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 May 29, 1:49 AM MST, 9 hours 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 249 AM MDT SAT MAY 29 2004 .SHORT TERM...AN INTERESTING DAY SHAPING UP FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. UNSEASONABLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON. AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE...ONE WAVE OF UPWARD QUASI-GEOSTROPHIC FORCING IS MOVING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. MAIN BATCH OF FORCING NOW LOCATED OVER UTAH WILL MOVE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENT RADAR SHOWS A FEW SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST WAVE ON THE WESTERN SLOPE. A COUPLE OF THESE ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS OUR MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING. STORMS SHOULD QUICKLY BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD BY LATE MORNING AS ANY SURFACE HEATING DESTABILIZES ATMOSPHERE AHEAD OF MAIN SHORT WAVE. CONVECTION ALSO EXPECTED TO BREAK OUT EARLIER THAN USUAL ON THE PLAINS WITH ONSET OF FORCING BY NOON. FRONTAL SURGE THIS MORNING WILL NEGATE ANY DOWNSLOPE DRYING SO CELLS SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE OFF DESPITE A BIT OF CONVECTIVE INHIBITION ON THE PLAINS. THERE WILL BE BETTER HEATING FARTHER EAST WHICH IS EXPECTED TO LEAD TO AROUND 1000 J/KG OF CAPE IN POINTS EAST OF A JULESBURG TO AKRON TO LIMON LINE. MID LEVEL WIND SPEEDS AND VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO SUPPORT ROTATING UPDRAFT AND STRONGER STORMS. WHILE CAPE IS LIMITED...SHOULD BE ENOUGH OTHER FACTORS INCLUDING RAPID MID LEVEL COOLING TO PROMOTE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS. HAIL WOULD BE MAIN THREAT GIVEN MID LEVEL COOLING. SPC HAS EASTERN PLAINS IN SLIGHT RISK AND THIS SEEMS GOOD WITH ABOVE MENTIONED FACTORS. SHOWERS/STORMS SHOULD QUICKLY DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY THIS EVENING AS UPPER TROUGH FORCING MOVES EAST. STILL ENOUGH INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE IN MOUNTAINS TO MENTION SHOWERS THROUGH THE NIGHT. SNOW LEVELS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY DROP TO 9000 FEET OR BELOW BY DARK. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE AN INCH OR TWO ACCUMULATION OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS. .LONG TERM DISCUSSION...COLD UPPER TROUGH SLIDES EAST OF THE AREA ON SUNDAY ALLOWING STRONG JET FLOW TO DIVE DOWN ITS BACK SIDE AND ACROSS THE FCST AREA DURING THE DAY. INCREASING STATIC STABILITY AT MID-LVLS SHOULD HELP TO TRANSPORT THIS MOMENTUM DOWN TO THE GROUND. COULD SEE NWLY SFC WINDS GUSTING TO AROUND 50 KTS IN THE MTNS AND FTHLS AND TO AROUND 35 KTS ON THE PLAINS BY AFTERNOON. TEMPS ALOFT WARM ONLY SLIGHTLY FROM SATURDAY NIGHT TO SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE COOLEST AIR OVER THE AREA AROUND 12Z/SUNDAY. SEE OROGRAPHICALLY PRODUCED ISOLATED -SHSN LINGERING IN THE MTNS THROUGH MID-MORNING BEFORE THE LAST OF THE MID-LVL MOISTURE EXITS THE AREA TO THE EAST. MAX TEMPERATURES ON SUNDAY AS MUCH AS 10 TO 15 DEGS F BELOW NORMAL... WITH TEMPS IN MTN AREAS ABOVE 11000 FT MSL PROBABLY NOT GETTING MUCH ABOVE FREEZING ALL DAY. MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...NWLY FLOW ALOFT WEAKENS SOME AS HEIGHTS RISE WITH RIDGING FM THE WEST. MONDAY LOOKS DRY WITH FEW CLOUDS AND TEMPS RETURN TO NEAR NORMAL. ON TUESDAY...SEE LITTLE CHANGE IN TEMPS AND MOISTURE AT MID AND UPR LEVELS...HOWEVER AT LOW LEVELS MODELS SHOW AN INFLUX OF GULF MOISTURE ON STRENGTHENING SELY FLOW. STRONG SOLAR HEATING AND SHEAR MAY BE ENOUGH TO POP A FEW AFTERNOON AND EVENING STORMS ON THE PLAINS AND NEARBY FOOTHILLS. SEE A SIMILAR SETUP FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING STORMS ON WEDNESDAY. HAVE MADE NO CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED PERIOD BEYOND WEDNESDAY. .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && BARJENBRUCH/BAKER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1005 AM MDT SAT MAY 29 2004 COZ030>051-301200- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/ SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/ EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 1005 AM MDT SAT MAY 29 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A THREAT OF ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS OF COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON. THE MAIN RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL OCCUR IN AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM JULESBURG TO AKRON AND LIMON. WHILE INSTABILITY IS LIMITED...WIND SHEAR IN THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PRODUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DEVELOPING ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS THROUGH 1 PM....THEN SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND ADJACENT PLAINS THROUGH THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A COOLER...DRIER AIRMASS IS EXPECTED FOR THE FORECAST AREA SUNDAY AND MONDAY. TUESDAY LOOKS PRETTY DRY AS WELL. BY WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUING INTO NEXT WEEKEND...A WARMER MORE MOIST AIRMASS WILL BRING A CHANCE OF LATE DAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE FORECAST AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED ALONG AND EAST OF THE AFOREMENTIONED LINE AFTER 2 PM.
The Denver radar (KFTG), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:43 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A father and son practicing on the driving range at the Meadows Golf Club were were struck by lightning. The father was killed by the bolt and his 16-yr old was son seriously injured. Three others standing nearby received only minor injuries.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Jefferson | 2004-05-29 | 47 | Male | Golfing | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, May 2004
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: 5401584.