1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 29, 3:09 AM MST, 5 hours 51 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 405 AM MDT TUE APR 29 2003 SHORT TERM DISCUSSION...A COMPLICATED WX SITN WL DVLP OVR THE NERN PLAINS LATER TODAY. CURRENTLY...LOW LVL MSTR LINGERS OVR THE PLAINS AS A SFC LOW MAINTAINS A WEAK DENVER CYCLONE CIRCLN. ALOFT...ALL MODELS INDICATE MODERATE SWLY FLOW WL BRING DRIER AIR TO THE REGION. MSAS SFC PRES ANALYSES SHOW MAIN AREA OF PRES FALLS MOVG OUT ACRS WRN KS. THIS INDICATES THAT THE SERN CO SFC LOW WL MOVE EWD ALSO...ALLOWING THE DRY AIR TO SPREAD TOWARDS THE ERN CO BORDER. ALL OF THESE SFC DVLPMNTS WL BE TAKING PLACE AS A WRN U.S. UPR TROF APPCHS THE REGION. WITH LOW LVLS OF THE ATMOSPHERE DRYING ACRS THE NE PLAINS...THE THREAT OF T-STORMS WL RETREAT TO WRN KS. IF THE DRYING DOES NOT SPREAD ALL THE WAY TO WRN KS...THEN THE NE CORNER OF THE STATE TO BE UNDER THE GUN FOR SOME STRONG CONVECTION IN THE LATE AFTN AND EVENING. WITH THE DRYLINE EXPECTED TO SET UP ALG OR E OF THE KS BRDR...THE HIGHEST THREAT OF SVR WX WL BE E OF OUR FCST AREA. WL BACK OFF ON POPS FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE FCST AREA THRU THIS AFTN. BY LATER TONITE...DYNAMIC FORCING ASSOCD WITH THE APPCHG UPR TROF WL INCRS THE SHOWER ACTIVITY ACRS THE FCST AREA. THE AMS SHOULD BE MOISTENING THROUGH TIME DUE TO SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT. AT THE SAME TIME...LOW LVL MSTR WL BE ADVECTING INTO THE NE CORNER OF THE STATE AS A SFC FNT STALLS ALG THE NRN KS BRDER. SHOWER AND T-STORM ACTIVITY OVR NE CO COULD LAST MUCH OF THE NIGHT AS THE UPR LVL DYNAMICS AND INCREASING JET LEVEL WINDS INTERACT WITH LOW LVL MSTR AND INSTABILITY ASSOCD WITH THE STALLED SFC FRONT. WL CONT WITH THE HIGHEST POPS N AND E OF AKO. KDRBY LONG TERM DISCUSSION...MODELS ARE IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT WITH JET MAX AND ASSOCIATED SHORT WAVE MOVING THROUGH NORTHEAST COLORADO LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. BY WEDNESDAY MORNING...THE NOSE OF 100 KT JET IS JUST TO OUR SOUTH...PROVIDING FOR LARGE SCALE ASCENT IN THE LEFT EXIT REGION. SHOULD SEE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING ESPECIALLY JUST ALONG AND NORTH OF JET AXIS WHERE UPWARD FORCING IS MAXIMIZED. LAPSE RATES ARE ALSO UNSTABLE SO THIS SHOULD HELP GENERATE PRECIP TOO. FARTHER SOUTH...ROUGHLY FROM DENVER TO LIMON...DRY SLOT WILL EFFECTIVELY SHUT OFF PRECIP SO ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE MORNING SHOWERS AND AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. IN THE MOUNTAINS...LOOKS LIKE THERE WILL BE ENOUGH DYNAMICS...INSTABILITY...AND OROGRAPHICS FOR SHOWERS EVEN THROUGH MOISTURE IS SPARSE. WILL GO TO SCATTERED POPS FOR NOW WITH SOME ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE IN HEAVIER SHOWERS. SURFACE GRADIENT STRENGTHENS AS SURFACE LOW PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS TOMORROW...RESULTING IN GUSTY NORTHWESTERLY WINDS SPREADING OFF THE FOOTHILLS AND EASTWARD ACROSS THE PLAINS DURING THE DAY. SHOULD NOT BE ENOUGH MID LEVEL FLOW TO SUPPORT THREAT OF HIGH WINDS. BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SOME WRAP AROUND MOISTURE WILL KEEP THE THREAT OF SHOWERS IN THE FAR NORTHEAST SECTIONS WHILE OTHER AREAS SHOULD REMAIN DRY. A SURGE IS ADVERTISED TO PUSH SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE NIGHT BRINGING SOME LOW CLOUDS IN. MAY BE ENOUGH MOISTURE TO GENERATE A FEW AFTERNOON SHOWERS/STORMS THURSDSAY BUT AIRMASS BEGINS TO STABILIZE SO GOING FORECAST OF ISOLATED LOOKS GOOD. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ADVERTISE THE MAIN TROF OFF THE WEST COAST TO WORK INTO THE ROCKIES LATE THIS WEEKEND OR EARLY NEXT WEEK...KEEPING THE CHANCE OF PRECIP IN THE FORECAST. BARJENBRUCH .DEN...NONE.
COZ030>051-291700- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 605 AM MDT TUE APR 29 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AREAS OF FOG AND LOW CLOUDS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST COLORADO PLAINS THIS MORNING WILL DISSIPATE BY 10 AM. VISIBILITIES COULD BE LESS A QUARTER OF A MILE AT TIMES. THE THICKEST FOG WILL BE IN THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER VALLEY FROM NORTH OF DENVER TO AROUND GREELEY. LATER THIS AFTERNOON THERE WILL BE A THREAT OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER EXTREME NORTHEAST COLORADO. AREAS TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF AKRON ARE MOST LIKELY TO SEE THUNDERSTORMS. LARGE HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WOULD BE THE MAIN PRODUCT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS. ELSEWHERE ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO...AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE APPROACHING THE STATE FROM THE SOUTHWEST WILL PRODUCE ISOLATED SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND I-25 CORRIDOR THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE WYOMING AND NEBRASKA BORDERS. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AS THE STORM SYSTEM MOVES EAST OF THE AREA. FOR THURSDAY THROUGH NEXT MONDAY...THERE IS A CONTINUED THREAT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL REMAIN LOW UNTIL AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE REGION LATE IN THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED FOR TODAY OR TONIGHT. DANKERS/BARJENBRUCH
The Denver radar (KFTG), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:55 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a chimney at a residence in Hiwan, sending stones flying as far as 150 feet. Electrical equipment in some nearby homes also failed. Damage to the residence, in addition to electrical equipment, was estimated to be $100,000.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2003
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: 5354178.