Tornado Touches Down in Highlands Ranch as Storms Continue to Hammer Denver

Thursday's tornado touched down in Highlands Ranch and traveled an estimated 6.2 miles. YouTube/Reed Timmer

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The Denver metro area got pummeled by severe weather again on Thursday, June 22 — with confirmed reports of a tornado touching down in Highlands Ranch, causing widespread damage.

Dashcam videos captured by local stormchasers showed a funnel forming near South Broadway, with meteorologist Reed Timmer spotting a "large cone" at around 3:25 p.m. as he was driving down C-470.

Photos posted on Twitter show fallen trees and damaged properties, with people's fences and yards being destroyed. It was not immediately clear whether any injuries had been reported.
One resident, Philip Klotzbach — who is a meteorologist at Colorado State University — took a time-lapse video from his Highlands Ranch home that showed the destructive weather event in action.

"Currently hanging out in the basement," Klotzbach tweeted.

According to the CSU weatherman, Denver has received a record-setting ten inches of rain over the past 42 days. "That's almost 1" more than any other 42-day period on record in Denver (records go back to 1872)," Klotzbach says. 

Supercell time lapse from our house in Highlands Ranch a few minutes ago. Large tornado on the ground just north of here. Currently hanging out in the basement pic.twitter.com/2Nm0O6VqHC

— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) June 22, 2023

Thursday's bad weather comes less than a day after a massive hailstorm wreaked havoc during a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, unleashing golf- and tennis-ball-sized projectiles onto thousands of attendees, many of whom were unable to seek shelter in time.

An estimated eighty to ninety people wound up being treated for injuries on Wednesday night, with at least seven of them being taken to area hospitals, according to West Metro Fire officials.

Photos posted on social media showed concert-goers with large welts and bruises on their heads and bodies. The storm also caused extensive property damage to people's vehicles.

Weather experts tell Westword that many early warning signs indicated the possibility of a severe hailstorm up to a day before Wednesday's concert, and that the entire scenario could've been avoided.

"This [concert] shouldn't have happened," says 9News meteorologist Chris Bianchi, a former Westword contributor. "Yesterday had all the hallmarks of a big hail day."

Bianchi described Thursday's tornado and weather events as being "extremely dangerous" and something people in the Mile High City don't see often. 

Not sure I’ll ever see a tornadic supercell over the heart of the Denver metro area again. Landspouts, sure.

But this was extremely rare.#9wx #COwx https://t.co/BMhK9qVr5D

— Chris Bianchi (@BianchiWeather) June 22, 2023

Tornado damage in Highlands Ranch, via Suzanne Wolf.#9wx #COwx pic.twitter.com/32QIcFvqFp

— Chris Bianchi (@BianchiWeather) June 22, 2023

Residents reported taking shelter in their basements and bathtubs, with many saying they feared for their lives.

Widespread flooding was also documented in the Highlands Ranch and Douglas County area, with meteorologists capturing a portion of it on video.

click to enlarge

Photos and video posted online show widespread flooding, fallen trees and damaged properties.

YouTube/Reed Timmer

"It was really scary here," said Julie Lucas on Twitter. "Our house was right under it."

The National Weather Service reports that the tornado traveled an estimated 6.3 miles. It's still working to assign it an EF rating.

"It was one of the wildest and scariest things I've been through," said another person on Twitter . 

click to enlarge

Residents reported taking shelter in their basements and bathtubs during the mayhem.

YouTube/Reed Timmer

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has not reported any immediate injuries and has asked residents to continue sheltering in place for the rest of the evening.

"Please note that we are not out of the woods yet, please remain indoors until things calm down," the sheriff's office tweeted.

Can you help us get a grasp on the storm damage throughout Douglas County? We're asking you to post your pictures here to help us evaluate the damage of the storm. A general area of the county (i.e. cross streets)that you're in would be helpful. #062223TornadoEvent pic.twitter.com/bZxCzeYiIB

— DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) June 22, 2023

Surveying damage with LT Murphy. Chesapeake Street and Chesapeake Lane: pic.twitter.com/LSMPz44c7w

— DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) June 22, 2023