CHEYENNE, WYOMING — A catastrophic hail and severe wind event is setting up today across Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska, with grapefruit-size hailstones measuring 3.5 inches in diameter or greater possible across the highest risk corridor. Yesterday’s storms already produced grapefruit-size hail near Amarillo, Texas, with veteran storm chaser Jordan Hall documenting devastating vehicle damage including shattered windshields and crushed roofs across the Texas Panhandle.
Today the threat shifts north to Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, where a TORCON 3 tornado risk accompanies the extreme hail danger. Widespread 75 mph winds are possible from Casper, Wyoming, all the way south to Lubbock, Texas.
Extreme Hail Corridor Targets Cheyenne Scottsbluff and Sterling
A very likely to near-certain damaging hail threat covers a focused zone from Douglas and Wheatland through Cheyenne, Kimball, Scottsbluff, Sterling, and Yuma, where hailstones 3.5 inches in diameter or greater are possible. A broader likely hail zone extends across the surrounding region, with damage potential similar to yesterday’s Texas Panhandle event where vehicles were devastated by the stones.
TORCON 3 Tornado Risk Centers on Cheyenne and Sterling Corridor
A TORCON 3 rating covers the Cheyenne, Sterling, Adena, Wray, and Limon corridor, with a TORCON 2 extending outward toward Wheatland, Scottsbluff, and Denver. The tornado risk adds a multi-hazard dimension to an already dangerous setup across northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming this afternoon.
75 MPH Winds Possible From Casper to Lubbock
Widespread damaging wind gusts reaching 75 mph are expected across a broad corridor stretching from Casper, Wyoming, through Cheyenne, Denver, Pueblo, Garden City, and down toward Amarillo and Lubbock. As storms eventually congeal into a squall line, destructive straight-line winds become increasingly likely across this entire zone.
Yesterday’s Texas Panhandle Damage a Preview of Today’s Threat
Photos from Tuesday’s storms near Amarillo show vehicles with completely shattered windshields and heavily damaged roofs from grapefruit-size hail, offering a stark preview of what today’s storms could deliver across the Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska corridor.
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