22 June 2023
Yuma to Limon, CO
We met up at 9:30 for our briefing before heading back to Otis for breakfast at Mama’s Café. It was nice that they had opened for us the evening before and this was a way to really say thanks. They even had a long table ready for us.
After breakfast, we headed towards Denver as storms were initiating just west of the city.
We went south to the suburb of Parker and found a field with a great view to the west.
And some mammatus behind us.
The photo tour and several others had found the same field. Early on, it looked like a tornado in the hail core.
It was later confirmed as an F1.
It was a first for me – watching a supercell pass over a large city. We stayed at least a half hour and then booted it back to the I-70 in order to get ahead of the storm south of Limon.
We found a hill near Peyton to watch the system approach.
It was spitting out lightning and some booming thunder.
When it got too close, we headed towards the town to find a spot to ride out the 3” hail. We found a school and pulled the vans up against two outbuildings, but by the time the hail arrived, it was only 1”.
Still hurts when it hits you in the head.
We went towards Calhan to watch a second system, but with the rain, Bill decided to head to Limon for a sit down dinner.
Then a tornado warning was issued right behind us and we did a 180.
We drove back towards Calhan and it looked like there was a huge tornado over the next hill. We watched ahead in anticipation but as we cleared the hill, it was just a huge low hanging cloud.
I could feel the van deflate.
We watched it until the rain chased us away and then found a dry spot to watch the cloud to cloud lightning.
It made for a nice time-lapse.
We spent the night at the Quality Inn in Limon.
Bill Reid’s entry for 22 June.
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