Severe thunderstorms produced heavy rain and damaging winds across parts of Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Washington and Weld Counties. The strong winds downed trees and power lines.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms produced heavy rain and damaging winds across parts of Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Washington and Weld Counties. The strong winds downed trees and power lines. In addition, two tornadoes touched down. One of the tornadoes destroyed half of a barn. Heavy rain produced flash flooding in Fort Morgan.
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 Aug 8, 2:25 PM MST, 8 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 325 PM MDT SUN AUG 8 2010 .SHORT TERM...A FEW SHOWERS HAVE BEGUN TO SHOW UP ON RADAR OVER THE FOOTHILLS IN DOUGLAS COUNTY. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS SHOULD CONTINUE DEVELOPING THROUGH 01Z-03Z...MOVING EASTWARD OVER THE PLAINS THROUGH THE EVENING. SURFACE FLOW UP AND DOWN THE URBAN CORRIDOR HAS BECOME EASTERLY WHICH WILL PROVIDE ENHANCED CONVERGENCE AS THE SHOWERS MOVE OFF THE FOOTHILLS. THE SHORT WAVE OF THE DAY HAS BEEN LATE IN SHOWING ITSELF ON WATER VAPOR SATELLITE PICTURES...BUT IT IS NOW LOOKING LIKE SOME IMPULSE WILL BE MOVING OUT OF THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. AFTER THIS EVENINGS CONVECTION...IT APPEARS THAT WEAK FORCING AHEAD OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA UPPER TROUGH WILL BEGIN AFFECTING SKY COVER OVER THE MOUNTAINS. QUASI-GEOSTROPHIC DIAGNOSTICS PACKAGE SHOWS BROAD AND WEAK RISING MOTIONS ACROSS THE STATE ALL DAY. THIS WILL HELP KEEP ANY CAPPING OVER THE AREA ON THE WEAK SIDE THROUGH THE DAY. AS HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE REACHED BY EARLY AFTERNOON... ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS SHOULD INITIATE AND MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. SCATTERED SHOWERS SHOULD BE THE RULE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. NAM MOS GUIDANCE IS COOLER AND WETTER THAN GFS GUIDANCE SO WENT WITH A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE TWO...FOR BOTH TEMPERATURES AND POPS. .LONG TERM...MODELS KEEP SOUTH-SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY NIGHT. BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON...MODELS SHOW AN UPPER RIDGE CENTER OVER NEW MEXICO. THIS CONTINUES THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES WEST-SOUTHWESTERLY TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE QG VERTICAL VELOCITY FIELDS HAVE WEAK DOWNWARD VERTICAL VELOCITY PROGGED FOR THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE LOW LEVEL PRESSURE AND WIND FIELDS HAVE A WEAK GRADIENT THROUGH THE PERIODS...WITH MAINLY NORMAL DIURNAL WIND PATTERNS EXPECTED. MOISTURE IS PRETTY GOOD MONDAY NIGHT...THEN IT DRIES OUT TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...BUT NOT COMPLETELY. THE BOUNDARY LAYER DEW POINT PROGGS HAVE LOW 50S F TO MID 60S F MONDAY NIGHT. THEY DRY OUT OVER THE WESTERN PLAINS INTO THE MID 30S F TUESDAY...BUT LOWER 60S F REMAIN OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST CORNER. FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY THEY ARE IN THE MID 40S TO MID 50S. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES ARE WELL ABOVE 1.00 INCH MONDAY NIGHT. THE DECREASE CONSIDERABLY TUESDAY...WITH VALUES IN THE 0.65 TO 0.90 INCH RANGE. THE FAR NORTHEAST CORNER STILL HAS VALUES OVER 1.00 INCH. TUESDAY NIGHT THEY GET ABOVE 1.00 INCH FOR ALL THE PLAINS. ON WEDNESDAY...THEY ARE IN THE 0.70 TO 1.00 INCH RANGE. THE LAPSE RATE FIELDS SHOW A BIT OF A MID LEVEL CAP IN PLACE MONDAY EVENING...BUT ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY IT IS PRETTY STRONG. THERE IS DECENT CAPE OVER THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE DIVIDE THROUGH THE PLAINS MONDAY NIGHT. VALUES ARE GENERALLY IN THE 700 TO 2000 J/KG RANGE. FOR LATE DAY TUESDAY...THE ONLY DECENT CAPE IS OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS...WITH LESSER AMOUNTS OVER THE WESTERN PLAINS IN THE EVENING. FOR LATE DAY WEDNESDAY...THERE IS SOME CAPE OVER THE FOOTHILLS AND WESTERN 2/3RDS OF THE PLAINS. THE GFS QPF FIELDS SHOW MEASURABLE RAINFALL FOR ALL THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY NIGHT...THE NAM HAS LESS WITH THE BEST OVER THE NORTHEAST CORNER. FOR LATE DAY TUESDAY...THERE IS A TAD ON BOTH MODELS FOR THE FAR EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL FORECAST AREA ONLY. FOR LATE DAY WEDNESDAY...THERE IS A TAD OVER THE THE PLAINS ON THE GFS ONLY. SO FOR POPS...WILL GO 30-40%S OVER ALL AREAS MONDAY EVENING...THEN 10%S OVER THE MOUNTAINS ONLY FOR LATE DAY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. FOR TEMPERATURES...TUESDAY'S HIGHS WARM 2-4 C FROM MONDAY'S HIGHS. WEDNESDAY'S HIGHS WARM UP 1-3 C FROM TUESDAY'S. FOR THE LATER DAYS...