Colorado’s costliest tornado remembered 15 years later

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — During the late morning hours on May 22, 2008, a very large tornado caused major and extensive damage from Gilcrest to Windsor, CO.

This EF3 tornado carved a near 25 mile path and was up to one mile wide at times. One person was killed with 78 others injured. Life-threatening hail up to baseball sized also accompanied the tornado.

This tornado was very unusual for Colorado as a whole in several different ways. First, the direction this took was abnormal as tornadoes typically move from southwest to northeast. There was a more north-northwestward component of motion as this event took place.

Another rare aspect of the Windsor tornado was its enormous width that Colorado doesn’t generally see. In fact, this is still the widest tornado to ever occur in Colorado. This also has the second longest damage path of any tornado in state history.

Here are some of the other quick facts about the Windsor tornado:

It also became the first deadly and EF3 tornado in Colorado since Mar 28, 2007. Many people were bewildered at the sight of this tornado when they came face-to-face with it.

Additional info on damage and costs can be found here: https://www.weather.gov/bou/TornadoMay22nd2008#:~:text=The%20tornado%20overturned%2015%20railroad,the%20tornado%20or%20destroyed%20later.