One woman was killed and seven others injured by a lightning strike in Rocky Mountain National Park; she was the first lightning fatality in the park since 2000. The incident occurred at the Ute Crossing Trail, just off of Trail Ridge Road between Rainbow Curve and Forest Canyon Overlook.
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.
One woman was killed and seven others injured by a lightning strike in Rocky Mountain National Park; she was the first lightning fatality in the park since 2000. The incident occurred at the Ute Crossing Trail, just off of Trail Ridge Road between Rainbow Curve and Forest Canyon Overlook. Six of the other victims suffered minor injuries. One had to be hospitalized when he was knocked unconcious; he suffered burns on his shoulder and scrapes to his face when he was knocked to the ground.
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 Jul 11, 8:50 AM MST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 950 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 949 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 MOISTURE HAS INCREASED OVER THE AREA. PRECIPITABLE WATER FROM THE 12Z SOUNDING AT KDNR IS AN INCH AND SATELLITE ESTIMATES ARE RUNNING A LITTLE OVER AN INCH. MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES THIS MORNING WILL ALLOW FOR GOOD HEATING WITH HIGHS CLIMBING INTO THE UPPER 80S. LOWER 50S DEW POINTS COMBINED WITH THE UPPER 80S PRODUCES CAPES OF 500 TO 1000 J/KG. MAIN THREATS TODAY WILL BE THE CHANCE OF LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING...HAIL AND STRONG WINDS. BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS. NEARLY ALL THE MODELS ARE SHOWING A GOOD BATCH OF STORMS FORMING OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS AND THEN SPREADING ACROSS THE URBAN CORRIDOR. PLAN ON INCREASING POPS IN THE 21Z TO 02Z TIME FRAME. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT ) ISSUED AT 459 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 THERE ARE STILL A FEW BANDS OF LIGHT SHOWERS THAT APPEAR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH WEAK RIPPLES IN THE LIGHT SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. EXPECT THAT THESE WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH THOUGH SOME MOUNTAIN SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE THIS MORNING. LOW LEVELS ON THE PLAINS ARE A LITTLE COOLER/MOISTER AS A RESULT OF OUTFLOW FROM YESTERDAYS WYOMING/NEBRASKA CONVECTION. THERE MAY ALSO BE SLIGHT WARMING ALOFT...AND THERE WILL STILL BE SOME CLOUD COVER OVER THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN PARTS OF OUR AREA. FOR THESE REASONS I WILL BACK AWAY FROM THE EARLY START TO CONVECTION THAT WE HAD FORECAST... EXCEPTING SOME ISOLATED ELEVATED CONVECTION. IT WILL LIKELY BE A MARGINAL ENVIRONMENT THIS AFTERNOON DESPITE THE INCREASED MOISTURE WITH TEMPERATURES A LITTLE SHORT OF WHAT WOULD BE NEEDED FOR WIDESPREAD CONVECTION. MOST LIKELY STORMS WILL START ON THE UPSLOPE CONVERGENCE ZONE EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON AND WORK SLOWLY TOWARD THE NORTHEAST. THERE MAY BE SOME STORMS ORIGINATING ON THE PLAINS IN THE AFTERNOON...BUT MOST LIKELY THE PLAINS ACTIVITY WILL BE RIDING OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES THAT MAY NOT ARRIVE UNTIL EVENING...SO I LOWERED POPS ON THE EASTERN PLAINS IN THE AFTERNOON. WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER UP OVER AN INCH THIS MORNING AND SLOW STORM MOTIONS EXPECTED...SOME OF THE STORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN. SEE THE HYDROLOGY SECTION FOR MORE DETAILS. LOW SHEAR WILL LIMIT THE SEVERE THREAT...BUT WITH THE HIGH WATER CONTENT AND AROUND 1500 J/KG OF CAPE IN THE RICHER MOISTURE ON THE PLAINS THERE IS A MARGINAL HAIL/WIND THREAT FROM STRONG PULSES AND OUTFLOW WINDS. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 459 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 ON SATURDAY...THE UPPER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRETCH FM THE GREAT BASIN INTO THE SRN GREAT PLAINS. THE FLOW OVER NERN CO WILL BE NORTHWESTERLY WITH A TROUGH BRUSHING ACROSS THE CWFA AS A SYSTEM PASSES TO THE NORTH AND EAST. THIS WL USHER IN A SLIGHTLY COOLER AMS. ELY UPSLOPE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO TRANSPORT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO THE FRONT RANGE. PW VALUES WILL REMAIN WELL ABOVE ONE INCH ALONG AND EAST OF THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS. SFC BASED CAPES IN THE 500-600 J/KG RANGE FOR DENVER WITH PW VALUES AROUND 1.2 INCHES. STORM MOTIONS ALONG THE FRONT RANGE A LITTLE SLOWER...UNDER 10 KTS...SO THIS WILL DEFINITELY ELEVATED THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS. FURTHER EAST...STORM MOTIONS AROUND 15 KTS...CAPES NEAR 800 J/KG WITH PW VALUES CLOSE TO 1.3 INCHES. SOME DIRECTIONAL SHEAR AS WELL SO A STORM OR TWO COULD REACH SEVERE CRITERIA. MAIN CONCERN WILL BE FLASH FLOODING. ON SUNDAY...THERE WILL THE AMS WILL BE A LITTLE DRIER..AROUND ONE INCH WITH CAPES CLOSE TO 800 J/KG ALONG THE FRONT RANGE...STILL MOIST OVER THE NORTHEAST PLAINS WITH CAPES CLOSER AROUND 100O J/KG SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE OVERALL POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE...WITH A SLIGHTLY GREATER RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WET MICROBURST WINDS OVER THE NERN PLAINS. ON MONDAY...THE RIDGE WILL BE OVER THE WESTERN U.S...WITH NERN CO UNDER NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AS A LARGE SCALE TROUGH