'I'm not going home for a while'

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 22, 2008 at 7:10 a.m.
Updated May 23, 2008 at 9:11 p.m.

WINDSOR — After the twister came the disbelief.

Disbelief at the capacity of a storm to waylay lives and inflict tens of millions of dollars in damage in mere minutes. At the kindness of strangers who pitched in to clean up. Even at the skies, which snarled again with menacing charcoal clouds and spawned more funnels Friday afternoon in the skies south and east of Greeley.

"I dreamed about it last night and I was really groggy, so I thought it had just been a dream," said Ellen Jenkins, sitting in a nearly empty coffee shop here. "But then I looked outside and I saw that it was real."

As the hours passed Friday, it became clear how destructive the previous day's storm had been.

"I'm just recovering from the shock," said Mike Berger, 24 hours after a tornado stripped the roof off his Windsor home. "We didn't know what we were going to do the next hour. We still don't.

"This is not going to be a day-by-day thing, it's going to be an hour-by-hour thing."

The tornado took one life, killing Oscar Manchester, 52, as he tried to flee the storm in a motor home west of Greeley. And in Windsor, it appeared to have destroyed about 100 homes and damaged another 100.

The National Weather Service concluded the super-coil spawned two tornadoes — one a swirling beast that left a trail of destruction 35 miles long, beginning near Platteville, stretching through Gilcrest and the western outskirts of Greeley before hitting Windsor, where the most extensive damage was seen.

The weather service's damage assessment also led to an initial conclusion that the twister was an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning it was capable of producing gusts up to 135 mph.

State Farm spokeswoman May Martinez Hendershot said the insurance company expects to pay more than $52 millions in auto and home claims as a result of the storm.

"When you figure that we have a quarter of the market, it says something about the scope of the damage," Hendershot said.

"There are a lot of people who don't even know what the damage is yet," said Mike Benschneider of Farmers Insurance Group, which set up a mobile claims center in the Safeway supermarket parking lot here.

Massive cleanup effort

Janet and David Lane arrived to file a claim on their house, which is still standing but suffered extensive damage while they were at work cleaning carpets in Fort Collins.

"I have no words to explain the loss," Janet Lane said.

All over Windsor on Friday, people hauled debris from their mud-spattered homes and yards, slapped tar paper over barren roofs and hunted for possessions amid the wreckage. The sound of chain saws reverberated through the air, and heavy equipment shoved rubble off streets.

On Chimney Park Drive, John Heppner was grateful he had nothing worse than roof damage and broken windows. Heppner's pastor, John Stocker of Resurrection Fellowship Church in Loveland, brought a crew of 40 to help clean up, and they even pulled a 30-foot maple tree off Heppner's house and replanted it.

It was the kind of scene that played out through the day in areas blasted by the tornado.

Law officers and more than 100 National Guard troops kept people out of some parts of Windsor as crews struggled to cap leaking natural gas lines, repair power-transmission lines knocked out by the tornado, and clear shattered glass and other debris from streets.

"I think at this point it's pretty much hit me," said a dejected Cindy Miller, a 46-year-old high school teacher. "I'm not going home for a while."

Police Chief John Michaels said authorities said safety was the top priority.

"My goal is to get people in there as quick as we can," he said. "We can only do that when it's safe to do it."

Xcel Energy crews worked through the day to restore power to about 6,000 customers who have been in the dark since Thursday's twister hit.

Sky casts a new threat

But as all the work went on, a new threat emerged.

In the middle of the afternoon, the winds kicked up and the skies darkened. Blue tarps on roofs flapped, threatening to fly away. People struggled to hold onto branches against the whipping wind, and grit from the debris caught between teeth.

And then the unthinkable: Around 3:30, law officers spotted a tornado near Kersey, about 10 miles east of Greeley, and other twisters were reported near Johnstown, Gilcrest, and Fort Morgan.

Just before 4 p.m., the threat of new tornados sent 75 people in the Emergency Management Center in the Windsor fire station filing into the basement.

But no serious damages or injuries were reported, and as the afternoon stretched on, the weather — and nerves — eased.

The scenes of destruction remained.

Metal from a blue car rested 20 feet up an old elm tree next to the railroad tracks at Chimney Park Drive and Walnut Street. Next to it, a 100-foot tree lay sideways, its roots a tangled mess 12 feet in diameter.

Vickie Edwards surveyed her damaged Windsor home and said, "It gives me a new perspective."

A day before, she'd been angry that her new patio wasn't done. After the storm hit, all she could think of were her granddaughters.

"They're great," she said. "They're fine."

vaughank@RockyMountain News.com or 303-954-5019

Rocky reporters and photographers were on the scene and blogged throughout the day Friday.

6:30 p.m.The National Weather Service has extended the tornado watch in Weld County until midnight tonight.

4:20 p.m. Strong winds blew a barn over County Road 74 in Weld County, causing it to crash into a semi-truck, and tipping the vehicle over.

The unidentified driver of the semi-truck, which was pulling an empty cattle trailer, refused medical attention at the scene. County Road 74 is closed between County roads 43 and 45 for cleanup, as the semi-truck was leaking diesel fuel.

4:13 p.m. A tornado warning is in effect in Morgan County until 4:30 p.m.

3:45 p.m. Eric Campbell, store manager for the Home Depot in Loveland, said his store already has provided $2,000 worth of flashlights and water bottles to help with clean up efforts and for shelters in Windsor. Several customers have bought tarps to secure their windows and roofs. Generators also have been in demand because of power outages in the area, Campbell said. A few employees have been volunteering their services to assist with reconstruction efforts.

3:40 p.m.>A tornado warning is now in effect in central Weld County. A tornado has touched down 11 miles east of Greeley -- near Kersey.

3:16 p.m. Storm clouds are piling up and winds are picking up in Windsor, threatening to pull protective blue tarps off damaged roofs.

3:08 p.m.>From the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross closed the shelter at the Ranch today in favor of re-opening the shelter at the Windsor Community Center. Power has been restored at the Community Center, which provides a much more convient location for our clients.

The Windsor Community Center is located at 250 11th Street.

2:51 p.m. Conditions converged in just the right way, time and place to produce "a pretty remarkable tornado," said Greg Carbin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center.

Those conditions included a large low-pressure system over the West on top of a smaller low-pressure system along Colorado's Front Range. The storm system tapped a plume of moisture over Kansas and Oklahoma and pulled it back to Colorado, setting up the clash between cooler, moist air and dry, warm air.

Carbin, the agency's warning coordination meteorologist, said he thought the tornado was likely at least an E-F2, with winds of 110 mph to 135 mph. He added that can be determined only by evaluating the damage.

Some of the same conditions are forming today, although Carbin said there seemed to be less moisture and the boundary between the cool and warm air was farther to the east.

2:46 p.m. State Farm this morning surveyed the damage throughout Weld County (not just Windsor and Greeley) and determined that it has 5,000 auto insurance claims and 3,000 homeowner claims for an anticipated payout of $52.5 million.

"When you figure that we have a quarter of the market, it says something about the scope of the damage," said May Hendershot, spokeswoman for State Farm.

State Farm's own building in Greeley was badly damaged by the tornado, losing its roof along with numerous windows. None of the 1,200 employees housed in the operations center, which handles a six-state area, was hurt. The insurer is in the process of assessing the damage there, but said that losing the building didn't impede its ability to respond to customer claims.

"Thanks to today's technology we were able to route our phones right away to our other offices in Denver and Tempe," Hendershot said.

2:40 p.m. Matthew Zenger, 1 1/2, slept through all the excitement.

He slept in a second-floor bedroom at his parents' house as his dad, Phil, watched the hail grow from golf-ball size to baseball size.

He slept when "the power went out and the skies grew darker and darker," Phil said.

He slept as Phil grabbed him off the bed and raced for the basement.

He slept as dad Phil and mom Lori heard "wood breaking," heard "the house being torn apart."

He slept while his dad held on to him tightly in the basement, praying for his family to be spared.

Matthew finally woke up after the winds had died and the sirens started racing into the neighborhood.

"Look, Dad, firetrucks!" Matthew said.

2:18 p.m. Vern Rasmussen sat on his wraparound porch today about 2:15 still marveling at how narrowly he escaped disaster and how he almost escaped unscathed.

His house is at 6th and Walnut in Windsor and almost all the homes east of his have severe damage.

His 100-year-old home sustained only roof damage and some lost siding.

"But I still can't believe that that 100-year-old cottonwood survived," he said, pointing to his left. "But the 40-year-old ash came down," he said, point to his right.

"I think we missed the tornado by a block," he said. "But that doesn't mean it wasn't windy."

Indeed. The ash tree a few feet in front of his house blew down, ripping 20 feet of grass and 10 feet of concrete in its wake.

The sidewalk is buckled and there is a pile of branches 8 feet high, stretching from one end of his property to the other.

"We were lucky," he said.

2:15 p.m. Officials said it would be until tomorrow until resident will be allowed back in. The problem is downed power lines and leaking gas. Authorities said 100 National Guard troops as well police from surrounding communities are guadring the closed area and keeping people out.

2:12 p.m. Members of the local Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints are out today, 20 strong, knocking on doors in the Windsor neighborhood hit hardest by the twister. But instead of carrying the Book of Mormon, today they are wielding chain saws.

"Right now it's one at a time," said LDS Windsor Ward church member Dayne Medlyn. "If a homeowner wants some help we give it. Usually it's just cleaning up debris."

2:04 p.m. By early afternoon today, Farmers Insurance Group said local policyholders have already filed claims on 500 cars and about 350 homes and properties.

"They just keep pouring in," said James Pursell, executive director of the company's Colorado office.

1:50 p.m. "This tornado moved through here in three to five minutes," Windsor Police Chief John Michaels told townspeople today. "It’s going to be much longer to put everything back together again."

1:49 p.m.

Aside from the mangled barns, farm equipment and large irrigation systems, hail pummeled prime farm and ranch land. The tornado cut a wide swath through newly planted wheat, barley, onions and sugar beets. Helicopter video showed cattle milling inside a collapsed barn.

“There have been some reports of cattle deaths,” said state agriculture department spokeswoman Christi Lightcap. “It’s just too early to have any specifics.”

