Eight hikers were injured at the Devil Head Lookout by a nearby lightning strike. Five hikers were able to walk out unassisted, while two other required assistance.
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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 BOU wrote it up.
Eight hikers were injured at the Devil Head Lookout by a nearby lightning strike. Five hikers were able to walk out unassisted, while two other required assistance. Most complained of having tingling sensations, while two suffered from minor burns. The eighth victim suffered critical injuries and had to be carried out by stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital. Elsewhere, severe thunderstorms produced large hail, from quarter to golf ball size and damaging wind gusts across Washington, Weld, Logan and Phillips counties.
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 Jun 30, 11:01 AM MST, 3 hours 29 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1201 PM MDT Sun Jun 30 2019 .UPDATE... Issued at 1157 AM MDT Sun Jun 30 2019 Only minor changes to the forecast at this time. The first showers are developing along the divide, an hour or two behind schedule. We should eventually have the scattered storms that are in the forecast. As the mid shift mentioned, the moisture influx has been less than what we thought yesterday, so there's just a small risk of severe wind/hail or heavy rain, all greatest near the northern border where the moisture will be better. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 330 AM MDT Sun Jun 30 2019 The upper level ridge centered just to our south has barely budged in the last 24 hours, and from satellite imagery it appears the center will be in no hurry to move today. As a result, we don't expect too much change in the overall weather. Precipitable water has increased a smidgen (about 0.05 to 0.10 inch), but that's about it. Instability will be limited to just 200-600 MLCAPE today, and large DCAPE of 1100-1400 J/kg will spell another round of scattered outflow dominated storms. A couple of these may produce more appreciable rainfall than the last 2 days, but most will only produce a brief period of light rain, lightning, and outflow winds to 40-50 mph. The showers and storms that first develop in the mountains early this afternoon may send outflow to east of the I-25 corridor by late afternoon and evening, That could aid a more concentrated area of showers and storms just east of the Front Range metro areas. However, storms will once again have a hard time propagating east to the eastern border given the proximity of the upper ridge axis. Overall forecast reflects this well, with only slight adjustments to timing and location of higher PoPs. We did bump up high temperatures a couple degrees given the latest trends. .LONG TERM...(Monday through Saturday) Issued at 330 AM MDT Sun Jun 30 2019 By Monday, the upper level flow will continue to be SW with an embedded shortwave moving through the flow. Moisture PW values will increase with areas over the plains seeing 1.0 to 1.5 inches. Temperatures will be slightly cooler in the mid 80s across the plains behind a more moist and cooler airmass that pushed through late Sunday, areas over the higher terrain will see enough diurnal heating for convection by the afternoon hours. Steering flow will help to push storms off the higher terrain and move them ENE onto the plains by the late afternoon hours. Some models are showing enhanced upper level westerly flow increasing downsloping across portions of the Front Range by the late afternoon. This could hinder convection and could be a typical scenario of "jump over areas along the base of the foothills and reform east of I-25" where there is better moisture and deep layer shear. Will keep pops higher over the higher terrain of the mountains and foothills and some areas to the east where better CAPE values and dewpoints exist with a slight drop over Denver to account for this feature. Some storms that do form would be capable of producing moderate to heavy rain with some minor flooding possible. Tuesday and Wednesday will continue to have upper level flow from the SW but with slightly lower moisture levels. A typical diurnal convection pattern is expected for these days with storms starting over the higher terrain and moving east across the plains. Deep layer shear is fairly weak so storms will be capable of brief moderate to heavy rain and some gusty winds. Temperatures will remain around seasonal normals with highs in the mid 80s both days. By Thursday, a trough over the Pacific NW will track inland toward Montana with the ridge still in place over the central Great Plains region. Conditions across the region will continue to dry with PW values now between 0.5 to 0.75 and less over the higher terrain. Temperatures will once again reach into the 90s, especially with the help of surface southwesterly downsloping winds. Convection chances over the urban corridor will be small with higher chances over the mountains and NE plains counties where there is better instability and moisture. More storms are possible Friday and Saturday with stronger influence from easterly winds increasing the moisture once again. Models are increasing CAPE values across the plains with better deep layer shear for Friday where some severe storms could be possible. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Monday afternoon) Issued at 1157 AM MDT Sun Jun 30 2019 VFR through tonight. Scattered thunderstorms are expected in the Denver area from about 21z-02z. The main impact will be a couple of wind shifts with gusts to around 30 knots. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && UPDATE...Gimmestad SHORT TERM...Barjenbruch LONG TERM...Bowen AVIATION...Gimmestad
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1124 AM MDT Sun Jun 30 2019 COZ030>051-011730- 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- 1124 AM MDT Sun Jun 30 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for northeast and north central Colorado. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Scattered thunderstorms will develop over the mountains early this afternoon and then spread east across the I-25 Corridor and adjacent plains by mid to late afternoon. Most of the storms will produce wind gusts to 40 mph, and a brief period of light to moderate rain. A few stronger storms near the northern Colorado border may have heavier rain, hail, and wind gusts to 60 mph. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday There will be a good chance of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday. Moisture will decrease a bit Wednesday through Friday with a chance of late day showers and thunderstorms in the mountains and a slight chance over the plains. Next Saturday's chances increase again. The storms may produce occasional lightning, heavy rainfall, winds gusts to 45 mph and small hail. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed today or tonight. Gimmestad/RJK
The Denver radar (KFTG), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:28 UTC.
3 hail, 1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A group of climbers were injured by a nearby lightning strike, one critically.
Intense thunderstorm winds destroyed a fencing structure and downed several branches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, June 2019
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: 823322, 823309, 823310, 823317, 823311.