Storms

I didn't want to worry anyone last night with a post (including myself), but the gang was sidelined in Wild Horses, CO for the night due to severe storms. As Michael was talking to me he said he could see the northern sky just filled with storms and lightning. They'd hoped to get to Hugo, CO but due to a late start in the morning, road construction delays, and a reported tornado in between them and the destination they decided to stay in Wild Horses.

All day they had nice tail winds which helped them along the way towards Denver. These tail winds from the south east were probably what helped contribute to the severe storms and copious moisture in this system. We had a big storm in Fort Collins and the streets literally turned into rivers for a short while. Of course, it being Colorado, within and hour they were back to normal. We did get continuous smaller showers all evening though, and that is not usual for CO.

Below is a radar image of last night from NCAR. Pueblo is the PUX station at center of the map and Wild Horses is north of the triangle shape on the far right of the map and near the intersection of the two red lines (highways). You can see that the most severe weather is purple and red and it is headed right toward them.



On a NOAA radar (that I was unable to capture) I saw something that looked remarkably like a hook echo. This radar pattern is indicative of tornadoes and would explain the warnings. Anyway, I just told Michael to make sure they had somewhere nearby that was underground, but the likelihood of any tornado actually reaching them was pretty low. They probably just got soaked with rain and possibly hail as well.

Today is a cooler day and they are making their way toward Denver. Tonight will hopefully be spent in Kiowa, just 40 miles south of my house in Denver. Then they'll either ride into the city and get to my house or stop at a reservoir in south Denver where I can go pick them up. They're staying in the backyard of my mom's house in Denver for a night or maybe two and will be able to enjoy the 4th where they are sure to see fireworks!