“This is optimum planting season,” said Petersen. “Most crops were in the ground. There were still some to plant.”

1:45 p.m. Police and more than 100 National Guard troops cordoned off a hard-hit area about one mile square so utility crews could check each home for gas leaks, repair gas mains severed by uprooted trees, remove downed power lines and clear streets of shattered glass and debris.

"I think at this point it’s pretty much hit me,” said a dejected Cindy Miller, a 46-year-old high school teacher. "I'm not going home for a while."

Before being ordered out Thursday, Miller found a wall gone and insulation, glass, water and debris everywhere. Two two-by-fours penetrated a bathroom wall and smashed a mirror. A trampoline was in a neighbor’s yard.

1:30 p.m. A tornado watch is in effect until 7 p.m. for the following locations: Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Weld counties.

1:15 p.m. The Ruizes had lived in their house for 14 years and were just a basement carpet away from making it the dream home they'd always envisioned when the twister destroyed it in a matter of seconds.

"It's completely destroyed," Dorene Ruiz said, fresh from a hug from American Red Cross disaster supervisor Coco Saltzgiver.

"It was a horrible experience. Very scary," Dorene said. "I was in my kitchen looking at hailstones the size of tangerines bouncing on the grass.

"Then it got really dark, and I somebody's trash can flying by my front window.

"I said, 'This isn't just a hailstorm; it's a tornado.'

"That's when we heard the terrible noise, the whipping noise of a train."

She, her husband Jamie and their daughter rushed into the almost-finished basement.

"It seemed like sledgehammers were pounding into our walls," she said. "There was all this pressure in our ears, and then they popped as the glass shattered."

Afterward, they climbed went back upstairs.

"We had no roof. All the windows were shattered. My daughter's bicycle in the garage is through my front windshield," Dorene said.

"Our house was everything to us," she said. "We only had to put down the basement carpet. Now we don't have a house to put carpet in."

12:58 p.m.

Families affected by the tornado who need to replace household items can obtain vouchers to shop in Goodwill stores in northern Colorado. Those who need vouchers -- available through the Mile High United Way -- should call the United Way’s 211 emergency line or call 303-433-8900. The stores that will be accepting the vouchers are in Greeley at 1012 11th Street, in Loveland at 935 E. Eisenhower and in Fort Collins at 315 Pavilion Lane.

12:49 p.m.

Residents who’ve lost their houses, roofs or cars began tapping into their homeowner insurance in Windsor today.

“There are a lot of people who don’t even know what the damage is yet,” said Mike Benschneider of Farmers Insurance Group, which set up a mobile claims center under the bright sun in the Safeway supermarket parking lot.

The company handed out hamburgers, chips and water, along with checks to pay for hotel rooms and clothing for homeowners forced out of their houses. Areas of town remain closed off because of gas leaks that began when the tornado ripped structures from their foundations.

Janet and David Lane arrived to file a claim on their house, which is still standing but suffered extensive damage while they were at work cleaning carpets in Fort Collins. The inside of their house is strewn with shattered glass after the windows were blown out.

“I have no words to explain the loss,” Janet Lane said.

12:36 p.m. Hundreds attended the town meeting at 11, and roughly 150 or so remain at the rec center checking on each other's welfare, hugging each other and thanking town officials. Others are lined up for disaster food stamps, cash assistance for some households and other assistance. They're eating donated Pizza Hut pizzas, Tropicana orange juice, finger sandwiches, fruit, juice boxes, fried chicken, chocolate chip cookies, potato chips and veggies.

About half the people at the meeting were displaced; most said they'd be staying at hotels or with friends.

Insurance companies are setting up tables at the rec center to help customers with claims.

The sky over Windsor is half blue and half clouds, with heavier and darker clouds to the south and southwest.

Residents in the town are keeping a wary eye above.

12:29 p.m. Mike Barger got home just in time to herd five of the family's cats into the basement and to notice "there was nothing but sky" above the second floor where the ceiling used to be.

Then he was hustled out of his house by emergency crews worried about the structural integrity of the home.

"We're missing one cat, and we can't get to the five in the basement," Barger said.

The tornado missed Mountain View Elementary School, where daughters Sarah, 10, and Samantha, 9, were attending school by about 200 feet, mom Trish Barger said.

Trish has lived in Windsor for all of her 39 years, "and I've never seen anything like this," she said.

"About 2110" would be a good date for the next Windsor tornado, Mike said.

Samantha said the kids at school thought it was just a drill when teachers had everybody "go out to the hall, get on the floor and cover our heads."

They can't get back in the house today, and have only the clothes on their backs, so shopping will be one activity today.

"I'm just grateful everyone is alive," Trish said. "Of course we're upset about the house, but family comes first."

Twenty-four hours after the twister hit, Mike said, "I'm just recovering from the shock. We didn't know what we were going to do the next hour. We still don't. This is not going to be a day-by-day thing, it's going to be an hour-by-hour thing."

The Bargers got one bit of good news today.

"An undersheriff promised me he'd look in on the cats within a couple hours," Mike said at 12:30 today.

12:26 p.m. Fourteen railroad cars toppled by Thursday’s tornado should be back on the tracks by this afternoon. The 14 tanker cars were all empty, but had been used to haul denatured alcohol for use in ethanol processing, according to Mike Ogborn, managing director of Denver-based Omnitrax, Inc., which manages the Great Western Railway.

"They were in the process of re-railing the cars almost immediately after the storm passed through, and had some of them back on the track last evening," Ogborn said.

In some cases the cars were torn off their wheel base, but those repairs can be made on site, Ogborn said. He emphasized there was "no breach in any of the tanks, no leakage, no spill, no release of vapors."

He said another railroad car, which carried grain, was toppled in another location, closer to Greeley. That car was also being addressed, Ogborn said.

12:22 p.m. Loree Wilkinson, 39, and her children, ages 6 and 9, huddled in a basement and prayed as the tornado passed overhead yesterday.

She said her youngest child, Kazden, prayed: "Please don’t let me die, because I just graduated from kindergarten."

12:15 p.m. At least 150 homes were damaged because of yesterday's tornado, state officials said today.

Polly White of the state Division of Emergency Management said crews have still not determined how many of those homes were destroyed or how many business buildings were damaged.

12:13 p.m. In Gilcrest, 15 miles southeast of Windsor, a farm silo was toppled over, debris from metal sheds was strewn across farm fields and tall cottonwoods were uprooted, their branches snapped and their bark stripped off.

12:09 p.m. The Weld County Food Bank has no more need of volunteers, said Karyl Pierpont, the food bank’s resource development director.

“The response has been amazing,” she said. “We are asking for volunteers from 9 to noon tomorrow to help assemble food baskets.”

Pierpont also said the food bank would be accepting donations during that time period as well. They are asking for cash donations as well as case lots of canned goods to be sure they are safe for distribution.

The food bank is located at 1108 H Street in Greeley. Call 970-356-2199, Ext. 304, to volunteer or donate.

12:05 p.m. The Weld County Sheriff's Office tells the public they can search for family and friends impacted by the storm at Red Cross www.safeandwell.org. People impacted by the disaster can also register at www.safeandwell.org to indicate they are OK.

The Weld County Emergency Operations Center is asking anyone with photographs of the disaster to send them to sscofield@co.weld.co.us.

Authorities have stopped using the Greeley Recreation Center and the Greeley Family FUN Plex as shelters.

Anyone wanting to donate time, money, or resources can call United Way at 211 or 970-353-4300 or 800-559-5590.

The following areas are still closed in Windsor: Colorado 392 or Main Street on the north, Weld County Road 23 on the east, Eastman Park on the south, and Seventh Street on the west.

12:04 p.m. Insurance agent Rick Best said he had received at least 100 claims from Windsor by midday today, and about a quarter of them had damages of $100,000 each.

“Some of the people I’ve talked to this morning have lost three-quarters of their house. It’s probably going to be cheaper to just replace them,” he said.

11:55 a.m. Bob Henderson, 73, saw the ominous black cloud and decided he'd better move the car from his driveway to inside the garage fast.

The task done, "He was just pulling the release on the garage door when the tornado hit him," said Holly Bucks, who on Saturday got married to Henderson's grandson, Travis Bucks. "It blew him all the way to the front of the garage."

The septuagenarian scrambled under the front bumper of the car and waited out the tornado.

"He had to crawl over all this debris to make his way through the house," Holly said. "He had a lot of cuts and bruises."

So, instead of a honeymoon Holly and Travis spent Thursday afternoon helping Henderson sort through the stuff of his life.

"We helped him pick up valuables, paintings, photos," Holly said.

"He was surprisingly really calm, making jokes. Some day we'll have a real honeymoon -- in Mexico!"

11:49 a.m. So far, some 30 dogs have been reunited with their owners, said Liz Clark, who is volunteering today with the Weld County animal rescue team. Another 16 or so remain in cages at the rec center, including three expectant chihuahuas sharing one kennel.

11:42 a.m. The town meeting has entered a question and answer phase and livestreams have been shut off from the Windsor Rec Center. Stay tuned for more details.

11:37 a.m. Today the American Red Cross says it will be:

Providing mass distribution of food and water for those affected by the tornadoes in Northern Colorado

Establishing a Client Services Center at the Windsor Community Center

Moving our headquarters from the chapter office to the McKee building at The Ranch

Distributing food and water to clients and first responders at the Windsor Community Center and at The Ranch and on mobile routes with our Emergency Response Vehicles

Finalizing the assessment of the number of homes affected by the disaster

Disaster Action Team members from a number of Colorado Red Cross Chapters are working to reach the victims of the devastating tornadoes that ripped through northeastern Colorado on Thursday. Equipment and volunteers from across Colorado are arriving and being deployed all day.

For those who would like to volunteer to help with cleanup efforts, DO NOT simply show up in Windsor. You need to get involved with an organization. The best place to start is by contacting the Larimer and/or Weld County United Way. The United Way’s 2-1-1 system is facilitating response. If you need information about shelters, road closures, donations and volunteering for cleanup please dial 2-1-1.

11:35 a.m. Food and dry ice, enough for families of four for three days, will be available at the rec center for those affected by the tornado.

11:33 a.m. Mail for customers in restricted areas will be held at the post office, a postal official told the crowd. She said the post office would be open until 5 today.

