Weld County EF-1 Tornado Was Probably The Most Photographed In Colorado History
DENVER (CBS4) - The photogenic tornado that struck Weld County Monday evening could be seen for miles in virtually every direction. That allowed for many thousands of people to get a great view.
The thunderstorm that spawned the EF-1 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 99 mph moved slowly north for about 35 minutes. During that time, the tornado tracked 7.5 miles from near Firestone to near Platteville which is a relatively long distance for a Colorado tornado.
It was also a very isolated thunderstorm with no other surrounding storms to block the view.
The result was a clear view of the "landspout" tornado from the northern sections of the Denver metro area to the south to Fort Collins and Greeley to the north.
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Even tourists visiting Colorado's high country could see the tornado. A visitor from California tweeting a photo from at least 20 miles away in the foothills of Boulder County.
Fortunately, the tornado never became strong enough to cause significant widespread damage or cause any injuries. Some indiscriminate damage was still reported in many areas across southern Weld County which has experienced more tornadoes than another other single county in the country.
The threat for a tornado was very small on Monday but enough wind was able to perfectly converge along a boundary in Weld County to cause the tornado. The same atmospheric setup could happen many times without a tornado so it was an unlikely occurrence.
PHOTO GALLERY: Tornado Touches Down In Weld County
The chance for another tornado on Tuesday is even smaller than Monday so it's even more unlikely to happen. That said, the northeast region of the state has been highlighted by the National Weather Service to have a "marginal" threat for severe weather including thunderstorms capable of producing damaging hail and/or wind after 4 p.m. No part of the Denver metro area has been highlighted for severe weather on Tuesday.
The much bigger weather story than thunderstorms for most of Colorado through Thursday will be more intense heat.
