Squall disrupts daily routines around Springs

A powerful summer rainstorm ripped huge chunks of roofing material off the El Paso County courthouse in downtown Colorado Springs on Friday afternoon, and lightning knocked out power to an estimated 1,300 houses.

El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark said one minor injury was suffered by a worker at an asbestos abatement project in the courthouse.

Part of the roof ripped off the west end of the south wing of the courthouse. That structure's fifth floor was evacuated, but other functions at the courthouse continued normally.

"It was like a rumble. It almost sounded like thunder," said Sheena Peterson, a worker at the first-floor information desk. "The whole building shook. And then somebody said ‘Go outside. The roof is on the ground in the courtyard.'"

The building complex has an interior courtyard typically used by people taking cigarette breaks. A pile of roofing material was in the courtyard and had collected puddles in the rain.

By late afternoon, the rain had stopped and skies cleared over downtown Colorado Springs.

Water flooded a fifth-floor courtroom on the south side of the county building, said Lt. Lari Sevene, spokeswoman for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Inmates were moved to holding cells, Sevene said.

The lightning and wind wiped out electrical power to customers in the 80903 and 80905 ZIP codes, said Colorado Springs Utilities spokesman Steve Berry.

Power was restored to most areas about 7 p.m. Crews worked through the evening to remove fallen trees and branches from power lines.

Clark said the storm caused damage to three courtrooms, a judge's chamber and a portion of the roof.

The National Weather Service in Pueblo said the storm was not severe, but Colorado Springs police reported several tree limbs snapped downtown.

National Weather Service forecasters said there was a good chance of more storms Friday night, when a cold front was moving across El Paso County.

Today, there is a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of thunderstorms late in the afternoon in the Pikes Peak Region, according to the National Weather Service.

Police in northern neighborhoods attributed two three-car crashes to the heavy rain, one on Interstate 25 and another on Academy Boulevard just north of Woodmen Road. No one was hurt, police said.

People scrambled inside the Pioneers Museum as the violent winds picked up, kicking up clouds of dust and causing the trees to thrash.

"We just saw the wind blowing like crazy in a circular motion. It looked like a tornado or something," said John Craddock, a museum security guard.

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Gazette reporters John Ensslin, Lance Benzel and Perry Swanson contributed to this report.

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