktown…but caused no damage. A thunderstorm wind gust to 52 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.
The town of Windsor, Colorado was forever changed when an EF3 tornado ripped through it one year ago today.
May 22, 2008 was like most any spring day along the Colorado Front Range. The morning started out a bit warmer than usual and it was more humid but there was nothing to indicate the havoc that was soon to be visited upon Windsor, Colorado.
As the morning wore on, high above the plains the jet stream was moving at 120 mph and temperatures were warming quickly. From Denver looking north huge clouds began to build miles into the sky – an ominous sign of what was to come. A supercell thunderstorm, one more like what you expect to see in Oklahoma, was forming quickly.
At 11:30am the warnings were going out from the National Weather Service. This was not your typical thunderstorm. Soon a Gilcrest police officer radioed, “We have a tornado on the ground!”
Three tornadoes touched down that morning in northern Colorado but one stands out. The supercell that was near Windsor was growing in size and the twister that developed was massive – ¾ of a mile wide. Rated by the National Weather Service as an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with winds in excess of 136 mph, what was described as a “big, black monster” would tear a path 35 miles long.
A tornado touched down in Mesa County on Tuesday - only the ninth twister since 1950 in the county. (File photo)
Mesa County, Colorado reported a rare tornado on Tuesday afternoon. The National Weather Service in Grand Junction reports that the twister touched down in an open area around 3:25pm yesterday near Mount Garfield (map).
The Associated Press reported that Meteorologist Jeff Colton said a National Weather Service employee was in the area and saw it happen. No damage or injuries were reported.
This was only the ninth tornado recorded in Mesa County since 1950 and the first since August 2, 2005.