STRETCHES FM THE GREAT LAKES REGION TOWARDS HUDSON BAY. ANOTHER FRONT WL SLIP INTO NERN CO ON MONDAY. THE BEST CHC OF STORMS ON MONDAY WILL BE IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS AND PALMER DIVIDE. NORTHWESTERLY FLOW WITH BETTER INSTABILITY IN THE AFTERNOON WILL BE PRESENT TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...SIMILAR SCENARIO ON WEDNESDAY. A DRIER NWLY FLOW ALOFT WITH INCREASING SUBSIDENCE ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD DECREASE THE TSTM POTENTIAL OVER THE CWFA BY THURSDAY OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 949 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY IMPACT THE DENVER AIRPORTS TODAY SOMETIME BETWEEN 21Z AND 02Z. HEAVY RAIN...HAIL AND STRONG WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STORMS. LIGHT WINDS THIS MORNING WILL TURN NORTHEASTERLY BY 18Z. ONCE THE CONVECTION MOVES OFF TO THE EAST...NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR FOG AND LOW CLOUDS SATURDAY MORNING. WILL HOLD OFF FROM MENTIONING NOW UNTIL THE CHANCES INCREASE. && .HYDROLOGY... ISSUED AT 459 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 PRECIPITABLE WATER IS UP TO 1.1 INCHES THIS MORNING AND IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN NEAR THAT VALUE TODAY. MEAN LOW TO MID LEVEL WINDS THIS AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 10 MPH...BUT THE SETUP OF SW WINDS AROUND 25 MPH AT 500 MB AND LOW LEVEL NE WINDS WILL ENCOURAGE FORWARD PROPAGATION ONCE THE STORMS GET GOING...SO ONCE THERE ARE ORGANIZED OUTFLOW STORMS SHOULD MOVE FASTER. THIS WOULD MEAN THE FLOOD RISK WOULD BE HIGHEST FOR THE INITIAL STORMS OVER THE FOOTHILLS BEFORE THEY START MOVING...AND ALSO FOR ANY EARLY STORMS THAT WOULD DEVELOP ON THEIR OWN ON THE PLAINS. THERE IS A BIT OF A WARM CLOUD LAYER...3000 TO 5000 FEET. ALL THIS ADDS UP TO FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR HEAVY RAIN...BUT NOT STRONGLY FAVORABLE FOR FLASH FLOODING. STRONGER STORMS COULD PRODUCE 1-2 INCHES IN 1-2 HOURS...MAYBE MORE IF A STORM ON THE PLAINS COULD REMAIN STATIONARY. WILL HOLD OFF ON A FLASH FLOOD WATCH AT THIS TIME...THREAT APPEARS TO BE A NOTCH LOWER WHERE THE MAIN IMPACT WOULD BE IF ONE OF THESE STRONGER STORMS HAPPENS TO HIT A BURN AREA OR URBAN AREA. THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. OVERALL THE AIRMASS TO REMAIN MOIST SATURDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL OCCUR WITH THE STRONGER STORMS SATURDAY. SLOWER STORM MOTIONS ALONG THE FRONT RANGE...LESS THAN 10 KTS...WILL ELEVATE THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT ESPECIALLY IN THE BURN AREAS. THIS WILL BE A BIGGER CONCERN IF TRAINING OR NEAR STATIONARY STORMS DEVELOP IN THE EARLY STAGES ALONG THE FRONT RANGE...AND/OR HEAVY RAINFALL DEVELOPS OVER ALREADY SATURATED SOILS. IN ANY EVENT...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE NECESSARY AT SOME POINT FOR THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS ON SATURDAY. FURTHER EAST...THE STORM MOTIONS WILL BE CLOSER TO 15 KTS WHICH SHOULD HELP TO OFFSET THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT. ON SUNDAY...THERE MAY SOME DRYING. THE DRYING HOWEVER...MAY ONLY INCREASE THE SEVERE POTENTIAL ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. PW VALUES WILL STILL BE AOA ONE INCH WHICH WILL ALLOW THE THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING TO CONTINUE. THE MOIST AIRMASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...THEN THE TSTM COVERAGE IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE AS THE AIRMASS DRIES OUT AND BECOMES INCREASINGLY SUBSIDENT ALOFT. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && UPDATE...MEIER SHORT TERM...GIMMESTAD LONG TERM...COOPER AVIATION...MEIER HYDROLOGY...COOPER/GIMMESTAD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 1031 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 COZ030>051-121645- 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- 1031 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT INCREASED MOISTURE WILL LEAD TO MORE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY AND COOLER TEMPERATURES TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE MOUNTAIN AND FOOTHILLS AND THEN SPREAD EAST ONTO THE PLAINS. SOME OF THE STORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL WITH ONE INCH OF RAIN POSSIBLE IN 20 MINUTES. THERE IS A LOW THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING FROM THE STRONGEST STORMS...ESPECIALLY IF THEY PASS OVER BURN OR FLOOD IMPACTED AREAS OR CITIES. WHILE THE MAIN FEATURE OF TODAYS STORMS WILL BE THE RAINFALL...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ON THE PLAINS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DIMINISH THIS EVENING BUT ISOLATED SHOWERS MAY LINGER LATE INTO THE NIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THERE WILL A CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE STORMS WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...THOUGH THE STRONGER STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE HAIL. TEMPERATURES WILL BE AT OR SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
The Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:12 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning killed one person and injured seven others at RMNP.
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, Larimer | 2014-07-11 | 42 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, July 2014
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: 531645.