DENVER – Isolated tornadoes are possible Friday afternoon on Colorado’s northeastern plains as severe thunderstorms are expected to fire up with the main threat being large hail and damaging winds.
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for portions of northeastern Colorado until 9 p.m. for the possibility of hail — up to apple-sized — and wind gusts up to 70 mph.
Weather forecasters with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder wrote "a couple of tornadoes" were are possible.
The Denver metro is not included in the watch.
Counties included in the severe thunderstorm watch include:
- Baca
- Cheyenne
- Kiowa
- Kit Carson
- Lincoln
- Logan
- Sedgwick
- Washington
- Yuma
The watch extends into portions of Kansas and Nebraska.
Check latest Colorado weather alerts at this link.
“This risk for severe weather is closer to spots like Akon, Fort Morgan, Sterling – stretching into Nebraska and then east out on I-70 into Kansas,” said Denver7 chief meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo. As of Friday morning, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder has not issued any severe weather watches for the Denver metro area or northeastern counties.
The NWS said the main window for severe storms across Colorado’s far northeast corner will be between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday.
You can download the Denver7 app to check radar on the go and receive severe storm alerts.
Looking ahead at the weekend forecast in Denver, you can expect periods of scattered storms with cooler weather moving in on Sunday.
“Early in the morning on Saturday, we’ll see start out in the 50s and then have a chance for scattered showers and storms through the afternoon and early evening hours,” said Hidalgo. “We’re expecting to see some wet weather and a risk for severe weather a little closer to Denver.”
The Front Range on Saturday will be under a marginal (lowest risk) of seeing a thunderstorm capable of producing large hail and damaging winds.
Friday’s high temperature in Denver will soar to 85 degrees then dropping to 73 degrees on Saturday.
Sunday will bring cooler temps and showers with Denver’s high only reaching the low 60s.
On Memorial Day, you can expect the afternoon high to reach 67 degrees in Denver with scattered afternoon thunderstorms.
“Early in the morning for the BOLDERBoulder, we’ll see cloud cover but comfortable conditions,” added Hidalgo. “By noon we should be around 60 degrees for the tribute at Folsom Field.”
Friday's severe weather threat comes after four tornadoes touched down east of Denver on Colorado's plains.
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