Hail in Denver.....WTF

[Cpt_kludge]

I heard on the news that there was golf ball size hail in Denver on Fri-Sat I think.
Get this stuff out of your system before next week!
Getting ready to leave Sat morning

[PURE_Fun]

Originally Posted by Cpt_kludge I heard on the news that there was golf ball size hail in Denver on Fri-Sat I think. Get this stuff out of your system before next week! Getting ready to leave Sat morning

I follow Lance Armstrong on Twitter and yesterday while he was riding his mountain bike it was snowing on him, and at the end of the ride it hailed on him, he had the unbelievable pics to.

Also thanks for the rubber plugs Captain!!! It was nice meeting you at Kappasphere.

[GS Stage 1]

Very unusual weather for this time of the year here. Looks like things are quieting down by the weekend. Friday-Sunday mid 70s with slight afternoon showers.

I bet it will be fine, you just have to wait a couple days here for the weather to change, sometimes just a couple hours.

[Cpt_kludge]

Originally Posted by PURE_Fun I follow Lance Armstrong on Twitter and yesterday while he was riding his mountain bike it was snowing on him, and at the end of the ride it hailed on him, he had the unbelievable pics to. Also thanks for the rubber plugs Captain!!! It was nice meeting you at Kappasphere.

You are more than welcome
Nice meeting you as well
Sorry to hear of your manifold gasket. Bummer

[Gunnys GXP]

Hail and the twisters. Saw it last night. Crazy.

[69T/A]

Flew in and out of Denver Friday. Bad weather!!!! Had just spent a week in Reno where it had rained every afternoon and snowed in the mountains twice. Hell, Tahoe was 50deg near the lake Thurs. afternoon!!! Should have just stayed in Vermont!!!!

[rob the elder]

Hail season returns to eastern Colorado
DENVER (AP) — The hail fell so hard at North Sterling State Park on the eastern Colorado plains last week that employees couldn't see the funnel cloud reported nearby.

Baseball-sized hail was collected following an April 20 storm in Colo.
By Duane Miles, Sterling Journal, via AP

When the storm finally quit, the ground was littered with hailstones the size of baseballs, roofs and windows were battered and shattered, and the damage was expected to total thousands of dollars.

Springtime is hail time in eastern Colorado, known as "Hail Alley" because the icy projectiles are more common here than almost anywhere on the continent.

"Northeast Colorado is the epicenter for hailstorms in North America," state climatologist Roger Pielke Sr. said.

A combination of warm ground and cool air can make the atmosphere unstable in the spring and summer, Pielke said. Strong updrafts suck frozen water droplets back into storm clouds, where they grow larger and larger before finally falling to the ground as hail. (Related graphic: How hail forms).

Colorado's elevation — the Eastern Plains range from about 3,500 to 6,000 feet above sea level — means the hail has a shorter distance to fall and less time to melt away before hitting the ground, said Bob Glancy, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Severe weather season isn't expected to wind down until August.

Colorado's growing population means hail damage can run into hundreds of millions of dollars with more and more roofs, windows and cars to exposed to the weather.

"Everyone's pulse gets racing about tornadoes and forest fires. Those have caused more devastating personal damage when someone loses a home, but our hailstorms have been more expensive in the way of insurance claims than those catastrophes," said Carole Walker said, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.

Nationwide, hail causes roughly $1 billion in property and crop damage each year, the Weather Service said.

In Colorado, hail has caused about $2 billion in homeowner-insured losses in the last decade, Walker said. Up to half the insurance premiums that homeowners and businesses pay is for potential wind and hail damage, she said.

A July 1990 hailstorm in Colorado cost insurance companies $625 million. Three major hailstorms last summer totaled $237 million in insured damage, making it was the worst hail season in Colorado in at least a decade.

Another storm struck more windshields April 20 in northeast Colorado. A Washington County weather watcher reported 4.25-inch-diameter hail, about the size of a grapefruit. Pea-sized hail fell in Denver.

Damage reports were still rolling in the day after the storm hit, but Walker said it appears the largest hail fell in less densely populated areas.

Bob Loomis, manager of North Sterling State Park, said there was little warning before the storm there. No damage was reported from the funnel cloud.

"I've been out here 12 years, and it's easily the worst hailstorm I've seen out here," he said.

He estimated the park damage was around $20,000 to $30,000, but estimates, including those for workers' vehicles, were still coming in.

"All of us employees will be getting new windshields for the summer," Loomis said.

[rob the elder]

'Hail Alley' has history of costly summer storms
Gazette, The (Colorado Springs) , Jun 22, 2004 by JEREMY MEYER THE GAZETTE
ShareEmailDiggFacebookTwitterGoogleDeliciousStumbl eUponNewsvineLinkedInMy YahooTechnoratiRedditPrintRecommend0Tornadoes, wildfires and floods get the media coverage in Colorado, but the biggest threat to Front Range residents, or more precisely to insurance premiums, is hail.

Colorado's Front Range is in the heart of "Hail Alley," receiving the highest frequency of large hail in North America and most of the world, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Infor- mation Association.

Hail causes $1 billion in damage to the nation's crops and property annually.

The costliest hailstorm in U.S. history happened in Denver in July 1990, causing $625 million in damage to homes and cars.

During the past 10 years, hailstorms caused $1.7 billion in insured damage in Colorado.

[rob the elder]

But, people learn to deal with it. Storms here generally form in the late afternoon or early evening. They form as cells that tend to be highly localized and certain areas are much more likely to see severe storms than other areas. Moving as much as 1-2 miles will get you into or out of a storm cell. Not all hail is damaging to a car. I have been in hail storms that left 18 inches of hail on the ground that did no damage to our cars. The size of the hail is the major factor.

All you need to do is keep an eye on the weather forcast and know where the nearest covered parking is. During the latest tornado south east of Denver 15 cars waited it out under a freeway overpass. Its standard procedure.

[Cpt_kludge]

Originally Posted by rob the elder But, people learn to deal with it. Storms here generally form in the late afternoon or early evening. They form as cells that tend to be highly localized and certain areas are much more likely to see severe storms than other areas. Moving as much as 1-2 miles will get you into or out of a storm cell. Not all hail is damaging to a car. I have been in hail storms that left 18 inches of hail on the ground that did no damage to our cars. The size of the hail is the major factor. All you need to do is keep an eye on the weather forcast and know where the nearest covered parking is. During the latest tornado south east of Denver 15 cars waited it out under a freeway overpass. Its standard procedure.

Does the Omni have covered parking

[Darkwing]

Originally Posted by Cpt_kludge Does the Omni have covered parking

Do they allow parking in the rooms?

[Cpt_kludge]

Originally Posted by Darkwing Do they allow parking in the rooms?

Kewl
I'll just put in the elevator (doncha love Otis) and park next to my bed

[Chaunceycb]

Originally Posted by Cpt_kludge Does the Omni have covered parking

That's why hotels have big lobbies and ball rooms.

[numbbers]

The chances of getting hail in the metro area during the national event, are pretty slim. But the chances of getting hail or snow on the peak to peak run are about 50%.

[Gunnys GXP]

Thank God I didn't take the Demon out yesterday. Gumball sized hail did a number on my Suburban and the other cars in the parking lot. Trees down and nasty wind as well. Demon was safe in the garage. Today was a 180. Guessing the same string from Denver blowing through.