{"id":25250,"date":"2025-10-09T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=25250"},"modified":"2025-10-08T16:34:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T22:34:34","slug":"throwback-thursday-images-of-the-june-15-1988-tornado-outbreak-in-denver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/throwback-thursday-images-of-the-june-15-1988-tornado-outbreak-in-denver\/","title":{"rendered":"Throwback Thursday: Images of the June 15, 1988, tornado outbreak in Denver."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54841803681_b5410dcacb_k.jpg\" alt=\"June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes strike Denver, Colorado. (ThorntonWeather.com)\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1342\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">June 15, 1988 &#8211; Tornadoes strike Denver, Colorado. (ThorntonWeather.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This was a fun find! I was going through old family photos and came across these images of a famous \u2013 and destructive &#8211; Denver weather event.<\/p>\n<p>At that time, I was staying with my sister at her house on Fox Street near 96<sup>th<\/sup> Ave in Thornton. The weather was clearly getting spicy and where she lived provided clear views to the south and southeast.<\/p>\n<p>We were amazed to watch multiple twisters strike in and around the city, me grabbing pictures with my old 35mm Canon AE-1 Program.<\/p>\n<p>The National Weather Service history for the event describes \u201cseveral\u201d tornadoes. The most powerful was an F3 that struck in south Denver and was on the ground for 25 minutes. That twister alone damaged 85 buildings and many vehicles. Miraculously, no serious injuries or deaths were reported.<\/p>\n<p>Below see more pictures I took that day and you can read the official account from the NWS and watch some archived news stories from the day.<\/p>\n\t<style>\n\t\t.entry-content a, .entry-summary a, .taxonomy-description a, \n\t\t.logged-in-as a, .comment-content a, .pingback .comment-body > a, \n\t\t.textwidget a, .entry-footer a:hover, .site-info a:hover {\n\t\t\tbox-shadow: none !important;\n\t\t}\n\t\n\t\t.single-photostream-25252 {\n\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 15px;\n\t\t}\n\t<\/style>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"awp-flickr-post-title\" style=\"margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 10px; color:#000000; font-size: 16px ; text-align:left;\"><\/p>\n\t\t<div id=\"awp-flickr-album-25252\" class=\"awp-flickr-album-25252\">\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54840942107_d0bc46be82_b.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-25252 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-25252>June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-25252:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54840942107_d0bc46be82_m.jpg\" alt=\"June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54842050383_58edf8ac65_b.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-25252 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-25252>June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-25252:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54842050383_58edf8ac65_m.jpg\" alt=\"June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54842050398_66749b343a_b.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-25252 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-25252>June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-25252:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54842050398_66749b343a_m.jpg\" alt=\"June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54841803681_175dc7d87f_b.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-25252 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-25252>June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-25252:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54841803681_175dc7d87f_m.jpg\" alt=\"June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54840942097_35a84b58f7_b.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-25252 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-25252>June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-25252:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54840942097_35a84b58f7_m.jpg\" alt=\"June 15, 1988 - Tornadoes Strike Denver, Colorado\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<style>\n.awp-flickr-album-25252 a {\n\ttext-decoration: none !important;\n\tbox-shadow: 0px 0px 0 0 currentColor !important;\n\tpadding-bottom: 10px;\n}\n.awp-flickr-album-25252 div {\n\tpadding-bottom: 10px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\n<script>\n\/\/light case lightbox js\njQuery( window ).load(function() {\n\tjQuery(document).ready(function(jQuery) {\n\t\tjQuery('a[data-rel^=lightcase-25252]').lightcase({\n\n\t\t});\n\t});\n}); \t\n\n\/\/ masonary effect\njQuery(document).ready(function () {\n\t\/\/ isotope effect function\n\t\/\/ Method 1 - Initialize Isotope, then trigger layout after each image loads.\n\tvar fg_isotope = jQuery('.awp-flickr-album-25252').isotope({\n\t\t\/\/ options...\n\t\titemSelector: '.single-album-25252',\n\t});\n\t\/\/ layout Isotope after each image loads\n\tfg_isotope.imagesLoaded().progress( function() {\n\t\tfg_isotope.isotope('layout');\n\t});\t\n});\t\n<\/script>\n\n<p>From the National Weather Service:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In 1988\u2026several tornadoes developed across metro Denver. One tornado touched down just northeast of the rocky mountain arsenal. The twister moved very slowly and did no damage\u2026except to demolish a small electrical substation\u2026 Even though it was on the ground for nearly 30 minutes. Later\u2026another tornado was sighted east of Brighton about 2 miles north of Barr Lake. An f2 tornado cut a swath through northeast Denver. The main path went through a thickly wooded area for about 6 blocks and uprooted about 500 city owned trees\u2026many of them large elms 75 to 100 years old. Hundreds of privately owned trees were also sucked from the ground by the slow moving twister\u2026which was filmed by a news team in a helicopter as it uprooted trees. The replacement cost to the city owned trees was estimated at 1.5 million dollars. The twister did little damage to buildings. Some homes suffered roof and chimney damage\u2026a gas main was ruptured\u2026and some cars were damaged by falling trees. The uprooted trees also caused curb and sidewalk damage and cut some electrical wires. The funnel cloud passed close to Stapleton International Airport. Aircraft operations were shut down\u2026and the tower was evacuated. The tornado was on the ground for almost 25 minutes. An f3 tornado cut an erratic path through south Denver for about 25 minutes\u2026causing extensive damage in at least 3 areas. The twister damaged about 85 buildings\u2026 20 severely; the total loss was estimated at 5 to 10 million dollars. Many cars were severely damaged; at least 15 vehicles were overturned. One trailer was lifted onto the top of a building that had just been unroofed; numerous antique cars inside the building were damaged. A Ford Bronco was blown over a church\u2026and landed 100 yards away. A metal storage shed was deposited far above the ground in some power lines. The tornado uprooted many trees on a golf course. No one was seriously hurt\u2026although seven people suffered minor injuries from flying debris. A golfer was thrown 40 feet\u2026but was not hurt; a man clinging to a telephone pole was unscathed\u2026but lost both shoes\u2026a sock\u2026and buttons off his shirt. A woman holding a baby was sucked through a broken convenience store window\u2026 But was unhurt. A dog\u2026tethered to the ground by its leash\u2026 Was suspended in the air by the twister. Uprooted trees crushed cars and damaged curbs and sidewalks. People in downtown Denver could see three tornadoes occurring simultaneously. Hail as large as 1 3\/8 inches in diameter fell in extreme southeast Aurora.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1I7LV3_ahQ0?si=kG6o1oSaIxFJsswr\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QlraM55E3Sg?si=VEwWZacmQnlLD_h7\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This was a fun find! I was going through old family photos and came across these images of a famous \u2013 and destructive &#8211; Denver weather event. At that time, I was staying with my sister at her house on Fox Street near 96th Ave in Thornton. The weather was clearly getting spicy and where &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/throwback-thursday-images-of-the-june-15-1988-tornado-outbreak-in-denver\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Throwback Thursday: Images of the June 15, 1988, tornado outbreak in Denver.<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[41,15,510],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25250"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25250"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25254,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25250\/revisions\/25254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}