Mesovortex.com

June 18-19, 2018

Chase Partners:
Hazard Services Workshop participants

Locations:
Boulder, CO

A lowering on a storm near Boulder

BAM! Was that a rock that hit our car? No, it turns out it was actually hail! We arrived in Denver on the afternoon of Monday June 18 and saw thunderstorms developing in the distance. Looking at radar they were developing just west of Boulder and were slowly moving eastward. Although I decided not to chase this year, it appears the storms have decided to chase me this year! As we turned into the driveway to our hotel we heard a large BAM on the roof like someone had thrown a rock at us. We didn't see anything else but thought it could be a hailstone given the storms nearby. After checking in we noticed several large 1.5" hailstones near the sidewalk at the hotel at around 6 pm MDT. We decide to all head to dinner at a local restaurant, however mother nature wasn't through with us yet! We sit doen and order our food when we hear the distinct clanging that accompanies hail hitting the ground. The weather geeks among us head outside to see how big the hail will get. Most of the hailstones break up after hitting the sidewalk, however a brave soul named Mike Magsig runs to the flower beds to collect the large hail that did break up as it hit a relatively soft surface. Once again 1.5" hail was noted around 730 pm MDT at our restaurant while waiting for our food to arrive.

The next day we arrive to the workshop and notice there are already cumulus clouds brewing in the mountains. The area is in an enhanced risk for severe weather so this should be an interesting day. Just before lunch we notice the storms are well developed and headed off the mountains towards the flatter areas of Colorado. Once the storms are east of the mountains they develop a lowering and produce very large hail as they head further east. The storm we note around lunch would eventually spawn a tornado further east. The workshop prevents us from actually chasing the storm, but we get a good look at it in its developing stages in Boulder.