News

Travelers in Denver snap photos of runway tornado

Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 11:04 PM - Travelers waiting in the terminal at Denver International airport looked on in awe as a tornado briefly touched down, causing airport officials to rush people into underground shelters while others were forced to ride out the storm sitting on the runway. There were no reports of injuries, but it is suspected the storm may have damaged the device used to record data.

Tornado at Denver airport taken by @Brister pic.twitter.com/vGpXXIPB8b

— Laurie Edwards-Ryer (@LaurieEdwards1) June 18, 2013

One traveler quick to react was Jen Milazzo, who pointed out that her 1,500 tweet would be her most memorable and granted permission to any media to use the image, snapped the picture below shortly after arriving at the airport. Other would-be travelers en route to Denver International also tweeted photos of the wild weather.

This is scary and yet totally amazing to see! #denver #tornadowarning pic.twitter.com/xQfod3JzST

— Jen Milazzo (@jmilazz) June 18, 2013

The tornado was quick to pass and no damage or injuries were reported. As of Tuesday evening it stands as a EF-1 tornado, but may have been even stronger and as mentioned above, may have damaged the device used to record data. Winds were recorded at 84 knots, or over 155 km/h and left the entire region under a sever thunderstorm watch. The May tornado which devastated Moore, Okla., was an EF-5, the top of the tornado damage scale.

Gust 84 kts recorded by #DIA ASOS as tornado moved over the equipment. We don't know what peak was as equipment went out! #COwx

— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) June 18, 2013

A local news station showed video from the area and also from the scene inside the terminal as people were ushered to safety.