11:29 a.m. Police Chief John Michaels said authorities "have sectioned off the most devastated part of our town and officers are on duty 24 hours keeping everybody out. My goal is to get people in there as quick as we can. We can only do that when it's safe to do it."

11:23 a.m. Bill Easterling, of the Jeffco Incident Management Team, is assisting emergency operations at the request of the state. He tells the crowd: "We're working very diligently to get you in," he said pointing out safety concerns including gas, asbestos. He emphasizes that the property "will be kept safe, until you can get in a see for yourself."

During the initial sweep, small animals were brought to the rec center, and vets are on duty, Easterling said. He quipped of the fire chief, "Brian even rescued a lizard last night."

"The No. 1 priority is your safety," Easterling said. He said there's a 40 percent chance of hail, heavy rain and wind this afternoon.

11:19 a.m. Fire Chief Brian Martens tells how firefighters dealt with rescue efforts yesterday. Crews went house by house to look for victims, he said, and made sure all schoolchildren were accounted for. They later went through a building-by-building search, and about 1 a.m. today performed a third search.

He said some of the firefighters also had property within the tornado zone. They have 60 firefighters on duty today assisting with efforts.

"We want to make sure the scene is safe before we let the citizens in. We want to do everything we can to make sure it's safe," Martens said.

11:16 a.m. State Sen. Scott Renfroe extends praise to the city's police chief, fire chief and mayor for their efforts during the emergency.

11:12 a.m. Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave is now addressing the meeting. "I think it’s just miraculous that there has not been more loss of life," she said. The calls the region's outpouring of support "just incredible."

She said she is joining in the call for President Bush to authorize additional federal aid.

"This is a team up here," she says of the assembled group of leaders on the stage.

11:11 a.m. "We're anticipating weather similar to what we had yesterday," Vazquez said of this afternoon's forecast. He said officials are remaining cautious in allowing access to residents because of those concerns.

"We have set up a perimeter with the National Guard," to help secure property, Vazquez said. Other authorities are assisting.

11:10 a.m. Mayor John Vazquez is addressing the meeting. "We have had tremendous support," he said. Damage to the east side of town was "significant."

11 a.m. A large crowd has assembled for a town meeting and news conference at the Windsor Rec Center. Click here to watch live, thanks to our partners at CBS4.

10:52 a.m. Beverly Helzer has been married to Melvin for 56 years, but when the tornado smashed into their home in the Cornerstone neighborhood, she found out he was as good a cuddler as ever.

"We were just watching the storm from the patio door, the wind and the hail," said Beverly, 74. "It kind of let up and my husband said, 'I think it's over.'

"We noticed that the fence was gone. But then I saw a dark cloud come in and I said to Melvin, 'This isn't over. We need to get into the bathroom.'

"You always hear that bathrooms are the best places," said Melvin, 77, as they awaited the start of a town meeting at the Windsor Rec Center.

They dashed into the bathroom with their dog, Heidi, and got into the bathtub.

"We just kind of got down and cuddled," Beverly said. "He's still a good cuddler."

They heard doors being ripped off hinges, and they smelled gas.

"I was so scared, I didn't know what to do," Beverly said. "I thought the whole house was going to come in on us, I really did."

When it was finally over, they went outside. The shed had shoved up against the house, the gas meter was twisted and ripped, the garage door was crumpled and inoperable.

They spent the next hours at a neighbor's house, and last night at a Super 8.

"It's going to take a lot of work to rebuild," Melvin said.

"I'm just grateful we weren't killed," Beverly said. "You see this on TV and say, 'Thank God it's not us.' But it was us this time."

10:50 a.m. Only about 6,000 customers were still without power by late this morning, but Xcel Energy said it could be a week before they are back on line.

Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said the company lost about 200 wooden utility poles, six tall transmission towers and about 10 miles of wire. In all, about 60,000 customers initially were without power because of the storm.

10:40 a.m. We're about 20 minutes away from the town meeting and news conference at the Windsor Rec Center. Click here shortly before 11 to watch live, thanks to our partners at CBS4.

10:33 a.m. Volunteers who wish to help with relief and cleanup efforts can get involved quickly.

The United Way of Larimer County has set up a volunteer reception site in the community room at the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, at Colorado 392 and REA Parkway in west Windsor.

The reception site will be open today through Monday. United Way staffers will facilitate volunteers as needed throughout Windsor, Greeley, Milliken, Gilcrest and Platteville, according to a prepared release.

10:05 a.m. Kassi Anderson, 18, was home alone with the five family dogs and her own special puppy, J.D. the boxer, when the tornado hit.

"I was upstairs with the dogs, staring out the window at the hail," she said.

Suddenly, all the windows shattered. Shards cut her arms and back.

"I grabbed two of the dogs and three others followed me into the bathroom," Anderson said.

"But J.D. is just a baby, and he didn't know what to do."

J.D., a gift from her parents for her graduation from Windsor High School two weeks ago, sprinted downstairs and out the door when the glass shattered.

The tornado tore at the house's structure and foundation, inflicting so much damage that it may have to be rebuilt from scratch.

Still, Anderson's first thoughts were of J.D. and after the tornado passed, she walked through the streets looking for him.

No sign.

She stayed the night with her family at a hotel.

"At 2 a.m. the Humane Society found J.D. and they called me at the hotel right away," Anderson said.

At 6:30 this morning she was at the Windsor Rec cCnter, which is serving as an information center, an aid station and a pet reuniter.

There was J.D., in his own one-dog kennel.

"I knew it was him, because he has only two black nails and the rest are white," Anderson said, "and by the freckles on his tummy.

"I was ecstatic. But I feel dumb for not knowing the tornado was going to hit. And I feel guilty for not protecting my dog."

9:59 a.m. The press conference and town hall meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. in Windsor will be carried via livestream. We will provide a link shortly, thanks to our partners at CBS4.

9:50 a.m. National Weather Service researchers today are examining the path of yesterday's destruction to determine the strength of the big tornado.

9:45 a.m. The National Weather Service today is officially confirming that two tornadoes ripped through northern Colorado Thursday.

One was the behemoth, mile-wide twister that cut a 35-mile swath through Weld County before vanishing over Larimer County, only to touch down again in Laramie, said Bernie Meier with the National Weather Service in Boulder. The other was a smaller tornado that hit Dacono.

Part of the confusion over multiple twister sightings is that a tornado moves around and the funnel can "lift up" and then reform later as the storm moves on, he said.

“What happened with that super-cell storm is the funnel lifted up for a while and the tornado could have dissipated in Larimer County," Meier said. "But it came back down and that’s the same storm that produced a tornado in Laramie."

9:42 a.m. If there was a question about the power of yesterday’s monster tornado that crashed through Weld County, it was shown by the impact at the Missile Silo Park west of Greeley.

“There’s a 660-ton roof over the old silo,” Pete Ambrose, caretaker of the park, told the Greeley Tribune. “The tornado moved the roof about two inches.”

The silo was built in the 1950s and housed an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile until the program was phased out in the late 1960s. The missile was removed, but the underground silo and housing areas remain.

The 660-ton roof over the silo was devised to protect it against a nuclear blast. Ambrose said the hinges on the door were detached when the missile was removed, but the door was left in place, until the tornado moved it two inches Thursday.

In the storm, Ambrose lost his home, and the only fatality was a camper at the park.

9:40 a.m. CDOT reports the following roads remain closed in the Windsor area: Colorado 257 north of the U.S. 34 Business Loop; Colorado 257 at Eastman Kodak Drive in North Windsor; and westbound Colorado 392 out of Windsor. Travelers with no official business in the area are asked to stay away.

9:37 a.m. Homeowner victims of the tornadoes who are insured are urged to call in their claims.

The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association reports in a prepared release that homeowners who are insured should be covered on damage from tornadoes and hail. Damage to vehicles is covered if people have comprehensive insurance on their auto policies, the release stated.

Many insurance agencies are setting up mobile claims service centers in the areas most affected by the storms, the release reported.

9:26 a.m. The Weld County Sheriff's Office offered guidelines today for people who want to help:

— Coordinate with your preferred disaster response agency to ensure the right type and amount of items are collected. A list of current needs is available by calling 2-1-1 or 1-800-559-5590 or going to www.weldsheriff.com.

— Focus on one or two items the agency says it needs; that reduces time spent sorting items.

— Items contributed should be new, in unopened packages.

— A financial contribution earmarked for a particular disaster response like Central Weld Tornado is often the most efficient way to help. Cash helps ensure the agency can get exactly what is needed and provides an easily documented tax deduction for you.

— Check back with the agency after a few days or weeks to see if further contributions are needed.

Some items may hinder effective response to a disaster:

— Used clothing is difficult to sort and expensive to transport. Consider selling used items at a yard sale and contributing the proceeds for disaster relief.

— Disaster response agencies are not permitted to use bottled water unless it is commercially sealed. They also are not allowed to use home-canned food; canned goods that are dented, rusted or out of date; or used underwear.

9:18 a.m. The Weld Food Bank is in need of donations, cash and food, and volunteers to help with relief efforts of the Windsor tornado today.

Volunteers are needed to help pack and sort emergency food boxes, which will be distributed from 1-3 p.m. today at the Windsor Community Center. Food boxes will be available at the center only for victims of the tornado.

Anyone wanting to donate food is asked to bring it in case lots, as there is not enough manpower to sort it. The Food Bank is operating with limited food on hand, so donations are appreciated.

Call 970-356-2199: To volunteer, dial Ext. 307; to donate food, dial Ext. 306 or just bring it to the Food Bank at 1108 H. St. in north Greeley; to donate cash, dial Ext. 304.

9:14 a.m. Farmers Insurance claims personnel and agents are rushing to assist Farmers policyholders who have suffered damage from the powerful tornadoes that struck Weld County including the cities of Longmont, Greeley, and Windsor.

"Our claims teams have been deployed to find Farmers customers who have suffered damage," James Pursell, Farmers Colorado State Executive Director said, "As of noon (Thursday, Mountain Time) our claims teams have received 34 property and auto claims. We are urging Farmers’ customers who have suffered damage from the storms to call the 24-hour HelpPoint number (1-800-HELPPOINT) for immediate assistance."

