Tag Archives: Thunderstorms

Thornton Weather

Late day thunderstorms bring much-needed rain, stunning visuals afterwards

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After dumping more than a quarter inch of rain in 20 minutes on Thornton, the storm moved to the southeast and intensified. View the slideshow below for more imagery from the event. (ThorntonWeather.com)
A view of the thunderstorm on Saturday, July 20, 2013 after it passed Thornton. View more imagery in the slideshow below. (ThorntonWeather.com)

The forecast called for a chance for thunderstorms and Mother Nature obliged on Saturday.  Heavy rain and gusty winds struck the north metro area but what followed was perhaps more interesting.

In all, Thornton recorded 0.29” of rain in a very short period from 4:30 to 4:55pm.  Some small hail accompanied the storm as did strong wind gusts.  There were some reports of broken tree limbs from the powerful gusts.

After the storm moved to the southeast, it continued to intensify.  From almost any vantage point in Thornton, the scene was amazing.

Initially the bright while tops of the storm cells were stark and beautiful to watch.  A nearly full moon then began to rise in the east behind the storms and the scene was stunning.  As the sun went down, the clouds turned a shade of amber providing a colorful scene with the rising moon.

The slideshow below has a nice little compilation of image taken by ThorntonWeather.com and some of our fans on Facebook.

Thornton Weather

Video captures stage collapse in powerful winds at Indiana State Fair

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This video screen capture shows the stage at the Indianapolis State Fair as it collapsed. (YouTube / JSilas7)
This video screen capture shows the stage at the Indianapolis State Fair as it collapsed. Watch the video below. (YouTube / JSilas7)

Winds alone are not normally associated with the loss of life but a sad reminder of the dangers was seen at the Indianapolis State Fair on Saturday.  Powerful thunderstorm winds downed a stage killing five people and injuring dozens while officials appeared to ignore warnings of the impending danger.

The Natural Disasters Examiner wrote in a story on Monday that the warning signs for severe weather in central Indiana were readily apparent as early as two days before the storm.

The National Weather Service discussed the thunderstorm and high wind dangers in its Hazardous Weather Outlook multiple times.  A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued hours before and a Warning 10 minutes before.

Despite this, officials at the fair failed to make a timely decision to cancel the Sugarland concert.  When the winds, estimated at 50 to 70mph struck, it only took a matter of seconds for the stage’s rigging to collapse.  Five people died and more than 40 were injured due to their failure.

The tragedy should serve as a reminder to everyone to pay attention to changing weather.  Do not ignore weather watches and warnings, no matter what others are doing.  The life you save may be your own.

The video below captures the event with shocking clarity.  It may be disturbing for some so viewer discretion is advised.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected by the tragedy.