Damaged Houses, Downed Trees, Tornado Sightings Reported In Lowry
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Reports of a tornado are so far unconfirmed in Aurora, where immense damage to a six block area took place during Wednesday's storm.
The damage was done in Aurora's Lowry neighborhood early Wednesday evening.
Kim O'Brien didn't hear the siren when the first storm blew through.
"A train came... I heard a train. I felt wind everywhere, I heard snap crackle pop. I ran into the bathroom ... I am 46 years old and I called my mom," said O'Brien.
Her roof was ripped off as metal twisted and wood snapped in a furious mess. Trees that stood for decades were helpless to the winds, and destroyed anything they landed on.
"We saw the funnel, the funnel was right here man and it was just swirling, the whole thing was turning, the cloud was just turning right here. And next thing I know ... we had to get everybody inside," said Lowry resident Allen Steadman.
The National Weather Service has not confirmed if a tornado did in fact touch down, but the damage shows just how strong the winds were.
Sharon Harvey panicked and ran for cover in the middle of her house.
"I don't have a basement...I don't have anywhere to go to in a tornado warning," she said, "nowhere to hide, there's windows in every room. Basically, I was scared."
Chunks of one building's roof were launched through the air, and the flying debris devastated store-fronts of a strip mall, sending people running for cover.
"It just came out of the blue. It just hit and that was it," said Harvey.
Aurora Public Works had to use dump trucks over several hours to clear the roads and several homes in the area lost power in the storm. The total damage is still being assessed, but no injuries have been reported.