9:06 a.m. A combination town hall meeting and press conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Windsor Community Recreation Center, 205 N. 11th St.

The current status of the tornado recovery efforts will be discussed, spokesman Jim Shires said in a press release. Additional details about volunteer opportunities also will be discussed.

Scheduled speakers are: Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave; Windsor Mayor John Vazquez; Windsor-Severance Fire Chief Brian Martens; and Jeffco Incident Management Team Commander Bill Easterling.

8:58 a.m. The sprawling cold-weather system that spawned yesterday’s deadly twisters could unleash more violent thunderstorms and potentially tornadoes in Colorado’s northeastern corner today.

Areas that were hit by yesterday's tornadoes are facing a flash-flood watch and roof-damaged homes could get hit with thunderstorm rains, Eric Thaler, of the National Weather Service, said today.

“The rivers are already kind of swollen,” because of yesterdays rains and snow runoff, he said. “You get one more shower that dumps an inch of rain and you could have some flood problems.”

Meanwhile, dangerous super-cell thunderstorms could occur this afternoon and evening in the northeastern plains, in a line from Akron and Fort Morgan to Cheyenne.

There could be “heavy-duty thunderstorms and tornadoes and big hail,” Thaler warned.

What’s generating the storms is a “big cold vortex” that’s been blanketing the West from the Pacific Ocean to the Kansas plains since early this week, he said.

“It’s the type of system that produces blizzards around here,” Thaler said.

The system’s high-level southeasterly winds tend to dry as they come down off the Rockies, drawing in lower-level moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. Moist air rises, churning against the dry upper air. This can generate the clockwise spin of a tornado.

Fortunately for the Front Range, the moist air was flushed to the northeast by Thursday’s storm, Thaler said.

But that could trigger twisters in the tri-state area where Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas meet.

8:32 a.m. Big orange X's mark the houses in Windsor unfit for habitation, and there were dozens of them today in the aftermath of a mile-wide tornado that slammed into this rapidly growing city of 16,000.

The tornado roared into the old neighborhoods of Windsor on the northeast side.

Sheet metal from a blue car rests 20 feet up an old elm tree next to the railroad tracks at Chimney Park Drive and Walnut Street.

Next to it, a 100-foot tree lies sideways, its roots a tangled mess 12 feet in diameter.

Twenty feet away, a tree somehow got into a white Ford SUV, sitting like a patient back-seat passenger.

Across the street, crumbled metal rests across a railroad crossing sign.

People who have lived in Windsor for decades say they are just happy they escaped with their lives, that the mortar of their lives -- the plumbing, the plywood, the shade trees -- can be replaced in time.

Vickie Edwards surveyed her damaged house and said, "It gives me a new perspective.

"Yesterday, I was mad at the world because I didn't have my patio yet."

After the tornado hit, she said, "All I could think of was my baby granddaughters: 'Are they OK?'

"They are great, they're fine," she said. "And it doesn't matter. My back yard could be covered with mud forever and I don't care."

The house that Edwards shares with her husband, Kenneth, lost shingles and siding. The trees in their back yard used to be their neighbors' -- and the Edwards' trees are at neighbors' farther west.

She showed off a souvenir smashed-in box of Cocoa Puffs, a reminder of the swirl in her kitchen at noon yesterday.

"The kitchen furniture was spinning, but the rest of the house was untouched," she said.

Edwards finally made her way into the crawl space.

"I grabbed hold of a gas pipe, telling myself, 'I shouldn't be holding this gas pipe.' But I was too afraid to let go."

8:28 a.m. Many pets displaced by yesterday's tornadoes were taken to the Windsor rec center. Pet owners who are missing their animals are being asked to meet at the rec center at 11 a.m. today.

8:25 a.m. The tornado toppled tractor-trailers across U.S. 85 and cut power to 60,000 customers. About 15,000 were still without power early today, and Xcel Energy said it could be a week before they are back on line.

“We can’t find poles, wires, transformers” where the tornado went through, Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said today. “Stuff is gone. There’s nothing there.”

The utility also repaired about two dozen natural gas leaks, mostly in Windsor, that opened when houses were ripped off their foundations.

8:17 a.m. Only 13 people were treated at hospitals after yesterday's tornadoes, but more than 100 others got medical attention for minor injuries at a Windsor community center, Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Jim Shires said today.

Shires is serving as a spokesman for emergency responders in the tornado-stricken area.

He said rescue crews with search dogs have gone through the town three times looking for the injured, and no one else is believed to be trapped.

“We’ve not been made aware of anyone missing at this point,” Shires said.

He said authorities were still trying to determine how many buildings were destroyed or damaged.

7:54 a.m. Bob Schmidt stood on the sidewalk of his one-story house, one block of Main Street on Walnut.

Shingles and gutters were scattered on his front yard, a huge evergreen was uprooted and another evergreen was leaning against his front door and roof.

In the side yard, what used to be an elm and lilacs were scattered like dead soldiers.

As a huge front loader on tracks slowly crept down Walnut, Schmidt said, "I was at work when it hit, which I guess was a good thing."

His house has no power, and there's no apparent way in.

"I think I could get in, but I'm a little scared," said Schmidt, gazing at his home and getting solace from a cousin whose home was undamaged.

7:48 a.m. David Tallman was driving east on Main Street in Windsor about noon Thursday when "a black wall" came heading his way.

"You couldn't see 150 feet in front of you," Tallman said this morning, standing near his automobile collision shop.

Trees ripped from their roots darted in front of him.

"I had to zigzag around them," Tallman said.

Back at his shop, the Windsor Collision Center, the two big overhanging doors were gone.

At the shop's painting booth, the tornado's "vacuum effect" sucked all the air out, causing the walls to implode inward, he said.

"We'll be out of commission for a while," he said.

Tallman and his wife, Diane, are still trying to locate a neighbor, a man with special needs who is "our semi-night watchman."

"He has no family," Diane Tallman said. "We're worried about him."

David Tallman remembers an eerie calm of just a few seconds between the pounding hail and the onslaught of the tornado.

They opened their shop just two weeks ago and celebrated a grand opening, touting it as the first green collision center in the area, featuring earth-friendly paints.

"Now, I guess we'll have a re-grand opening," Diane Tallman said.

7:32 a.m. Authorities say on police radio that the Kodak plant in Windsor will remain closed today so they can assess any chemical concerns at the manufacturing center.

7:29 a.m. Ellen Jenkins, 45, sat in a nearly empty coffee shop this morning in Windsor, reflecting on the nightmarish scenes of destruction.

“I dreamed about it last night and I was really groggy, so I thought it had just been a dream. But then I looked outside and I saw that it was real,” she said.

7:09 a.m. Windsor residents woke up this morning to a blazing sun and wall-to-wall debris. Many were out on bikes or on foot, carrying cameras to record the devastation from Thursday's tornado and to lend a hand to traumatized neighbors.

Nancy Cox, walking with 9-year-old son Alex, recalled the terror as she drove home two of her sons and three of their friends from the last day of school at Windsor Charter Academy.

Their class was to hold a party in a metal building at a karate studio on the east end of town. "But that was the last place I wanted my kids to be," she said.

So, she drove the five kids across town, from east to west, as the biggest of Thursday's tornadoes approached.

"There was just a massive cloud, parallel to the horizon and low in the sky," she said. "There was no cone, like you think of with tornadoes, it was just massive."

"I saw it come. I ran a red light. Hail was pounding," she said. "People who hadn't heard of the tornado were pulling over because of the hail, but all wanted to do was get home and get the boys into our basement."

"One of the kids in the back said, 'I think we should pray.' I said, 'That's a good idea.'

"That's when we got hit by hail, bigger than a golf ball, not quite as big as a baseball.

"Bam. It didn't break," she said of their windshield.

Finally, the hailstorm cracked her front windshield, leaving a softball-size hole.

"We heard the tires crunch over the hail, the car was sliding, but I didn't want to stop."

Finally reaching home, Cox yelled to the boys to dash to the front porch and into the basement. They were pounded by hail while they ran.

"It was very painful," Cox said. "I have a bruise on my shoulder."

Alex said he was "a little bit scared," but he's OK, and thankful that there's not much damage to his house.

"I think I've had enough of tornadoes for now," Alex said.

Cox is hosting one family that lost power and got extensive damage to their apartment unit, and is trolling the neighborhood to see who else she and her husband, the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, can help.

6:58 a.m. Aerial coverage from Copter4's Luan Akin, who is marking the end of her 30-year career with the station today, shows the many stately trees that were felled in Windsor's cemetery during Thursday's storm. CBS4Denver.com is streaming live coverage from Copter4.

6:52 a.m. Authorities have their hands full in Weld County this morning. Numerous private vehicles are trying to access storm-affected areas, via ditch roads and other means, and officers are attempting to ensure that only authorized people can enter. In addition to Windsor and Greeley police departments and the Weld County Sheriff's Office, officers from around the region are assisting.

5:52 a.m. Friday Sunrise casts an eerie light on the destruction left by Thursday's storm.

Authorities imposed an overnight curfew in tornado-stricken areas of Weld County. Thousands remain without power. Water and sewer services are working normally in Windsor. Many roads in the area remain impassable.

Authorities say their priorities for day are: Return the Windsor Nursing Home to full electrical services; address the "special-need" population of the town; work with Xcel to restore power to the entire town; and work with Xcel and others to begin debris removal.

7:08 p.m. Thursday Gary Sandau, district chief of the Platteville-Gilcrist Fire Protection District, and others checked on residents and damage. He went to a house where the roof had just disappeared.

"You could stand in the living room and look up at the sky," he said.

On Weld County Road 44, one farmhouse was spared. But a load of lumber in the yard was scattered with some boards flung into a field across the road. Next door, another house appeared undamaged. But shingles on an outbuilding flipped up and down like someone waving goodbye — still attached but loose.

"It was a surprise storm," said Brian Hanson, a retired teacher and firefighter. "It lasted about a half-hour."

6:25 p.m. Northern Colorado Medical Center received two more tornado victims this afternoon.

"The two came in around 5 p.m.," said Dan Dennie, spokesman for the hospital. "They came in on their own. They're probably on their way out now."

