Big tornado in 2008 recalled in North-Central Colorado

 Aerial view of parts of Windsor that was hit by a massive tornado early one morning that killed a man and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes. 

Joe Mahoney / Rocky Mountain News photo

 

By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com

Folks around North-Central Colorado in Greeley, Loveland — and especially Windsor  — still remember the day the big tornado hit, that warm late May day in 2008.

 

My co-worker, Julian Venzor, recalls the dark skys, the window-busting hail, and the concerned looks on adult's faces at the time. He was still in preschool, in the morning session, where his grandma worked at Pete Mirich Elementary School in LaSalle.

"They took away our field day. We were supposed to have different events like bag races, and parachute raising, and that kind of thing. First, they (school officials) moved everything inside and later that morning, they canceled it completely, and the day was canceled but many students had to stay in the gym until their parents could return."
 

A multi-day tornado outbreak affected the central plains of the United States from May 22–27, 2008. It was also one of the largest continuous tornado outbreaks on record. A total of 173 tornadoes were confirmed, with the most intense activity occurring across the Great Plains. One person was killed when a large wedge tornado struck Windsor, Colorado, and two more deaths were reported in Pratt County, Kansas. One person was also killed near Hugo, Minnesota on May 25, and nine were killed by an EF5 tornado that destroyed most of Parkersburg, Iowa and a small subdivision of New Hartford, Iowa (located near Waterloo, Iowa). Another fatality, caused by lightning related to the storms, occurred in central Kansas, according to

National Weather Service then.

"Severe thunderstorm and tornado watches extended from eastern Wyoming into northern Kansas early on May 22. Just before noon, a mile-wide tornado was reported near Greeley, Colorado. It moved northwest, an unusual path for tornadoes. It struck the town of Windsor at EF3 strength, causing extensive damage to homes and buildings in town. One person was killed at the Missile Silo Campground near Greeley. An EF2 tornado struck the city of Laramie, Wyoming causing some damage to roofs of businesses and tossing trucks across I-80. Several other tornadoes occurred in Kansas, and even a few touched down as far west as southern California that afternoon."

According to the Denver/Boulder, CO, Weather Forecast Office at:

Weather.gov > Denver/Boulder, CO >

 "A powerful tornado swept north-northwestward across Weld County, carving a path of destruction, nearly 39 miles in length. The continuous path of damage was over 24 miles across western Weld County. The tornado, up to one-mile wide at times, initially touched down northeast of Platteville and finally lifted 6 miles west-northwest of Wellington. A tornado assessment in the aftermath of the tornado revealed extensive areas of damage. On the enhanced Fujita Scale there were pockets of EF3 damage, mainly near the Missile Silo Park Campground, and to businesses and homes in eastern Windsor. Farmers also reported extensive damage to crops and irrigation equipment. 

"There was one fatality, and 78 injuries ranging from broken bones to minor cuts and lacerations. One man was killed when he tried to escape a trailer park in his motor home. Tractor trailers were flipped along U.S. Highway 85, and over 200 power poles were snapped or blown down. Approximately 60,000 people were left without electricity. The tornado overturned 15 railroad cars and destroyed a lumber car on the Great Western Railway of Colorado. The tornado also flattened Windsor's main feedlot and destroyed a dairy barn. Most of the four-hundred cows were killed in the tornado or destroyed later. In addition to the damaging winds, the thunderstorm also produced damaging hail up to the size of baseballs.

Preliminary estimates from FEMA indicated 850 homes were damaged, and nearly 300 homes were significantly damaged or destroyed. The Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association reported $1 million of damage to electric transmission lines. Privately insured damages totaled $147 million in 2008 dollars, making it the state's costliest tornado disaster.

Damage from the tornado that ripped through Windsor, Colo. Thursday, May 22, 2008. (Darin McGregor / Rocky Mountain News photo)