A tornado touched down at Elevenmile Reservoir in Park County on Saturday, injuring five campers as it tore through several campsites and
toppled vehicles, some of them occupied, Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said.
The storm that formed as a funnel cloud high over head hit the state park
with little warning about 2:15 p.m., authorities said. Boats and vehicles on
the south end of the state park were overturned, including an RV and a pickup
with a woman inside. Tents and other camping equipment were flung through the
air.
Yet injuries were limited to "bumps and bruises," and the storm missed the
more heavily populated section in the north end of the park, Wegener said. The
state park has about 300 campsites, and Wegener estimated the park was 80
percent filled.
"If you believe in a higher power, you should definitely thank him because
it could have been a lot worse," he said.
The storm prompted a tornado watch for northwest El Paso County
that expired at 4 p.m. Saturday. No other tornadoes were spotted, although
1-inch hail fell northwest of Woodland
Park as the storm swept across Teller County
and through northwestern El Paso County, said Randy Gray, a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service in Pueblo.
A strong thunderstorm showered heavy rain northeast of Woodland Park
and southeast of Elbert, Gray said.
A severe weather warning in effect for portions of El Paso County
expired at 4:15 p.m.
There is a 30 percent chance for more thunderstorms tonight in the Colorado Springs area
today.
At Elevemile Reservoir, workers at the park scrambled to warn campers after
sighting the tornado, Wegener said, directing them to take shelter in the
park's restrooms.
"There was no prewarning. In fact, they got a call afterward saying that
you might get some severe weather, but nothing beforehand," Wegener said.
Heavy rain and pea-size hail accompanied the tornado.