The hospital had set up a command post earlier today to deal with additional patients. Two arrived earlier, but since have been treated and released.

At 4:30 p.m. the hospital decided to disband the command post. "We're running business as normal," said Dennie. "We're awaiting any additional patients that may come in, but we don't know if we will see more."

5:35 p.m. Bob Henderson, 73, of Windsor was still in shock at his daughter’s Greeley home as he recounted how he survived the tornado that destroyed his home.

“My daughter’s SUV was parked out in the street and I decided to get it in to get away from the hailstones which were two to two and half inches in diameter,” said Henderson.

He parked the Ford Explorer in the garage, went into the house and found there was no power. He decided he wanted to shut the garage door.

“I went on down to the garage and just then it hit,” he said. “I turned to run for the door into the house (about five feet away) and it blew me literally to the front of the garage.

“ I got tight against the floor and it just piled things on top of me. It had blown in a lot of debris in front of the SUV and I was just trying to get down and under the car as much as I could. The way things were flying in there -- there wasn’t much that I could do. It had blown in so much debris that I couldn’t get under (the SUV).”

Henderson said he put his arms and hands above his head to keep the debris from falling on him.

“I was trying to protect my head,” he said. “My main thought was how to keep from getting hit with something.”

Henderson estimated the tornado passed over the house in about a minute, maybe a minute and a half, before it continued on its path.

He dug himself out from the debris through a hole in the debris pile. The only injury he received were some cuts on his left hand.

“I’m going to admit, if I wasn’t scared, I was extremely upset at how long that was going to last,” he said.

Henderson’s house is missing much of its roof, with the most damage to the northeast part of the house.

“The garage is on a 15-20 degree tilt,” he said. “One living room window and the bathroom window are the only ones that are left (intact) but that’s not relevant when you think: the roof is gone.”

He said so much debris has piled into the garage that he couldn’t see the Ford Explorer, although he’s pretty sure its windows are all blown out.

“There’s all manner of stuff that I have absolutely no idea where it came from,” he said.

He and his wife are staying with daughter Holly Bucks in Greeley for the next few days.

“I don’t know if we can get back in tomorrow,” he said. “As soon as I can get back in, I”m going to rent a storage unit somewhere and move everything out of the house. There is no way to secure it.”

This was not the first house that he’s lost to a tornado. In 1962, when he was living 45 miles north of Cedar Falls, Iowa, a tornado went through his neighborhood as well.

“It didn’t destroy the house in so many words,” he said. “It shook it apart and it was not fit to live in any more.”

Henderson said he hasn’t decided whether to rebuild his home in Windsor, where he’s been living for eight years.

“It’s really too early to answer that question,” he said. “I’m not sure what’s going to take place at this time.”

5:33 p.m. Statement from Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo: "Today’s tornadoes were terribly destructive to several Northern Colorado communities. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have lost loved ones, with those that have been injured and with those whose property has been damaged. I will do all I can at the federal level to ensure that the affected communities have the resources they need to recover and rebuild.”

Statement from Rep. Marilyn Mustrave, R-Colo: "My heart and prayers go out to all affected by today's storms. I'm headed back to Colorado immediately. We are in contact with local officials in the area and my staff is already on the ground determining how we can help."

5:00 p.m. Gov. Bill Ritter's helicopter lands in the football field of Windsor Middle School. He spoke with state representatives from the area and will get a briefing from local and state officials at the fire station. He will then get an aerial tour and return to brief the news media.

5:00 p.m. Reporter's notebook

- Alex Martinez had separated from his wife Julie but it looks like they will be getting back together ahead of schedule.

Martinez’s apartment was blown apart from the storm, his entire living area exposed to gawkers gathered outside.

“I guess I will be moving back in with her,” Martinez said when asked where he would stay.

He said the disaster hadn’t really hit him yet, which may have explained his humorous outlook.

“I wanted a picture window, but not this big,” he said looking at an open view of his kitchen and his living room. He shrugged and said, “I wanted to get a new TV anyway.”

- In the apartment below Martinez, Emmy Ridgway, and David Strathnan where hauling away their belongings, contemplating the wrench thrown in the wedding just over a week away.

The good news -- their belongings are fine. “Nothing was touched,” Ridgway said. But the building was a mess.

Ridgway had just sat down for lunch at The Olive Garden in Fort Collins when the storm hit south of her. At the time, the weather seemed great.

"I said a prayer at lunch, Thank you God for this beautiful weather,” Ridgway said.

- Kudos to Dish Network; one badly damaged apartment building still had six small satellite dishes still mounted firmly to the side of the structure.

The storm has sparked a remarkable community wide clean up effort. By two hours afterwards -- perhaps sooner -- the streets were jammed with front-end loaders, bucket trucks, and dump trucks.

Private companies and local governments across the region appeared to be sending in crews by the dozens to remove trees and other debris from the streets. The roar of the chain saws, the warning beeps of backing trucks and the hum of diesel engines filled the air. Workers seemed determined to restore order quickly.

“Private companies, cities -- they’re just coming from everywhere,” said Harvey Johnson, a mower for Windsor Parks Department. “I think it’s amazing -- this is what American people come together for.”

- Ruby McCarthy sat on the wooden swing that formerly hung from her front porch. Only now it was on her front lawn, having been ripped off by the tornado that left the front porch of her 1905 house sagging.

When the hail started to fall, there was a slight lull in the storm. McCarthy ran outside and grabbed some of the golf-ball sized hail to stash in her freezer.

But then the storm resumed, the hail got bigger, the winds whipped up and the sky turned green.

McCarthy scrambled to her basement.

When she came upstairs, much of her house was still intact, including her collection of stained glass items.

However, almost all the graceful trees in her neighborhood had toppled over, including one that hit her porch.

Ironically, McCarthy, a Realtor, had been getting ready to go to a closing on a house Thursday. But she later learned that the tornado had demolished the house.

4:50 p.m. The Colorado National Guard is expecting to call up more than 100 people and mobilize more than 10,000 pounds of equipment to help with the tornado recovery effort.

"We have to wait until the civil authorities tell us what they need," said Capt. Robert Bell, spokesman for the Colorado National Guard.

He said that two Army Blackhawk helicopters with Gov. Bill Ritter and Major General H. Michael Edwards, the adjutant general for the Colorado National Guard are currently enroute to the tornado stricken areas to do a site survey to determine what would be needed.

"We'll probably be looking for specialized teams to support the civil authorities," said Bell.

"We'll see who's trained on what. This will be more than a one-day event."

4:50 p.m.On the west side of town, about a mile and a half away from where the tornado struck, Safeway employees herded about 60 shoppers into the store’s meat and dairy coolers to weather the storm.

Grocery store employees anticipate a lot of work ahead. Perishable food, spoiled from the power outage, will have to be restocked.

4:25 p.m. Regional hospitals have only seen a small trickle of injuries coming from areas hit by the tornados.

Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland has received 9 patients, Poudre Valley Medical Center in Fort Collins has 4-5, and Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley has 1.

Pam Brock, spokeswoman for Medical Center for the Rockies said the 9 are being evaluated, so it's unknown what condition they are in.

The patients at the other two hospitals only had minor injuries and were expected to be treated and released today.

Poudre Valley Medical Center and Medical Center of the Rockies have both set up incident command centers to deal with additional patients.

"We started our command center at 12:30 p.m. and we received our first patient at a quarter to 1," said Pam Brock, spokeswoman for Medical Center of the Rockies.

Northern Colorado Medical Center is prepared to take in more patients as well.

"At this point, we're not expecting more but we're certainly prepared should we have more patients," said Dan Dennie, spokesman for Northern Colorado. "But we do not know what to expect."

4:08: At the Carestream Health building, the parking lot was littered with dozens of vehicles with windows blown out by wind and rock. Some were tossed onto their roofs. Tye Riley, 53, was inside the building when officials announced that a twister was approaching and that employees needed to move to the safe tornado zone.

Your ears felt like a vacuum. It was sucking your ears off of you because of the pressure of the tornado," he said.

3:55 p.m.The National Weather Service says it continued to track a tornado on radar at 3:48 p.m. 10 miles north of Purcell, or 26 miles north of Greeley. The storm was moving northwest at 28 mph.

The tornado warning remains in effect until 4:15 p.m. for northwestern Weld County.

3:54 p.m.Overheard from a Windsor yard where folks gathered to clean up broken trees and lament the loss of electricity: "I'm so glad American Idol was on last night."

3:55 p.m. The Colorado National Guard has been asked to help provide transportation for emergency responders in and out of the areas affected by the tornadoes, First Lt. Darin Overstreet told Channel 4.

"We have a lot to do," Overstreet said. "We're trying to build the forces right now."

3:45 p.m. Channel 4 interviewed a man standing outside a Windsor building he was in when the tornadoes hit.

"A BIG mama was coming over the tracks. It went over our building. It was just throwing things around. I ran to the bathroom and hid. I was scared like you wouldn't believe."

3:30 p.m. Larimer County sheriff reports flooding on Red Mountain Road where it crosses Redstone Creek. A tornado watch remains in effect until 8:00 P.M..

There were reports of a possible tornado touching down at County Road 17 near Johnstown.

National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory at 3:06 P.M. for a small streams in northeastern Larimer County and North Central Colorado, including Livermore and Virginia Dale.

County Road 80 between Highway 287 between CR 19 is being closed.

3:35 p.m. At a news media briefing, officials reported no deaths in Windsor. They said that about 11:45 a.m., 15 minutes or so before the twister hit, a warning went out to all schools to take emergency precautions. The center of damage is about one square mile in southeast Windsor. The governor is expected to be in Windsor at 5:30 p.m.

3:35 p.m. Gov. Bill Ritter has declared a state of emergency in Weld County as a result of today's tornadoes and is expected to visit the area later this afternoon.

The declaration, made at the request of Weld County, mobilizes the Colorado National Guard to assist with the disaster response, including transporting emergency crews and law enforcement officers into and out of the disaster areas.

"We will be doing all we can to assist the people of Weld County as we assess the damage and determine how the state can provide the most effective aid," Ritter said. "My heart goes out to the people of Weld County during this very dangerous time."

