DENVER — Severe thunderstorms dropped baseball-sized hail on the Denver metro area late Thursday night.
The destructive storms left a path of hail from Broomfield to Aurora before leaving the metro area just before midnight.
The largest hail report was a 2.75-inch hail stone in southeast Commerce City.
There were also several reports of egg-sized hail, or 2 inches, in Aurora, Broomfield and Henderson. A substantial number of hail reports noted hail larger than an inch, or quarter size, in Denver, Northglenn, Federal Heights, Thornton, Erie and Niwot.
The hail caused significant damage in Thornton and Green Valley Ranch.
Denver metro hail reports
- 2.75 inches - Commerce City
- 2.25 inches - Broomfield
- 2 inches - Buckley Space Force Base
- 2 inches - Henderson
- 2 inches - Aurora
- 1.75 inches - Thornton
- 1.75 inches - Southeast Denver
- 1.5 inches - West Aurora
- 1.5 inches - Northglenn
- 1.5 inches - Erie
- 1.25 inches - Denver
- 1.2 inches - Cherry Creek Reservoir
- 1 inch - Federal Heights
- 1 inch - Westminster
- 1 inch - Niwot
Hail size comparisons
- Softball: 4.5 inches
- Grapefruit: 4 inches
- Tea cup: 3 inches
- Baseball: 2.75 inches
- Tennis ball: 2.5 inches
- Hen egg: 2 inches
- Golf ball: 1.75 inches
- Pingpong ball: 1.5 inches
- Half dollar: 1.25 inches
- Quarter: 1 inch
- Nickel: 0.88 inches
- Dime/penny: 0.75 inches
Viewers sent pictures of the large hail from Brighton, Denver, Northglenn, Thornton and more.
Hail hits Denver area
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On Friday, we will start the day with some minor cloud clover and seasonal highs in the upper 70s. Around midday, another round of spotty storms moves back in, likely becoming strongest across the eastern Front Range and plains.
These areas will be under marginal and slight risks for severe weather again. People should continue to prepare for large hail, damaging winds and heavy downpours to leave the biggest impact.
On Saturday, early sunshine returns and afternoon temperatures continue to rise, with highs climbing into the middle 80s. That heat will ignite more storms across the eastern half of the state. Again, the strongest storms will likely fall across the eastern plains.
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