Colorado, 2000

Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, May 17, 2000

May 17, 2000 · NWS BOU · 38 events in 8 counties and zones

A powder keg of severe weather occurred over the northeast plains of Colorado. The environment became strongly sheared in the vicinity of an intense surface low pressure system allowing for the formation of over two dozen tornadoes.

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
0
Property damage
$38,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
38

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.

A powder keg of severe weather occurred over the northeast plains of Colorado. The environment became strongly sheared in the vicinity of an intense surface low pressure system allowing for the formation of over two dozen tornadoes. In addition to the tornadoes, large hail. strong thunderstorm winds and heavy rain accompanied the storms. Rainfall amounts generally ranged from 1 to 2 inches, with some minor flooding occuring in parts of Morgan County. Considering the high volume of tornadoes reported, many touching down at or near the same time, the damage was relatively minimal.

The radar

The Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 69 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

27 tornado, 5 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Larimer

When
May 17, 8:25 AM MST
Where
Larimer County, 5 mi W of Bellvue
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.633, -105.267

Hail, Arapahoe

When
May 17, 8:26 AM MST
Where
Arapahoe County, Littleton
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.617, -105.000

Hail, Douglas

When
May 17, 9:57 AM MST
Where
Douglas County, 4 mi NW of Larkspur
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.267, -104.933

Hail, Larimer

When
May 17, 10:00 AM MST
Where
Larimer County, 9 mi NW of Livermore
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.850, -105.350

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 11:40 AM MST
Where
Washington County, 1 mi SE of Akron
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.150, -103.183

A tornado touched down and damaged an oil storage tank, approximately 20 feet in diameter, some grain bins, and the roof of a barn.

Thunderstorm Wind, Weld

When
May 17, 11:43 AM MST
Where
Weld County, Pierce
Measured
51 kt (59 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.633, -104.750

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 11:52 AM MST
Where
Washington County, Platner
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.117, -103.067

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 11:54 AM MST
Where
Washington County, 1 mi E of Platner
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.117, -103.050

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 11:58 AM MST
Where
Washington County, Akron
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.167, -103.200

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 12:06 PM MST
Where
Washington County, 3 mi SW of Platner
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.083, -103.100

A tornado touched down and destroyed an abandoned farm house as well as a few of the smaller surrounding buildings.

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 12:25 PM MST
Where
Washington County, 1 mi N of Platner
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.133, -103.067

Tornado, Weld

When
May 17, 12:35 PM MST
Where
Weld County, Roggen
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.167, -104.367

Tornado, Weld

When
May 17, 12:47 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 2 mi E of Briggsdale
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.633, -104.283

Tornado, Weld

When
May 17, 12:47 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 7 mi SW of Briggsdale
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.567, -104.417

Tornado, Weld

When
May 17, 12:55 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 7 mi S of New Raymer
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.433, -103.783

A small tornado touched down and damaged a farm. The extent of the damage is unknown.

Hail, Weld

When
May 17, 12:55 PM MST
Where
Weld County, New Raymer
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.533, -103.783

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 1:00 PM MST
Where
Washington County, 8 mi N of Platner
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.233, -103.067

Lightning, Weld

When
May 17, 1:00 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 4 mi S of Windsor
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.555, -104.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning ignited a fire on the roof of a residence. The fire burned a 10-foot by 10-foot hole in the roof and was confined to the roof and rafters.

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 1:15 PM MST
Where
Washington County, 2 mi E of Platner
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.117, -103.033

Tornado, Morgan

When
May 17, 1:35 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 11 mi N of Ft Morgan
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.417, -103.800

Tornado, Morgan

When
May 17, 1:42 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 16 mi NE of Ft Morgan
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.417, -103.583

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 1:45 PM MST
Where
Washington County, 25 mi NE of Akron
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.417, -102.867

Lightning, Weld

When
May 17, 1:45 PM MST
Where
Weld County, Greeley
Property damage
$28,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.555, -104.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning ignited a fire in the attic of a mobile home in Greeley. The damage to the home was contained mainly to the attic, but there was some minor smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the residence.

Tornado, Morgan

When
May 17, 1:47 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 9 mi NE of Ft Morgan
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.350, -103.683

Tornado, Washington

When
May 17, 1:47 PM MST
Where
Washington County, 18 mi NE of Akron
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.350, -102.967

Lightning, Larimer

When
May 17, 1:50 PM MST
Where
Larimer County, Ft Collins
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.666, -105.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning blew apart a large ash tree at the Colorado State University campus. The bolt left a 3-ft crater and splintered the tree into thousands of pieces. Debris from the blast broke the windows of a nearby building, damaging the inside.

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 2:03 PM MST
Where
Logan County, 8 mi SE of Fleming
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.600, -102.733

Tornado, Phillips

When
May 17, 2:05 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 10 mi ESE of Haxtun
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.583, -102.433

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 2:08 PM MST
Where
Logan County, 7 mi S of Fleming
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.583, -102.833

Tornado, Phillips

When
May 17, 2:15 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 15 mi SE of Holyoke
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.433, -102.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Morgan

When
May 17, 2:20 PM MST to 2:35 PM MST
Where
Morgan County, 10 mi N of Ft Morgan
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.400, -103.800

Strong thunderstorm winds blew the windows out of a house and damaged a nearby barn.

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 2:30 PM MST
Where
Logan County, 5 mi SE of Sterling
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.583, -103.133

A tornado touched down and destroyed a barn.

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 2:35 PM MST
Where
Logan County, 8 mi ESE of Fleming
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.633, -102.700

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 2:40 PM MST
Where
Logan County, Dailey
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.650, -102.717

Thunderstorm Wind, Phillips

When
May 17, 2:43 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 4 mi SE of Holyoke
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.550, -102.250

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 2:47 PM MST
Where
Logan County, 1 mi S of Dailey
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.633, -102.717

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 3:00 PM MST
Where
Logan County, Fleming
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.683, -102.833

A small tornado touched down, damaging some weather equipment and several nearby structures.

Tornado, Logan

When
May 17, 3:08 PM MST
Where
Logan County, 7 mi NE of Dailey
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.717, -102.617

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.
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 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Colorado, 2000Warnings in Colorado, May 2000

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: 5148580, 5148581, 5148582, 5148583, 5147477, 5148584, 5148585, 5148586, 5148587, 5148588, 5148589, 5148590, 5148591, 5148592, 5148593, 5148594, 5147402, 5147481, 5147403, 5147404, 5147405, 5147406, 5147480, 5147407, 5147408, 5147479, 5147409, 5147410, 5147411, 5147412, 5147413, 5147478, 5147473, 5147414, 5147472, 5147474, 5147475, 5147476.