Hail, Larimer
- When
- May 17, 11:00 AM CST
- Where
- Larimer County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 40.430, -105.330
Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, May 17, 1978
4 tornado, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- $258,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Event by event
4 tornado, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Douglas
- When
- May 17, 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Douglas County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.3 mi
- Path width
- 17 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 39.520, -104.770
Tornado, Adams
- When
- May 17, 2:20 PM CST
- Where
- Adams County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 39.630, -104.750
Tornado, Boulder
- When
- May 17, 3:45 PM CST
- Where
- Boulder County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 17 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 40.170, -105.100
Tornado, Kiowa
- When
- May 17, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kiowa County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 38.450, -103.270
Thunderstorm Wind, Prowers
- When
- May 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Prowers County
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph)
- Coordinates
- 38.070, -102.680
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1978Every state in 1978This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Colorado, 1978
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9988641, 9988642, 9988643, 9988644, 9988645, 9988646.