NE Colorado tornado watch classified as 'potentially dangerous situation' into early Thursday

DENVER – The National Weather Service in Boulder issued a tornado watch for Wednesday afternoon into early Thursday classified as a “potentially dangerous situation” – just the 11^th time since 1993 a tornado watch has been classified as such in the state.

The tornado watch is in effect until 1 a.m. for the following Colorado counties: Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma counties. There are also several counties in Kansas and Nebraska under the watch.

The NWS said the storms will move northeast across northeastern Colorado through the afternoon and into the evening, carrying large hail, damaging winds and “some strong tornadoes” with the stronger storms.

At least one tornado was confirmed in Nebraska on Wednesday afternoon northeast of Max, Nebraska, which was also carrying hail two inches in diameter.

A severe thunderstorm warning which was in effect for northwestern Logan County had expired by 5 p.m., but the NWS said gusting winds and heavy rain were still possible with the storm.

Tornado watches considered “particularly dangerous situations” are rare in Colorado, the NWS said. The last tornado watch that carried that categorization was issued in June 2017. The previous one before that was issued in May 2008. Altogether, this is just the 11th so-called PDS tornado watch issued in Colorado since 1993, the NWS said.

The NWS said Monday that 16 tornadoes were confirmed in Colorado over the weekend, but only two of them were rated EF-1; the rest were rated as EF-0 or EF-UNK because they touched down in open fields and caused no damage.

For more information on the current and latest weather conditions and forecasts, click here for more from the Denver7 meteorologists. Coloradans can always stay updated with the latest forecasts and conditions by watching the 24/7 weather stream on the free Denver7+ app and on our website.