{"id":7921,"date":"2014-06-03T07:09:24","date_gmt":"2014-06-03T13:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=7921"},"modified":"2025-06-03T06:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T12:59:16","slug":"a-look-back-at-the-most-destructive-tornado-in-denver-metro-history-june-3-1981-thornton-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/a-look-back-at-the-most-destructive-tornado-in-denver-metro-history-june-3-1981-thornton-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"A look back at the most destructive tornado in Denver metro history: June 3, 1981 Thornton, Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"June
June 3, 1981 – An F2 tornado rips through the heart of Thornton, Colorado. See more images in the slideshow below.(NCAR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 3, 1981 appeared to be a pretty typical late spring day in the Denver metro area.\u00a0 Afternoon thunderstorms though would become a \u2018perfect storm\u2019 and soon the city of Thornton would find itself witness to a tornado that would go down in the Denver weather history books.<\/p>\n

Five tornadoes would strike that day but one would become the most infamous.\u00a0 The Thornton tornado would tear through what was then the heart of the city damaging homes and businesses and sending many residents to the hospital.<\/p>\n

The twister initially touched down at 2:43 p.m. and ripped across 2 miles of the city. \u00a0The tornado was rated an F2 on the Fujita Scale packing winds up to 157mph.<\/p>\n

Following is a description of the event from the National Weather Service and below that is a slideshow of some photos of the event we have accumulated.<\/p>\n

In 1981\u2026severe thunderstorms produced tornadoes over metro Denver.\u00a0 The first tornado touched down at the intersection of Alameda Ave. And Sheridan Blvd.\u00a0 The twister moved north along Sheridan Blvd\u2026.damaging businesses\u2026apartment buildings\u2026homes\u2026and vehicles.\u00a0 Over ten homes were unroofed.\u00a0 The roof of one landed in the middle of a neighborhood park.\u00a0 At least 10 mobile homes were wrecked.<\/em><\/p>\n

The tornado curved to the northeast into northwest Denver\u2026 Hopping up and down in several places.\u00a0 Very strong winds outside the actual funnel caused 20 to 30 thousand dollars in damage in downtown Denver.\u00a0 The third floor of one old building was demolished.\u00a0 No major injuries were reported from the tornado\u2026although several people were hurt slightly in traffic accidents on Sheridan Blvd. in the confusion caused by the storm.\u00a0 Damage in Lakewood alone was estimated at 200 thousand dollars.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

At the same time\u2026 The worst tornado to ever hit metro Denver struck Thornton. Coming from the same thunderstorm that spawned the Denver twister\u2026the Thornton tornado tore a swath through the heart of the city.\u00a0 87 homes were destroyed\u2026110 others damaged at least moderately.\u00a0 In all\u2026600 homes in a 100 block area sustained some damage.\u00a0 The twister also hit shopping centers\u2026several restaurants\u2026and other buildings. Seven of the 42 injured were considered serious.\u00a0 The storm was strong enough to snap lamp posts in half and drive a 6- inch slab of wood 2 feet into the ground.\u00a0 Damage was estimated at up to 50 million dollars.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The same storm that struck Thornton produced another damaging tornado that touched down in the northwest section of Fort Lupton.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The twister also damaged two commercial buildings.\u00a0 Damage was very spotty\u2026and observers said the storm hopped up and down at least 3 times.\u00a0 Dollar damage was estimated at 500 thousand dollars.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The thunderstorm complex that produced 3 damaging tornadoes also dropped large hail which damaged many cars over northwest Denver.\u00a0 One to 2 inches of rain fell in less than an hour\u2026flooding a mobile home park with 3 to 4 feet of water on the northwest edge of Denver.\u00a0 The high water damaged about half of the 392 homes in the park.\u00a0 Local flooding was also reported in other areas across metro Denver.\u00a0 A tornado was also sighted near Franktown\u2026but caused no damage.\u00a0 A thunderstorm wind gust to 52 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also see:<\/p>\n