Ritter is tentatively scheduled to survey damaged areas by air later this afternoon. He will then receive a briefing at the incident command center at the Windsor Fire Station at 392 7th St.

3:30 p.m. Authorities are bringing search dogs to do another search of properties of Windsor to make sure no one was killed by the tornado, Channel 4 reported.

City officials said about 100 or more homes in Windsor were damaged or destroyed. They said the twisters did not hit the schools and that school officials had enough time to get the kids inside and under their desks because of the damaging hail.

3:30 p.m. Residents in northwestern Weld County should take cover immediately as a tornado has been detected in their area. Doppler radar is tracking a tornado near Weld County Road 17 and Highway 34.

This storm was moving northwest at 28 mph.

Towns covered by the alert include Rockport, Purcell, Pierce, Nunn, Natural Fort Rest Area, Gill, Galeton, Carr, Barnesville, and Ault.

3:05 p.m. 9News reported that Whiting High School in Laramie is on lockdown although students and facilities are fine. They said one shed was damaged.

3 p.m. The man who died in the tornado was a disabled veteran staying in a motor home at Missile Silo Park, according to Peter Ambrose, a Weld County employee who lives nearby. Ambrose said the man apparently tried to drive away from the tornado, but it caught his motor home, smashing it and killing him.

The park, site of a former Atlas Missile silo, has campgrounds and the silo facility is used for county storage. A county employee lives on the grounds, said Weld County sheriff's spokesman Shane Scofield.

Windsor police are urging residents to not return to the hard-hit town of 14,000, because congestion on debris-covered roads is hampering emergency responders.

Scofield said many homes and businesses were hammered by the big twister in Windsor’s Water Valley development, west of CO 257, near the town's Kodak plant.

“All of the homes and businesses on the left side of 257 sustained a lot of damage,” he said. “As I drove through there on the way to work some of them were destroyed completely.”

3:00 p.m. A National Weather Service meteorologist said a tornado touched down in Laramie on this afternoon, causing damage to numerous buildings but not yet resulting in any reports of injuries.

John Griffith, warning coordination meteorologist with the Cheyenne office of the National Weather Service, said he had received reports that the storm damaged a high school, junior high and a Wal-Mart building.

3:10 p.m. The Budweiser Events Center along Interstate 25 south of Windsor will be opened as a shelter this evening, 9News reported.

3:02 p.m. The tornado was tall, wide and dense, reported Ryan Whiting, who works for an excavating business. He was at the southeast corner of town and watched the storm rip through Windsor. "It sounded like a train going by, a roar," said Whiting.

He rushed over to the Windmill Child Enrichment Center, 1215 Automation Drive, which had been damaged by the twister, "to see if people were trapped underneath." Gas lines were blown out and people were leaving the building. "Everyone made it out as far as I know," he said.

Destruction was evident all over town. A tractor trailer in southeast Windsor had been tossed into a ditch. Power lines were snapped in half. Trees were uprooted and tossed into houses. People were walking around talking on cell phones, some cracking beers open, talking about what happened. People drove around in cars with blown out windows. Whole subdivision reduced to two-by-fours and framing.

3:00 p.m. The roof was ripped off the Schrader's Country Store in Windsor.

"The employees had to hide in the cooler and the rest room," said Greg Hubbard, 19, who works at a sister Schrader's store in Fort Collins. "Everything's blocked off. I guess there's a couple of gas leaks, too."

2:50 p.m. The Weld County Sheriff's office Web site is working and updating every 2 minutes. It says that Weld County offices are closed for the day.

The site also says Highway 60 and Highway 85 southbound are open. Also says shelter is open at the Ranch in Larimer County. The Sheriff's office also says Highway 392 is closed at Highway 257.

The site says two tornadoes were on the ground at 2:24 at 37th Street and Two Rivers Parkway and the other is at WCR 52 and highway 257 - "Take shelter if you are in this area."

Meanwhile, TV is showing tall power poles felled on the ground.

2:50 p.m. Gilcrest — South Valley Middle School in Platteville was alerted about a tornado warning around 11:30 p.m. "They made us go into a hall and crouch down," a student said. "I heard a siren. We were in the hall about 30 minutes." The power was out. He said he was leaving school early. "I got out at 12," he said.

2:51 p.m.The Red Cross dispatched a truckload of supplies from Denver around 2:45 to stock the Windsor shelter, Spokesman Robert Thompson said.

The truck is carrying cots, blankets, toiletries and food, Thompson said.

Thompson said the public can make financial donations on line or by mail to the American Red Cross Centennial Chapter, 120 Saturn Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525

2:43 p.m.State Farm reported that all 1,200 employees at its operations center were safe and uninjured, said spokeswoman May Hendershot. The insurer's emergency alert system notified it of the impending tornado, and all employees were evacuated to the storm shelter. The three-story central building suffered several broken windows, and employees were sent home at 1:30 p.m. and told to not return until Tuesday.

"There were many cards in the parking lot, and several have all of the windows gone and some are on their sides or overturned," Hendershot said. "There was substantial damage."

2:40: Authorities in Windsor and Weld County advise officers via police radio that they should not allow residents back into Windsor unless they are retrieving children. They say the situation is too dangerous because of gas leaks and other concerns.

2:30 p.m. Gilcrest — Monica Nativida came to the home of her niece, Patsy Hernandez, about 2:15 p.m. to check on a chihuahua named Tanner. A tree trunk about 2 feet in diameter had fallen on Hernandez's house. Nativida went in to retrieve her niece.

"I'm a little torn apart because she has such a beautiful home," Hernandez said. Mike Chenney of Loveland was working at C.R. Repairs across the street helping out the owner when the storm came through. "It came right over the top of us," he said.

2:30 p.m. Emergency personnel in Windsor are still trying to determine how many people were hurt, and how badly.

“We have every type of injury, broken bones, cuts, bruises, from everything from falling trees to broken glass hitting them,” said Jolene Schneider, spokeswoman for the Windsor Fire Department. “Only thing we are trying to figure out now is how many and how severe.”

Splintered wood, mangled metal and other debris cluttered roads, yards and agricultural fields. About 130 children at a daycare center in Windsor were reported safe after the storm passed through; playground equipment outside the center was damaged.

“My house is gone,” said Pete Ambrose, a caretaker at a Weld County campground outside Greeley. “I lost my dog. I lost my cats. I lost my camper. I lost everything.”

Ambrose said the storm destroyed a mobile home, downed cottonwood trees and power poles, and heavily damaged a nearby dairy. He said one camper may have been killed, but his account could not be immediately verified.

In Windsor and Greeley, 10 miles to the east, the tornado knocked down trees and shattered windows.

“It passed right over us like a big, white monster,” said Thomas Coupe, 87, of Windsor.

Some 60,000 customers lost power in the area, according to Xcel energy.

Windsor resident Liz Meyer, 65, said she heard thunder and steadily increasing golf ball-size hail and rushed with her dog into her basement. Her house wasn’t damaged, but a 60-foot tree was uprooted from two blocks away and dumped near her home.

“And look. It went into the street instead of into my house,” Meyer said.

2:30 p.m. A line of black rail train cars that appear to carry fuel or some other type of liquid are laying on their sides near Highway 85 in Windsor.

Emergency crews are trying to restore power. A lot of the roads are not driveable.

2:24 p.m. Weld County sheriff reports two tornados on the ground -- one at 37th St. and Two Rivers Parkway, the other at WCR 52 and CO 257. Residents are warned to take shelter.

2:24 Jewel Nickel, who lives on Chimney Park Drive in Windsor a few doors away from Gladys Pfeif, said the Nickel home emerged pretty much unscathed.

“We escaped with a lot less,” Nickel said. “there was some garage door damage and one broken window. And lots of downed trees."

As the drama unfolded, "It was hailing at first," she said. "Then it started raining. I kind of was watching the weather on the lake and all of a sudden it started getting really dark and swirling and really dusty. I thought, 'Whoo.. this could be a tornado. So I went into the basement."

2:21 p.m. The Fort Collins Red Cross office has dispatched 30 volunteers to Windsor, said director Erin Mounsey. They will open a shelter at the Windsor Community Center, 250 11th Street, which was not damaged.

Mounsey said the Red Cross expects the number of people who will be served at the shelter to number "in the low hundreds."

"It looks like this will be a significant disaster," she said.

2:20 p.m. An official said in a press conference about 10 minutes ago that parents of students in Gilcrest and Windsor should go to the Weld County sheriff's office Web site -- weldsheriff.com -- to get updated information on schools, roads and other emergency operations. But an attempt by a reporter to access the Web site failed.

2:12 p.m Rick Hertzke, 58, owns the Hertzke Dairy in Windsor. The 400-head dairy herd was devastated by the twister. Hertzke, who doesn't live at the dairy, said it's not clear yet how many cows from the herd were killed. The good news is that dairy workers were able to take shelter in the basement of the barn, which was destroyed. They all survived with few if any injuries.

"I got a call from a neighbor about 12 p.m. He’s within view of our dairy and he said 'It’s gone.' I said, 'What do you mean it’s gone?' He said everything was gone. My whole barn, my two houses, a trailer. Everything is demolished. It’s gone. It’s a big pile of rubble. Some of the buildings, we can’t even find them. Cows are running all over the place. There are dead cows. There are cows running a half mile away. It’s quite a sight.

2 p.m.Gladys Pfeif, a retired farmer who lives at 115 North Chimney Park Drive in Windsor told this to a Rocky reporter:

"I'm OK honey, but it's awful around here. Windows are broken, insulation is in my living room and there are holes in the roof. Garage doors are off and stuff is all over the street.

"Now the wind has calmed down and that helps a little bit. I didn't know we had this kind of weather around here.

"First, I heard that hail coming. My lawn people hurried to get done and they left. Then the hail started. Some were as big as a nickel. Some big ones like golf balls. I ran out to put some in the freezer and then as I came back in I heard this noise. It didn't sound right. But I thought it was just the wind blowing.

"Garage doors are off, fences are all down. My big building on my property -- I have an acre -- is torn down. My pickup is wrecked in there.The tractor fell into the pickup. I have a fifth wheel in there and it looks pretty bad.

"It's alll tore up now. Its awful. But I'm OK. I said to myself, well, it happens to other people, too.

