Colorado, 1998

Hail and Lightning Strikes in Colorado, May 22, 1998

May 22, 1998 · NWS BOU · 23 events in 7 counties and zones

20 hail, 3 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
3
Property damage
$2.2 million
Crop damage
$1.0 million
Events
23

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.

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:08 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 hail, 3 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Boulder

When
May 22, 11:10 AM MST
Where
Boulder County, Broomfield
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
39.920, -105.070

Hail, Boulder

When
May 22, 11:37 AM MST
Where
Boulder County, Broomfield
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.920, -105.070

Hail, Boulder

When
May 22, 11:40 AM MST
Where
Boulder County, Broomfield
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.920, -105.070

Hail, Adams

When
May 22, 12:07 PM MST
Where
Adams County, Brighton
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.980, -104.820

Hail, Weld

When
May 22, 12:11 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 6 mi W of Wattenburg
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.020, -104.920

Hail, Weld

When
May 22, 12:30 PM MST to 1:00 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 5 mi SE of Ft Lupton
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.030, -104.730

Hail caused substantial crop damage in this area as it piled up 3 to 5 inches deep.

Hail, Weld

When
May 22, 12:42 PM MST
Where
Weld County, Hudson
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
40.070, -104.630

Hail, Weld

When
May 22, 12:56 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 4 mi W of Greeley
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.420, -104.770

Hail, Weld

When
May 22, 1:08 PM MST
Where
Weld County, Roggen
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
40.170, -104.370

Hail, Weld

When
May 22, 1:21 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 5 mi SE of Keenesburg
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
40.050, -104.450

Lightning, Weld

When
May 22, 1:30 PM MST
Where
Weld County, Ft Lupton
Coordinates
40.555, -104.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning ignited a house fire in Ft Lupton.

Hail, Weld

When
May 22, 1:40 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 15 mi N of Stoneham
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
40.820, -103.650

Hail, Morgan

When
May 22, 2:07 PM MST to 2:12 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 8 mi S of Wiggins
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.120, -104.070

Hail, Adams

When
May 22, 2:11 PM MST
Where
Adams County, 1 mi W of Watkins
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.750, -104.620

Hail, Morgan

When
May 22, 2:28 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 4 mi E of Wiggins
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.230, -103.980

Hail, Morgan

When
May 22, 2:30 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 8 mi W of Ft Morgan
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
40.250, -103.950

Hail, Morgan

When
May 22, 2:50 PM MST to 3:10 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 2 mi SW of Brush
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.230, -103.650

Hail, Morgan

When
May 22, 3:13 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, Brush
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.250, -103.620

Lightning, Larimer

When
May 22, 3:30 PM MST
Where
Larimer County, Loveland
Coordinates
40.666, -105.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning damaged a utility pole in Big Thompson Canyon. As a result, 300 residents in Loveland were without electrical service for several hours.

Hail, Morgan

When
May 22, 3:35 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, Brush
Measured
1.5 in hail
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.2 million
Crop damage
$1.0 million
Coordinates
40.250, -103.620

Large hail pummelled the towns of Greeley, Brush and Fort Morgan. In Brush, some roofs collapsed under the deluge and one roof was blown off. Two people received minor injuries. One woman was injured, while in her home, when large hail broke through the window. Hundreds of cars were also damaged and some were stuck in the hail, up to 18 inches deep, until snowplows could clear the roads off. Crops were shredded during the hailstorm and fields flooded. Approximately 140,000 acres of cropland in and around Brush were devastated. Damage estimates to homes and vehicle in the Greeley, Brush and Fort Morgan areas was estimated at $2.2 million. In addition, crop losses from the storm were expected to exceed $1.0 million.

Hail, Washington

When
May 22, 4:21 PM MST
Where
Washington County, 25 mi SE of Akron
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.920, -102.870

Hail, Denver

When
May 22, 7:00 PM MST
Where
Denver County, Denver
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.730, -104.930

Lightning, Denver

When
May 22, 7:00 PM MST
Where
Denver County, Denver
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
39.762, -104.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A warehouse worker was injured when he was knocked off a loading dock by a lightning bolt. The bolt skipped off a nearby radio tower and struck him in the arm. He was treated for numbness in his right arm and released. The time of the incident was approximated.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, May 1998

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: 5642029, 5642030, 5642031, 5642032, 5642033, 5642034, 5642035, 5642036, 5642037, 5642038, 5642039, 5642040, 5642041, 5642042, 5642043, 5642044, 5642045, 5642046, 5642156, 5642152, 5642153, 5642154, 5642155.