A strong thunderstorm produced hail up to the size of pennies in the vicinity of Holly.
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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 episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
A strong thunderstorm produced hail up to the size of pennies in the vicinity of Holly.
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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 3, 3:40 AM MST, 8 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 440 AM MDT FRI JUL 3 2009 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) ...A POTENTIALLY ACTIVE DAY TODAY... CURRENTLY...UPPER RIDGE WAS NEARLY CENTERED OVER TEXAS EARLY FRI MORNING WITH A SHORTWAVE OVER UTAH...AND A VERY HEALTHY PLUME OF MOISTURE WAS STREAMING UP ACROSS AZ AND NM AND THE 4 CORNERS INTO COLORADO. CONVECTION CONTINUED THRU THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ACROSS NM...AS PER LTG CHARTS AND IR SATELLITE IMAGERY. TEMPS HAVE DROPPED INTO THE 50S TO LOWER 60S MOST AREAS AS OF 330 AM...BUT WERE STILL HANGING ON IN THE 70S ALONG THE CO/KS BORDER. DEWPOINTS WERE IN THE 50S AND 60S AT MOST LOCATIONS THIS AM. THE SURFACE BOUNDARY LOOKED TO BE SITUATED JUST SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 50. TODAY AND TONIGHT...LATEST MODEL RUNS ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE 00Z MODEL RUNS IN PUSHING THE SURFACE FRONT BACK TO THE NORTH THROUGH THIS MORNING...WITH A WEST TO SOUTHWEST SFC WIND ACROSS ALL OF THE EASTERN PLAINS BY 15Z. ASSUMING THIS IS THE CORRECT SOLUTION...THIS WILL HELP TEMPS WARM QUICKLY THROUGH MIDDAY WHILE CONVECTION FIRES OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. HOWEVER...THE FRONT IS THEN SCHEDULED TO MAKE A RETURN...CROSSING BACK OVER MONUMENT HILL AROUND 21Z. BY 00Z IT SAGS DOWN ACROSS EL PASO COUNTY...WITH CAPES RANGING FROM 1800-2500 J/KG AND 0-6 KM BULK SHEAR APPROACHING 40 KTS. THE FRONT CONTINUES DROPPING SOUTH THRU THE NIGHT...REACHING THE NM BORDER BY 12Z. WHAT THIS MEANS...IS THAT THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A 4-6 HR WINDOW BEGINNING RIGHT AROUND 3 PM WHERE THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG OR EVEN SEVERE STORMS ACROSS THE E PLAINS AND DOWN ALONG THE I25 CORRIDOR. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...LARGE HAIL...AND DEFINITELY PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE ON TAP THRU LATE AFTN AND EVE FROM THE SOUTHERN FRONT RANGE AND EAST. AS FOR THE MTS AND HIGH VALLEYS...THE MOISTURE PLUME COMBINED WITH THE SHORTWAVE TRACKING INTO THE STATE THIS MORNING SHOULD ALLOW FOR PLENTY OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BY MID-MORNING ALONG THE CONTDVD. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE THERE AS WELL...AND INCLUDED SUCH WORDING IN THE WX GRIDS. MOORE .LONG TERM... (SAT-THU) ...ACTIVE WX PATTERN THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND...GETTING HOT NEXT WEEK... THINGS STILL APPEAR ON TRACK FOR AN ACTIVE WEEKEND CONVECTIVE-WISE AS A SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL LIKELY BE SOUTH OF THE AREA AND REGION WILL BE UNDER SYNOPTICALLY FORCED UPSLOPE SURFACE FLOW. FLOW ALOFT WILL BE MODEST AND WILL BE FROM A WNW TO NW DIRECTION. DEWPTS IN THE 50S COMBINED WITH HEATING SHOLD ALLOW FOR ABOUT 1000 J/KG OF CAPE BY AFTERNOON. LIKEWISE...I ANTICIPATE A FEW STRONG TO LOCALLY SVR STORMS TO AFFECT THE REGION BOTH SAT AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING. ATTM...SUNDAY HAS ME A BIT MORE CONCERNED AS FLOW ALOFT WILL BE A TAD BIT STRONGER AND I ANTICPATE A WEAK DISTURBANCE IN THE FLOW TO ACCENTUATE UPWARD VV ON THIS DAY. GIVEN PREVIOUS HISTORY OF THIS TYPE OF PATTERN...WE MAY BE DEALING WITH SOME RATHER LARGE HAIL POTENTIAL ON THIS DAY ALONG THE 1-25 CORRIDOR. SCATTERED STORMS WILL OCCUR OVER THE MTNS BOTH DAYS. SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WILL BE POSSIBLE. WITH THE BOUNDARY SOUTH OF THE AREA...TEMPS WILL BE SEASONABLE...WITH MAINLY 80S OVER THE PLAINS AND 60S AND 70 MTNS/VALLEYS. MONDAY WILL BE A TRANSITION DAY AS FLOW ALOFT STARTS TO BECOME MORE WESTERLY AND WE START TO DRY OUT A BIT...ESPECIALLY OVER THE MTNS. MID LVL FLOW WILL TIGHTEN UP FROM THE SW BY MIDWEEK. LIKEWISE...I EXPECT IT TO WARM UP CONSIDERABLY OVER THE CWA AS THE COMBINATION OF DRY AIR ALOFT AND MODERATE SFC DOWNSLOPE FLOW WILL ALLOW TEMPS TO GET INTO THE 90S AND 100S ACROSS THE PLAINS. SINCE WE HAVE BEEN RATHER MOIST THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS I DO NOT EXPECT ANY FIRE WX CONCERNS...HOWEVER...WE WILL BE DRYING OUT UNDER THIS REGIME. && .AVIATION... PREDOMINANTLY VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR THE 3 TAF SITES NEXT 24H...BUT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION COULD PRESENT SLIGHT DEGRADATION IN CONDITIONS THIS AFTN AND EVE...WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TIMING FOR KALS AS OPPOSED TO KCOS AND KPUB. KALS...ISOLATED CONVECTION LATE MORNING THEN SCATTERED THROUGH THE AFTN WITH OCNL MVFR CONDITIONS DUE TO PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS...SHOULD BEGIN CLEARING AFTER 00Z. KCOS AND KPUB...CONVECTION DEVELOPING A BIT LATER BUT COULD PERSIST THROUGH THE NIGHT AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY FIRST PUSHES TO THE NORTH THRU THE MORNING...THEN DROPS BACK SOUTH AFTER 21Z. POTENTIAL SEVERE STORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND HIGH WINDS GUSTS POSSIBLE...BUT PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINS AND GUSTY WINDS LIKELY AND COULD DROP VSBY BELOW 5SM AND INTO MVFR CATEGORY 21Z-03Z FOR KCOS...23Z-04Z FOR KPUB. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 27/34
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 716 AM MDT FRI JUL 3 2009 COZ058>089-093>099-041330- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- 716 AM MDT FRI JUL 3 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION...DEVELOPING BY LATE MORNING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND THEN SPREADING IN COVERAGE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A SURFACE FRONT IS FORECAST TO DROP DOWN ACROSS THE PALMER DIVIDE LATER THIS AFTERNOON...THEN CONTINUE SOUTH TOWARDS THE COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO BORDER THROUGH THE NIGHT. THIS FRONT SHOULD TRIGGER THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT...AND DUE TO THE EXPECTED TIMING OF THE FRONT THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EL PASO COUNTY AND THE RAMPART RANGE WILL MOST LIKELY BE STRONG...AND POSSIBLY EVEN SEVERE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM THE STORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...WILL BE PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM THE STORMS ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS AND I25 CORRIDOR...ESPECIALLY ACROSS EL PASO COUNTY AND THE RAMPART RANGE...WILL BE PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN...WIND GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH...HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE PLAINS...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE GREATER I-25 CORRIDOR...BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH AND LARGE HAIL...POSSIBLY GOLF BALL SIZE OR LARGER. BASED ON COMPUTER SIMULATIONS RUN FRIDAY MORNING...THE BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE ON SUNDAY. FROM MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...ONLY ISOLATED NON SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED OVER THE REGION. FOR THIS WEEKEND...NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT COMBINED WITH SOUTHEAST UNSTABLE UPSLOPE FLOW WILL PERMIT A FAVORABLE WIND SHEAR PATTERN FOR A FEW ROTATING SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS. GIVEN THE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INITIATE OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND THEN MOVE SOUTH ALONG THE I-25 CORRIDOR. THIS MEANS THE MAJOR POPULATED AREAS ALONG THE I-25 CORRIDOR COULD BE AFFECTED BY THESE STORMS. THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND IS UPON US AND WE EXPECT LOTS OF CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING ACTIVITY TO OCCUR TODAY...SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. THE NUMBER ONE WEATHER KILLER IN COLORADO IS LIGHTNING. ON AVERAGE...3 PEOPLE ARE KILLED EACH YEAR IN COLORADO AND OVER A DOZEN ARE SERIOUSLY INJURED. IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE AND HEAR THUNDER OR SEE DARK CLOUDS DEVELOPING OVERHEAD...STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND SEEK SAFE SHELTER IN A SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING OR ANY HARD TOPPED VEHICLE. DO NOT...REPEAT...DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS MEETING REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. 27/34
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 150 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:30 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Also...winds estimated around 55 MPH with this thunderstorm...causing 3 inch diameter limbs to be broken.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, July 2009
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: 189501.