2 p.m. Gilcrest — Rick Busson was walking his dog, Foxy, at 10th and Railroad streets.

"About 11:30, we lost power," he said. "I was in the kitchen. It started hailing. The weather got pretty violent."

He roused his daughter, Nicole, who was sleeping in.

"We could see a funnel cloud," said Busson, a professor of music at Aims Community College.

"For awhile, I was afraid we were going to have to get into the crawl space. The clouds were moving so fast."

An hour later, Busson said, the sun came out.

1:55 p.m. pm Fort Collins - Two funnel clouds have been spotted at the Fort Collins Emergency Operations Center on West Vine, the Larimer County sheriff reports.

Near Buckhorn Mountain, 60 mile-an-hour winds winds and quarter-sized hail are reported.

Poudre Schools have lifted the lockdown for all schools .

1:50 p.m. Gilcrest — Sylvia Painter was picking up the last of the pine cones and branches that had been knocked from the tree in her yard. She said she was in the house when the storm blew through.

"The electricity went off first prior to any big news," she said.

Her daughter called from Ft. Collins telling her to cover her plants because the hail storm was heading her way.

"I have one lonely tomato plant in back," she said. "I covered it up. I covered it good with a box and two really big rocks on top. Sure enough, we got hail."

The sky darkened. "Wind, wind, wind. You know how they say a tornado sounds like a train. I didn't hear any train. But it was a ferocious wind. It rattled the windows."

After the storm passed she went out to check damage and noticed the wind had knocked over a barbecue grill.

"It knocked the wheel off," she said.

The tomato plant survived. "The cover's not coming off that tomato plant for a couple hours," she said.

1:45 p.m. Interstate 25 remains closed in both directions north of town, because of hail and slushy road conditions, Larimer County sheriff’s spokesman Don Nadow said in Fort Collins.

There were reports that a home was hit by the tornado east of I-25 on County Road 56, he said. A a family was trapped in a home by a fallen tree on County Road 54 and requesting help getting out.

Wellington Junior High School remains in lockdown and will remain so until further notice, sheriff’s spokeswoman Eloise B. Campanella said in a statement. Parents won’t be able to pick up their children until the lockdown it lifted.

1:45 p.m. People walking around and cars now driving down the road in a residential area of Windsor. Damage varies from house to house. Some homes have roofs ripped off and others appear untouched. Debris strewn across lawns. Insulation and walls ripped off some homes.

A basketball hoop laying in the middle of a road in a cul de sac.

Meanwhile a storm is moving 50 to 60 miles an hour on the eastern plains.

1:40: Bethel Lutheran Church in Windsor was hit by the tornado, its pastor, the Rev. Dean Smith, said as he hurriedly left a church synod meeting in Denver to race back to his church, located at 328 Walnut St.

"I hope I can get through and see what's going on there," Smith said from his cell phone.

He said he heard another Windsor pastor lost his house in the tornado.

1:40 p.m. Kodak plant in Windsor shows that main buildings are okay, but small buildings had damage. One small building has a roof bent and disconnected.

Windsor school district students were told to go get their kids because the buses aren't running.

1:35 p.m. The Greeley Tribunereported a neighborhood in east Windsor has sustained major damage from the tornado..

The roofs of at least five to six homes have been completely torn off, and up to two dozen homes have major roof or structural damage, according to eyewitness reports.

At least one house was demolished. The most extensive damage has occurred in the southeast corner of Windsor, near Eastman Park Drive and Colo. 257.

"It passed right over us like a big, white monster," said Thomas Coupe, 87, of Windsor.

Another Windsor man, Matt Stacks, 20, was awakened by the the storm. "We got down to the basement and we could hear it hit. We got down just in time."

1:34 p.m. “The skies don’t look nearly as bad as they did just a few hours ago,” said Lori House, a secretary at the Platte Valley School District’s administration building in Kersey.

The kids’ last day of classes of was Tuesday. “I’m really glad they are not here right now,” House said.

1:25 p.m. Bill Rankin, spokesman of UQM Technologies said some of the employees had to leave to pick up their kids from schools which were impacted. The company headquarter in Frederick was pelted with hail, but spared the tornadoes.

"It looked ominous, there were swirling clouds but looks like they have moved off northwest," Rankin said.

1:20 p.m. An administrative assistant at Solix Biofuels said she was running to the basement and that the storm was moving through their section of Fort Collins, off College Avenue, at that moment. She said everybody appeared to be safe.

1:30 p.m. They are calling out all hands in Weld County near Gilcrest. Police, highway department and fire crews are walking the county roads.

1:05 pm: 9 news reporting that the storm is moving through Morgan County in next 15 minutes. "that's how fast this storm is moving."

A reporter in Windsor says "It looks like a bomb went off."

He points to a school. About 130 kids were safely moved out of the school. Parts of the basketball court were strewn down the road.

A woman who works at Poudre Valley Hospital said she lost communication but was able to get her daughter and son from Wind Mill Daycare. The kids had been taken to a (bank?) vault.

"The kids are a little banged up," she told a 9news reporter. She showed the little blond girl, who appeared to be about 3 years old, who had scrapes on her elbows and knees. The older son, who looked about 5, was crying in his carseat.

She said she trains for emergency situations at work, but "you never expect anything like this."

1:15 p.m.

Fire and ambulances were being dispatched to Windsor, located about 10 miles southeast of Fort Collins, according to emergency radio traffic.

"We're in total destruction here," a law enforcement officer radioed.

A Windsor city employee said buildings were damaged, trees were down and electricity was knocked out there, according to the Associated Press. It wasn't immediately clear if the tornado had hit the town directly.

Weld County sheriff's spokeswoman Margie Martinez said two tractor-trailer rigs overturned about 10 miles southeast of Windsor, and electricity was knocked out to some customers in nearby Greeley.

Weld County Commissioner Dave Long reported that one person died near an old missile silo west of Greeley. No other details were immediately available.

The storm has forced the closure of Interstate 25 in both directions south of Wellington, which is north of Fort Collins, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The first reports of trouble came when a large and "extremely dangerous" tornado touched down near Gilcrest, about 10 miles southwest of Greeley, then plowed northwest at 36 mph before it reached Windsor, according to the National Weather Service and emergency radio reports.

Video reports on 9News showed a huge, black twister churning across the plains, stirring huge clouds of debris. The tornado was accompanied by large hail.

According to the National Weather Service, the first report of what its experts believe was a very large tornado came at 11:26 a.m. two miles northwest of Milton Reservoir in a pasture. The twister then was reported at 11:27 a.m. in Platteville, at 11:32 a.m. in Gilcrest, at 11:40 a.m. three miles east of Milliken, at 12:02 p.m. eight miles west of Greeley. At that point, the twister was three-quarters of a mile to a mile wide, according to the weather service.

A minute later, it was reported near Windsor, and it appeared to dissipate after hitting the town.

A second tornado was reported at 12:23 and 12:32 west and southwest of Dacono.

But the storm continued north a 33 mph and tornado warnings remain in effect for Weld and Boulder counties until 1 p.m.

Most of the initial emergency response was focused on Windsor.

Michal Connors, office manager at the Windsor Chamber of Commerce on Main Street, said staff members and other took shelter in the basement of the building, protected by two-foot-thick concrete walls.

"It was scary," Connors said. "When we heard the big crack of the tree limbs we ran to the basement.

"The old town hall and the roofs on some of the older buildings are heavily damaged."

She said she never actually saw the twister, but that the storm also brought golf-ball sized hail — "and baseball-sized when it got really bad."

"It took down a lot of our big old trees, and there's a lot of metal debris in the street that we don't know where it came from," Connors said.

The Main Street area lost electricity, she said, and people from neighboring stores were coming in to use the Chamber's land line phone.

She said she could hear sirens blaring in the distance.

"Everyone's staying close," she said. "We keep hearing that it's going to circle back, and the wind seems to be picking up."

Mike McWhirt, general manager of Pike's Auto Care Center on Main Street, said downtown roofs and buildings are damaged, windows are blown out and several cars heavily damaged by the debris and hail.

"It came through and did its damage and now people are milling around like out of a movie scene assessing the damage," McWhirt said.

He said the shop's owner who lives in the country about two miles outside town suffered heavy damage to his home.

McWhirt said he could see three cars destroyed across the street near a tattoo shop, and part of the roof in the tree.

"Behind us is a historical building and I can see chunks of the building" broken off. At the auto center, he said, "there's neon signs broken, part of the roof hanging off."

McWhirt said the auto center's employees sought safety in the bathroom in the back as the wind and rain kicked up, and the sky turned black. "It's brick enclosed and the safest place we could think of."

Staff writers, Hank Schultz, John Boogert, Todd Hartman, Tillie Fong, Alan Gathright, Joyzelle Davis, Jeff Smith, Gary Massaro, Joanne Kelley and the Associated Press, Greeley Tribune and CBS4 News contributed to this report.

• May 22, 2008

  9:55 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  EastVail writes:

  C'mon Sasquatch, tell us: Global warming fails the window test, AGAIN!

• May 22, 2008

  12:12 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  EZBakeOven writes:

  It's just you, MarineGrunt ;-)

• May 22, 2008

  12:22 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Squatch writes:

  Youre right on that one Marinegrunt i have never known of a tornado not to be dangerous. Were getting hailed on her on Longmont as we speak.

• May 22, 2008

  12:29 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  mojambo writes:

  Tornadoes are a result of cooling air.

  Another smashing point by the Tinfoilers

• May 22, 2008

  12:32 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  fischb writes:

  We need some legislation to halt the increasing threat from these types of tornados

• May 22, 2008

  1:11 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  T1anda writes:

  I hope everyone in Windsor is ok!!!!!

• May 22, 2008

  1:18 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Coco writes:

  Actually, mojambo, tornados are caused by a heating/cooling differential: (note the use of the word "warm")
  "Tornado conditions are caused when different temperatures and humidity meet to form thunderclouds. In the United States, warm, wet winds from the Gulf of Mexico move northward in spring and summer, meeting colder, dry Canadian winds moving southward. The place where these two winds meet is called a dry line. High, dry air coming from the north piles on top of low-moving, moist Gulf air at a height of over 10,000 feet. The warm southern winds try to rise, but the cold northern air blocks them. This clash causes the warm, trapped air to rotate horizontally between the two air masses. At the same time, the sun heats the earth below, warming more air that continues to try and rise. Finally, the rising warm wind become strong enough to force itself up through the colder air layer."

