Severe weather dominates Northeast Colorado to start the week, with sunny skies and warmer temps for the weekend

It was a bumpy afternoon and evening across the northeastern plains of Colorado on Monday, as a line of severe thunderstorms brought much-needed rain but also strong winds, hail, lightning, and a couple of tornadoes.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Front Range and the eastern plains at 3:40 p.m., and the warnings kept coming over the next few hours.

The storms swept through the Denver metro area, with Denver International Airport reporting over 800 flight delays due to thunderstorms and hail. Aurora looked like it was hit with a blizzard, as several inches of hail stacked up quickly.

The storms were moving at a northeast trajectory as Brush, Akron, Otis, and Platner were hit with heavy showers and a couple of tornado warnings during the 5 o’clock hour on Monday. As the evening progressed, the system tracked east toward Yuma and Cheyenne counties, with severe weather warnings lasting until about 6:15 pm.

Another round of strong thunderstorms made their way across portions of Northeast Colorado on Wednesday afternoon. The system rolled through the Denver Metro area first, causing grounded flights at DIA at 3:41 pm, then upgraded to just a 15-minute ground delay at 5.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for Weld and Morgan Counties that lasted until 5:45 pm. Gusty winds, heavy rain, and some hail in spots affected places like Wiggins, Weldona, Goodrich, Orchard, and Jackson Reservoir. Fort Morgan received a round of strong winds that caused temporary low visibility in places for a brief time.

By 6 pm the system weakened and broke up as it headed towards Logan County. Thursday, as well as through the weekend, temps will rise as the sun comes out. There is a mild chance of showers for Thursday, with better chances early next week.