Thursday morning’s travel in Denver, Colorado went a lot smoother than the drive home Wednesday night, to say the least. Numerous severe storm cells fired up across the Denver metro area just as rush hour began.
Wednesday was also Bike To Work Day, however the moist unstable atmosphere was not the ideal scenario for bikers attempting to make their way home. As convection-based storms initiated along the front range of the Rocky Mountains and moved east, the storms fueled off the warmer air over the plains. The high at Denver International Airport Wednesday was 91°. Numerous flights were cancelled and rerouted from DIA as the storm’s intensity grew with rapid speed. 1.5 inch hail was reported, as well as a funnel cloud and rainfall rates of more than 2 inches per hour drenched the city. Flash flooding proved to be the most damaging threat with the storms.
Accompanying images offer a look at what some of what the weather had to offer Wednesday evening in Denver.
– Meteorologist Tracey Anthony
Video: Lisa Collins
Video: Melissa Downham
Video: Joel Stewart
Headline photo: Maggie Altamirano