• May 22, 2008

  1:29 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  MsValeriah writes:

  This is nothing to joke about, people. Thoughts and best wishes to all those affected by this.

• May 22, 2008

  1:32 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  GladysKravitz writes:

  Was there a siting of Marilyn Musgrave hovering in the storm on her broom?

• May 22, 2008

  1:33 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  mojambo writes:

  Source: http://www.climate-skeptic.com/2008/0...

  Global Warming Reduces Tornadoes
  In a recent story on global warming, ABC claimed that tornado frequency this year is running nearly twice that of last year and that this can be linked to global warming. (HT Maggies Farm) Now, I would have tended to argue that year-over-year variations are probably not related to multi-decadal climate trends, but if ABC wants to so argue, I will go with it.

  The only problem is that the first five months of 2008 have been the coolest since 1993 and has run well below the average temperature for the period from 1978-1990. This while 2007 was one of the warmer Jan-May periods in recent memory. In fact, average US temperatures were about a degree Celsius cooler in 2008 than in 2007:

  UAH MSU temperature for USA (average anomaly)

  Jan-May 2007: .668 C

  Jan-Apr 2008: -.228 C

  Difference: .896 C

  So, if one wants to posit that tornado variation in 2008 is a result of a long-term climate trend rather than natural variability, then one must assume that global cooling causes tornadoes to increase, and that in fact global warming would benefit mankind by decreasing tornado frequency.

  The whole history of the global warming causes tornadoes claim is one of grossly bad science, most famously including Al Gore's claim in that movie of his. I debunked that claim here, demonstrating that the increase in measured tornadoes is a function solely of better measurement, not more tornadoes, something the NOAA has been careful to state as well.

• May 22, 2008

  1:34 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  InsGuru720 writes:

  So Coco, you are saying "Blame Canada, Blame Canada! They aren't even like a real country anyway!" Or just blame Canadian cold winds.
  Yeah, there is not much we can do about tornadoes, they will always be around. So, don't build your home with straw or a big bad tornado will blow it down. Strap down your mobile homes too.

• May 22, 2008

  1:36 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  dv8 writes:

  WOW. I bet it damaged some oil/gas wells. better let OPEC know, they'll have to increase the price of a barrel!!

• May 22, 2008

  1:38 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  InsGuru720 writes:

  Good to note that ABC news subscribes to FEAR based TV as do the majority of our capitalist news stations that scare us into watching to appease their advertisers.

• May 22, 2008

  1:48 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  snowsurfer writes:

  Its pretty nasty up here in NoCo.

• May 22, 2008

  1:52 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  LaszloPanaflex writes:

  Actually, global warming models predict more and more violent storms. But, hey, that's just scientists, not true authorities the way talk radio hosts are.

• May 22, 2008

  1:56 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  farsidefan writes:

  Gladys
  Great line...
  Hope everyone is okay up there and it is just property damage.
  Question: Did I read that right " someone died near an old missle silo" ? He must not have been in it, huh ?

• May 22, 2008

  2:02 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Buckwheat writes:

  In all seriousness, My prayers go out to the people in Windsor.
  As for Global Warming, people a heck of alot smarter than me are still arguing over the cause. I'am not putting my dog in that fight, you go right ahead.

• May 22, 2008

  2:04 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  MissSio writes:

  oooo I'm sorry Gladys, the word we were looking for was sighting. Yes, sighting. So sorry, thanks for playing.

• May 22, 2008

  2:11 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  P_Denver writes:

  Be careful, Buckwheat. It's okay to "wish them well". But if you actually offer a prayer for them you're setting yourself up for ridicule from most of this group.

• May 22, 2008

  2:17 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  O_TRAIN writes:

  I live in southern Larimer Co - it was a scary hour or so. The best story I've heard so far - the day care in Windsor moved the 130 kids to the bank vault across the street before the tornado hit - good, quick thinking (plus the kids are richer)

  There are more storms predicted today and these storms came in fast - be careful and good luck.

• May 22, 2008

  2:54 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  HollyGoLightly writes:

  Nasty, nasty storm. My thoughts are with those in the storm's path. Stay safe

• May 22, 2008

  3:28 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  DahmersCookbook writes:

  The fabricated 'Global Warming' thing just makes fools out of the gullable.

  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.ph...

  P.S.
  The batteries from the electric cars cause A mercury and lead threat large enough to kill more than 10% marine life in 15yrs.

• May 22, 2008

  3:31 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Buckwheat writes:

  Oops, your right P. Let em'. I'll defend their right just as I'll defend mine. I gave 6yrs defending it.

• May 22, 2008

  3:41 p.m.

  SeaBass writes:

  (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

• May 22, 2008

  3:48 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  temurlan writes:

  They showed the tornado on the news. It was huge. It looked like the F5 tornado at the end of the movie Twister. Except that here it wasn't sunny during the tornado like in the movie. Never understod that...details.

• May 22, 2008

  3:57 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Ztliano writes:

  I gotta look into Tornado insurance, maybe even volcano insurance as well. Who knows!!!

• May 22, 2008

  4:32 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Frogz writes:

  As Buckwheat already mentioned... scientists are still debating the exact cause of abnormal global warming. Yes, that's right - the exact cause - but *not* the fact that abnormal warming is indeed occurring at alarming trends (faster than usual in Earth's history - whenever that happened, mass-extinction events followed eventually) and that a good portion of it likely is man-made. Jeez... people!

  Global change leads to local effects, for instance cooling in Northern Europe (oh no - more rain and mud?) and increased thunderstorm activity in some parts of the world. Individual events like this current system we are seeing today are not really possible to tie into long-term global trends and the global warming discussion should really be held elsewhere. (half-educated well-meaning liberal tree huggers and non-educated bullying and hate-mongering bible-thumbing rednecks can give it to each other there - just please leave out us scientists and don't confuse us with either).

  So let's rather turn to be good neighbors and help those individuals, communities, and businesses affected by the destruction. The public can make financial donations on line or by mail for instance to the American Red Cross Centennial Chapter, 120 Saturn Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. Here the website with more information on severe weather response and donations: http://www.northerncolorado.redcross.org

• May 22, 2008

  5:43 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Vector049 writes:

  We never had tornados until all those Texicans moved up here. Now every dark cloud they see is a tornado.

• May 22, 2008

  6:41 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  AngelontheSidelines writes:

  Why did God smite Windsor? Did they have a gay pride parade? Is there a free abortion clinic? Oh maybe they legalized prostitution.

  No wait, the sole offense I can find is their High School has a gay straight alliance, but there is a Christian club.

  Well whatever it is the invisible cloud being is angry, whatever Windsor did should scare other communities away from the life of sin or else.....

• May 22, 2008

  6:54 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  LOUIE writes:

  Time to break out the metal detector. No seriously, I hope and pray for these people. It's a lot to lose everything you have and still be grateful to be alive. Seems all some of these people will have is the shirts on thier back. It's the reason many contribute to the Red Cross; damn if they aren't there when you need them!

• May 22, 2008

  7:18 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  HollyGoLightly writes:

  Is there any other way to send in donations for our fellow Coloradoans? I'm not too fond of the Red Cross. I'd rather my money go completely to help these people rebuild and repair.

• May 22, 2008

  7:58 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  nicolec writes:

  I sincerely hope Angelonthesidelines is attempting to be funny although people were saying Katrina hit New Orleans because Ellen was hosting some huge t.v. event (emmys? grammys? I don't keep up- I only notice when nut cases think god has nothing better to than destroy lives to teach about the evils of homosexuality).
  And anyone who lives up north knows it is no haven for homosexuals. I think a weather system did this 'cause that is what weather systems do (shock and awe).

• May 22, 2008

  8:22 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  ecniv writes:

  Climate change, plain and simple. Explain it away as you see fit, but it's here. Kind of funny 'ole saquatch hasn't showed up on this thread. It's just the weather, sasq. Don't be afraid to spin it as you need to...

• May 22, 2008

  9:01 p.m.

  Salchak_Toka writes:

  (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

• May 23, 2008

  11:34 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  kathyM writes:

  Wow, a huge storm...I hope the folks affected can get their homes and lives rebuilt ASAP. Looking at the photos of the aftermath was gut-wrenching.

  Tornadic activity is NORMAL in Colorado. People should stop treating it like a punishment from God or the Global Warming Wizard.

• May 23, 2008

  11:48 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  sunshinestate writes:

  It's better in North Florida

• May 24, 2008

  1:04 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  gethoht writes:

  sunshinestate,

  Umm... actually it's not better in north florida. I've seen tornadoes in FL many times. Unemployment is way higher, jobs pay way less, and most of the people that live there are severely uneducated(thank you for proving my point).

• May 24, 2008

  2:06 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  skays1 writes:

  Al gore sucks, global warming is natural, it was an F-3 (EF-3 if you add the dumb new thing), its not always a dryline storm it can be frontal boundaries or myriad other things, We call ourselves Texans not texicans????, and my prayers go out as well I can sympathize with those whose communities have been hit

• May 24, 2008

  9:49 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  CelticColoradoan writes:

  1st off for some of you morons tornadoes are pretty common here I've lived in Colorado my whole life and have family in Ne,Mo,Ks,and Texas I remember the one that tore Thorton up and was in the one that tore North Denver up.The good news is that pretty much most folks there knew what to do and where to seek shelter.Texas gets quite a few and they can get quite large it is a normal occurrence anywhere warm and cold fronts clash together,not an act of God,not because of global warming,and not because of gay pride parades.Some of you folks need to seriously get a life.The best news out of this is only 1 person lost they're life with this monster and he may not have known it was even coming,luckly most folks in these states know what to do and where to seek shelter,as for you clowns who find this funny I hope you get to experience it one day.My heart and prayers go out to the community and a lot of the newspappers and news stations are setting up donation sites to help these folks,I'm sure some churches are also,I'm not a big fan of the red cross because in this case I think pretty much ALL the money should go to the victims.Peace all and keep your eyes on the sky's.

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