DENVER -- A tornado touched down in South Park, Colo., Tuesday afternoon as a band of thunderstorms quickly moved across the state.

The tornado touched down at 1:20 p.m., near 11 Mile State Park. South Park is at 9,500 feet and it is rare to have a tornado hit at such a high elevation. However, it's just a testament to how strange this summer has been. No injuries were reported.

There was only minor damage at the state park, park rangers said.

The Lake George Fire District responded to a small fire on County Road 77. Initial reports from Park County sheriff’s deputies indicated trees had been knocked down, a small number of vehicles had been damaged and some homes were damaged as a result of the storm.

Thunderstorms moved east over the metro area, briefly producing heavy rain and pea- to marble-sized hail that covered the ground up to 3 inches deep in some spots.

Temperatures warmed into the upper 70s before cooling off with the passing storms. Afternoon highs were about 10 to 12 degrees cooler than average.

All of this moisture is welcome. So far we are at nearly 15 inches of precipitation, when on average, we're at 10 inches during this time of the year.

Wednesday will be quieter, with storms coming later in the day, but not bringing much moisture. Wednesday should be a nice day with a high of 85 degrees and a slight chance of storms.

However, it will be a brief warm up, though, because another cold front will swing through late Wednesday night. We may see some more thunderstorms late Wednesday night as the next cold front moves into the area from the north.

Thursday will be another preview of September, with highs in the 70s under sunny, but hazy skies. The haze will be due to all of the smoke from forest fires way up in western Canada. While we have missed the brunt of the fire season, the folks to our west and northwest have had a rough season. When these fronts come in from Canada, we get some of that smoky haze.

If you're not ready for fall, don't worry, summer is still in full swing and Denver will see more near 90-degree weather for the coming weekend. Of course, with the warmer and drier weather this weekend, our fire danger will increase as well.

Monday's Storms Hit At Night

Monday's storms turned strong across the eastern plains and continued to produce heavy rain and hail after sunset. Large hail was reported in many locations and one tornado was reportedly on the ground for 6 minutes near Kutch, Colo. There are no reports of damage or injuries from that tornado.

Here is a look at some of the most recent rainfall totals:

2.47 inches - NE Parker

1.74 inches - Franktown

1.53 inches - Strasburg

.72 inches - Littleton

.69 inches - Castle Rock

.64 inches - Pueblo