Colorado weather: Flood watch, heavy rain with lightning, hail damage

A cloudy mass of thunderstorms hovered over Colorado’s Front Range Thursday morning buffeting cities and the high plains with heavy rain, lightning and hail, raising the risks of flooding, and up to one inch more moisture is expected, according to the National Weather Service.

Booming thunder was shaking communities and wind gusts swept through wet streets shortly after sunrise. The weather service issued a flood watch effective through Friday afternoon. Floods could occur in the mountain foothills west of metro Denver, in the urban corridor along the Front Range, and in low areas along the plains.

Travelers along Interstate 25 and other metro Denver roads can expect standing water on roads and intensifying storms, possibly severe and windy, on Thursday afternoon, forecasters said.

The high temperature in Denver will be 51 degrees, they said. The afternoon thunderstorms may produce large damaging hail and unleash strong winds, mostly east of the I-25 corridor.

No sunshine was expected until Saturday after the storms move out of the area, meteorologists said.

In the mountains at elevations above 10,000 feet above sea level, snow will fall, leading to accumulations of up to 16 inches. The weather service issued a “winter weather advisory” in effect through noon Thursday.

A weather service hazardous weather outlook on Thursday morning anticipated an additional half-inch to inch of rainfall around the region on Thursday.

Rain and mountain snow likely will decrease and end Friday.

On Thursday, the flood watch through the night means heavy rain may cause floods in the foothills, low parts of metro Denver, around Fort Collins and across Colorado’s northeast plains. Weather service officials advised residents to “prepare now” and use caution as excessive runoff may cause creeks and rivers to rise beyond their banks. Mountain canyon burn areas where severe fires in recent years reduced vegetation will be susceptible to potentially damaging flash flooding where soil becomes saturated.

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