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...MODELS SHOW THE UPPER RIDGE CENTER RIGHT OVER SOUTHERN COLORADO THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. BY SUNDAY...THE UPPER RIDGE CENTER PUSHES JUST SOUTHEAST OF COLORADO. TEMPERATURES ARE ABOVE NORMAL THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...AND MOISTURE IS SPARSE. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY COOL OFF SOMEWHAT AND BETTER MOISTURE RETURNS. && .AVIATION...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE FOOTHILLS THROUGH ABOUT 01Z AND MOVE ACROSS THE DENVER AREA THROUGH ABOUT 03Z. VSBYS WILL BE MOSTLY VFR BUT ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE GATES MAY BE AFFECTED BY SHOWER ACTIVITY THROUGH 03Z. EASTERLY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON WILL TRANSITION TO SOUTHERLY OVERNIGHT. MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE MUCH OF THE NIGHT WITH CIGS AOA 10 THOUSAND FEET MSL. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURANCE MOVING OVER THE STATE MONDAY MORNING MAY CAUSE AN EARLY START TO SHOWER ACTIVITY BY LATE MORNING. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. KDRBY/RJK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1057 AM MDT SUN AUG 08 2010 COZ030>051-091200- 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- 1057 AM MDT SUN AUG 08 2010 .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN TODAY AS SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE ALOFT CONTINUES STREAMING ACROSS COLORADO ON SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. ONCE AGAIN SOME OF THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. STORMS WILL BEGIN OVER THE MOUNTAINS AROUND MIDDAY AND THEN SPREAD ONTO THE PLAINS BY MID-AFTERNOON. BY EVENING...MOST OF THE SHOWERS SHOULD BE EAST OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALL THE FORECAST AREA ON MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. FROM TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE WILL BE SLIGHT CHANCE OF LATE DAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. BY NEXT WEEKEND...A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL RETURN TO MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL BE ABOVE SEASONAL NORMALS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. DANKERS/RJK
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1132 PM MDT SUN AUG 8 2010 COZ047-090600- SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY CO- 1132 PM MDT SUN AUG 8 2010 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL LINCOLN COUNTY SOUTHEASTERN ELBERT COUNTY AT 1132 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PUNKIN CENTER...OR 30 MILES SOUTH OF LIMON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. LOCATIONS IN THE ADVISORY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO PUNKIN CENTER. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... GUSTY WINDS FROM THE STORM MAY PRODUCE AREAS OF REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING DUST. FURTHERMORE...THE WINDS MAY BE STRONG ENOUGH TO BLOW AROUND LOOSE OBJECTS SUCH AS OUTDOOR PATIO FURNITURE AND TRASH CANS. && LAT...LON 3899 10379 3896 10350 3872 10357 3874 10380 TIME...MOT...LOC 0532Z 201DEG 8KT 3884 10365
The Denver radar (KFTG), 38 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:59 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 lightning, 1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning sparked a fire in a restaurant shortly after midnight. It caused extensive damage.
County Road 51, between State Highway 392 and County Road 74,was inundated with 6 to 8 inches of water. A trained spotter measured 2.53 inches of rain near this location.
Intense thunderstorm winds downed several trees and power lines.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding in and around Fort Morgan. Widespread flooding was reported to homes and businesses. Basements were flooded as the streets were inundated with 1 to 3 feet of standing water. Radar estimated up to 3 inches of rain had fallen in the area.
A tornado touched down briefly in an open field but did no damage.
A tornado touched down and destroyed half of a barn.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Colorado, 2010Warnings in Colorado, August 2010
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: 252463, 252419, 252427, 252428, 252458, 252431, 252423, 252426, 252433, 252434.