BOULDER, Colo. – Severe storms are moving over the eastern plains of Colorado, including one that passed over Limon with the threat of tennis ball-sized hail, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) out of Boulder.
The below screenshot shows the current storms in Colorado as of 5:20 p.m. Click here for a live radar.
The following watches and warnings are in place:
- Tornado warning (expires at 5:15 p.m.): Mostly rural areas of south-central Otero County
- Severe thunderstorm warning (expires at 5:30 p.m.): Southeastern Otero County
- Severe thunderstorm warning (expires at 5:15 p.m.): Southwestern Kit Carson County (includes I-70 between milemarkers 391 and 408)
- Severe thunderstorm warning (expires at 5:30 p.m.): North-central Pueblo County
- Flash flood warning (expires 7:45 p.m.): Northwestern Pueblo County
- Flash flood warning (expires 7:15 p.m.): Central Elbert County, central Lincoln County
- Flood warning (unknown expiration time): Lower Arkansas River, including Avondale
- Flood warning (unknown expiration time): South Platte River in Washington, Logan and Morgan counties
- Severe thunderstorm watch (expires at 9 p.m.): Bent, Elbert, Kit Carson, Prowers, Cheyenne, El Paso, Lincoln, Pueblo, Crowley, Kiowa and Otero counties
A severe storm with "torrential rain" began moving through Monument along Interstate 25 around 3:50 p.m., according to the NWS out of Pueblo. Hail briefly covered I-25 in the area, as seen in the photo below. This storm is east and northeast of Colorado Springs, as of 4:50 p.m.
About two inches of hail also covered Woodland Park roads, NWS reported. The hail there was about pea-sized.
Another storm is moving farther out on the plains, east and south of Limon. A third storm is southwest of La Junta and a fourth one is northwest of Pueblo, as of 5 p.m. Friday.
One of the storms that caught meteorologists' eyes was near the Limon area around 2:56 p.m. It spurred warnings from the NWS about possible tennis ball-sized hail. The NWS said anybody, including animals, who was outside "will be injured." Damage to roofs, sidings, windows and vehicles was expected as "large destructive hail capable of producing significant damage" was forecasted.
That radar is below from Friday afternoon.
As of 3:44 p.m., about 4 to 6 inches of hail accumulated southeast of Limon on Highway 40. The largest hailstones confirmed were about the size of a quarter here, according to the NWS.
A flash flood warning is in effect for Limon, Hugo and Simla until 7:15 p.m. Friday.
