A Tornado Watch has been issued for Metro Denver, Northeast Colorado, until 9 p.m

DENVER — Very large and destructive hailstones the size of a baseball are likely to fall in metro Denver and across eastern Colorado Thursday as another round of severe weather is expected to hit the state.

A hurricane watch has been issued for the entire Denver metro area, extending through Boulder, Fort Collins, Fort Morgan and parts of northeastern Colorado until 9 p.m. Thursday.

Counties in the monitoring area include:

• Adams
• Arapaho
• boulder
• Broomfield
• Denver
• Douglas
• Elbert
• Jefferson
• Larimer
• Logan
• Morgan
• Washington
• Welding

A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Southeast Broomfield, Denver and Northeast Jefferson counties until 4:30 p.m. The warning also includes western Adams County.

Half-dollar hailstones were reported in the storm, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder.

A severe thunderstorm warning is also in effect for Thornton, Westminster and Denver International Airport until 4:30 p.m. with the threat of golf ball-sized hailstones, NWS said.

A flash flood warning is in effect for Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, and Edgewater until 6 p.m.

The NWS said up to 1.5 inches of rain had already fallen with an additional 1 inch possible in the flash flood warning area.

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After northeast Colorado was bombarded with reports of 4-inch hail Wednesday night, The threat of severe weather is once again shifting toward the I-25 corridor The NWS said Thursday afternoon.

Denver, Boulder, Castle Rock, Longmont and Fort Collins have a slight risk of severe weather while the metro east has an increased risk of severe storms.

The NWS said there is a medium to high risk of significant hail as well as potentially damaging winds of up to 70 mph.

Isolated tornadoes are also possible with these storms as heavy rainfall and localized flooding.

“All of the effects are also in play, unfortunately, again, so we think cold is the primary effect,” he said. Greg Hefner, NWS Boulder Warning Coordination Meteorologist. “A few tornadoes are also possible later this afternoon, this evening across the urban corridor, and then across the plains this evening.”

Strong instability “will be a key factor for hail growth,” the National Weather Service said in its latest forecast discussion.

NWS Boulder

timing

Thunderstorms should begin to develop in the early to mid-afternoon hours in the foothills west and southwest of Denver before becoming more widespread as they enter the I-25 corridor.

Strong storms should start forming around 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the Denver metro area, Denver 7 Morning Meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo said.

“Most of those really strong storms will develop north and east of Denver, near Sterling, Akron, Greeley and even parts of Nebraska and east into Kansas,” Hidalgo said. “Expect to see dark skies, heavy storms, heavy pockets of rain, larger hail and gusty winds.”

Thunderstorms are expected to move more slowly and could cause water levels to rise quickly in flood-prone areas on Thursday. Colorado’s burn scar areas could see a better chance of flooding than the last few days of storms, the NWS said.

A second round of storms is expected at sunset before the sky clears overnight.

NWS Boulder

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Some storms could roll across Colorado’s plains overnight, but lower dew points should keep stronger convective activity down, the NWS said.

“The timing is very typical for us in a summer afternoon scenario.” Hidalgo said.

There is a lower risk of severe weather Friday in metro Denver and across northeastern Colorado before warmer, drier weather settles in for the weekend.

There is still a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the forecast for Denver on Saturday and Sunday with highs reaching the mid 80s. Monday should be mostly sunny, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees before another chance of storms returns for the Fourth of July holiday.

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