Four landspouts developed along a nearly stationary boundary. Three brief touchdowns occurred in southeast Weld County, while another one touched down in Adams County.
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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.
Four landspouts developed along a nearly stationary boundary. Three brief touchdowns occurred in southeast Weld County, while another one touched down in Adams County. All formed in open country and no damage was observed.
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 Apr 22, 11:00 AM MST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1200 PM MDT Sat Apr 22 2023 .UPDATE... Issued at 1155 AM MDT Sat Apr 22 2023 Only minor changes to the forecast at this time, mainly to focus the afternoon shower activity: higher PoPs over the mountains and a tighter gradient to low PoPs east of the mountains. While there will be decent coverage of light showers, amounts should be light and between daytime and warming temperatures, road impacts should continue to be minimal so the advisory was cancelled. Forecast temperatures are looking alright. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 308 AM MDT Sat Apr 22 2023 Light to moderate snow is ongoing across the Denver metro and most of the Foothills/Palmer Divide early this morning. Depending on if your location was one of the "lucky" spots that saw a consistent band overnight, anywhere from about an inch to 4 or 5 inches has fallen across the metro, with generally 4-10" across the mountains and portions of the foothills. Snow is expected to gradually decrease through the morning hours, tapering off in the early to mid morning hours across the Denver metro. This is largely a result of weakening mid-level fgen (especially as the 700-600mb front sags south of the area), decreasing divergence from a departing jet streak, and a lack of QG ascent. However, snow showers should continue across the high country through most of the day. Though there may be a brief lull late this morning, we should see additional snow shower development again this afternoon with shallow upslope & instability, along with some weak 600-400mb fgen and a little upper jet support. Snow accumulations across the Front Range mountains and foothills will generally be in the 1-3 inch range today, with only limited travel impacts. A few snow showers will remain possible for the I-25 corridor though any additional accumulations today would likely be a half inch or less. In addition to the snow, the other main story of the day will be the unseasonably cold temperatures forecast across the region. Highs today will remain in the 20s to 30s across most of the high country, with upper 30s to mid 40s likely across the plains. If we maintain a thicker cloud cover through the day, DEN's record cool "max" temperature (36F) could be in jeopardy. Cool temperatures will continue overnight with 10s across the high country and 20s to low 30s for most of the lower elevations. .LONG TERM...(Sunday through Friday) Issued at 308 AM MDT Sat Apr 22 2023 On Sunday, expect improving conditions as weak high pressure builds over Colorado with continued northwest flow aloft. The airmass will continue to dry out, but still could see a few snow showers across the mountains in the afternoon. Temperatures will warm into the 50s across the plains under a decent warm advection patter as 700mb temperatures climb to around -2c at Denver. On Monday, Colorado remains under a northwest flow regime with an upper level trof passage moving through the flow. Interestingly moisture is increasing fairly decent from the south as precipitable water values closing in on a half of an inch. Seems a bit too robust given the flow but it is spring time. Appears a weak front on Monday evening will enhance shallow upslope flow leading to showers across much of Northern Colorado ahead of the next system. Next big action turns towards a storm system which looks to impact Colorado from Tuesday through late Wednesday of next week. The storm system is taking the preferred track towards the four corners region by late Tuesday before slowly tracking and slowly weakening across southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico later Wednesday. The GFS along with the other international players are relatively similar in the track as described above. This is setting the stage for a wet period with potentially decent amounts of precipitation. Models showing anywhere from 1-2 inches of precipitation over the Front Range with a bit lesser amounts over the far northeast plains. The Canadian model is showing crazy 2-4 inches of liquid. There is not a lot of cold air with this system and not a well defined cold front as well until later Tuesday night and Wednesday with snow level's dropping. Much of the plains look to be rain but could see a change over for higher elevations of the plains (Palmer Divide) Tuesday night. The higher foothills/east slopes could be in for significant snowfall if current tracking and moisture hold together. Stay tuned. Towards the end of the week, strong cyclone moves into the Dakota's with a strong associated cold front into northern Colorado late Thursday and Friday for another shot of showers and colder temperatures. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Sunday afternoon) Issued at 1155 AM MDT Sat Apr 22 2023 Ceilings in the Denver area will continue to rise slowly. There will continue to be isolated light showers, mainly west and south of Denver, but impacts to visibility or lower ceilings will be pretty localized. Overall, expect MVFR ceilings improving to the 3,000 to 5,000 foot range between 21z and 00z, then that cloud layer dissipating between 02z and 04z. There's a slight chance of fog with IFR conditions for 2 to 4 hours Saturday morning, but more likely there will be enough downslope wind to prevent this. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && UPDATE...Gimmestad SHORT TERM...Hiris LONG TERM...Entrekin AVIATION...Gimmestad
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1111 AM MDT Sat Apr 22 2023 COZ030>051-231715- 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- 1111 AM MDT Sat Apr 22 2023 This hazardous weather outlook is for northeast and north central Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Snow showers will continue across the high country this afternoon, then diminish this evening. Additional snowfall of an inch or two is possible, mainly south of Berthoud Pass. Isolated light snow showers will move off the mountains onto the nearby plains, mainly west of I-25 and south of I-70. No accumulation is expected in these areas. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday It will be a quiet day on Sunday. On Monday, precipitation chances will increase throughout the day, with best chances for accumulating snow showers for the high elevations and mountain passes. A significant weather system is increasingly likely for Tuesday into Wednesday, with widespread and locally heavy precipitation anticipated. Heavy snowfall is expected for the mountains and foothills, and could bring high impacts if the current forecast trends hold. For the lower elevations, a mix of rain and snow is likely, with details on amounts and impacts more uncertain at this time. Another system may bring additional precipitation later on Friday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed today or tonight. Gimmestad/Rodriguez
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1043 AM MDT SAT APR 22 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1043 AM SNOW 1 NW AURORA 39.71N 104.83W
04/22/2023 M4.0 INCH ARAPAHOE CO PUBLIC
&&
BRPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1114 AM MDT SAT APR 22 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1055 AM SNOW POUDRE PARK 40.69N 105.30W
04/22/2023 M1.5 INCH LARIMER CO TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
BRPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1117 AM MDT SAT APR 22 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1117 AM SNOW 2 NNW GRAND LAKE 40.27N 105.84W
04/22/2023 M3.0 INCH GRAND CO PARK/FOREST SRVC
&&
BRPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1118 AM MDT SAT APR 22 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1118 AM HEAVY SNOW 6 WSW TRAIL RIDGE 40.40N 105.85W
04/22/2023 M8.0 INCH GRAND CO PARK/FOREST SRVC
&&
BRPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1206 PM MDT SAT APR 22 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1203 PM SNOW 1 NNW FEDERAL HEIGHTS 39.88N 105.03W
04/22/2023 M3.0 INCH ADAMS CO TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
BRPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1232 PM MDT SAT APR 22 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1200 PM SNOW 1 ESE KEN CARYL 39.58N 105.13W
04/22/2023 M6.0 INCH JEFFERSON CO PUBLIC
&&
BRThe Denver radar (KFTG), 27 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:16 UTC.
4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A tornado touched down in an open field. No damage was reported.
A tornado touched down in an open field. No damage was reported.
A tornado touched down in an open field. No damage was reported.
A tornado touched down briefly in an open field. No damage was observed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Colorado, 2023Warnings in Colorado, April 2023
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: 1096516, 1096517, 1096519, 1096510.