Rain of biblical proportions?

A tornado touched down between Castle Pines North and Parker east of I-25 and west of Crowfoot Valley Road near Hess Reservoir Sunday afternoon August 24, 2008.



At least four tornadoes touched down Sunday afternoon southeast of Denver between the towns of Castle Rock and Parker, but somehow managed to twist dangerously by new housing developments.

The thunderstorms also unleashed a sudden deluge of rain and hail on several subdivisions.

"It was like it snowed during and after the tornado," said Stephen Klein, 15, who lives in the Sapphire Pointe subdivision with his family about a mile-and-a-half southeast of where the tornado touched down. Klein, his mother and two brothers headed to the basement after a neighbor alerted them of the twister.

The storm also triggered a spectacular lightning show around Douglas and Elbert counties.

Clouds and dark skies lingered throught the evening.

Jim and Paulette Vigil were driving through Parker and heading to Franktown with their two sons when they spotted the tornado west of town. The Vigils pulled over at South Parker and East Hilltop roads to take videos of the twister.

"It was a strand, and then it just widened and broadened at the bottom," Paulette Vigil said.

"It seemed like it was hitting right on top of a house, but it may have come to the south of the house. It was incredible to see," her husband added. Jim Vigil has lived in Colorado all his life and it was the first tornado he had seen in person.

Several sightings of the dusty twisters were reported, but there were no reports of damage or injuries except for downed trees.

There were additional reports of funnel clouds near Larkspur and west of Sedalia, said Douglas County sheriff's spokeswoman Cocha Heyden. Deputies and firefighters were dispatched, but none reported any damage.

Because of the Democratic National Convention, the county had opened its emergency operations center as a precaution prior to the tornado sightings, Heyden said.

(Well, well, we will have to see what the rest of the week has in store. VN8)