A powder keg of severe weather occurred over the northeast plains of Colorado.  The environment became strongly sheared in the vicinity of an intense surface low pressure system allowing for the formation of over two dozen tornadoes.  In addition to the tornadoes, large hail. strong thunderstorm winds and heavy rain accompanied the storms.  Rainfall amounts generally ranged from 1 to 2 inches, with some minor flooding occuring in parts of Morgan County.   Considering the high volume of tornadoes reported, many touching down at or near the same time, the damage was relatively minimal.

Hail in DOUGLAS, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 09:57:00 to 17-MAY-00 09:57:00 (MST)
Location: LARKSPUR
Magnitude: 0.75 
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Hail in LARIMER, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 10:00:00 to 17-MAY-00 10:00:00 (MST)
Location: LIVERMORE
Magnitude: 0.75 
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 11:52:00 to 17-MAY-00 11:52:00 (MST)
Location: PLATNER
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 11:54:00 to 17-MAY-00 11:54:00 (MST)
Location: PLATNER
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 11:58:00 to 17-MAY-00 11:58:00 (MST)
Location: AKRON
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 11:43:00 to 17-MAY-00 11:43:00 (MST)
Location: PIERCE
Magnitude: 51 M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 12:06:00 to 17-MAY-00 12:06:00 (MST)
Location: PLATNER
Tornado F-scale: F1
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

A tornado touched down and destroyed an abandoned farm house as well as a few of the smaller surrounding buildings.

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 12:25:00 to 17-MAY-00 12:25:00 (MST)
Location: PLATNER
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 12:35:00 to 17-MAY-00 12:35:00 (MST)
Location: ROGGEN
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 12:47:00 to 17-MAY-00 12:47:00 (MST)
Location: BRIGGSDALE
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:30:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:30:00 (MST)
Location: STERLING
Tornado F-scale: F1
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

A tornado touched down and destroyed a barn.

Hail in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 12:55:00 to 17-MAY-00 12:55:00 (MST)
Location: NEW RAYMER
Magnitude: 1.75 
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in PHILLIPS, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:43:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:43:00 (MST)
Location: HOLYOKE
Magnitude: 60 M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Hail in ARAPAHOE, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 08:26:00 to 17-MAY-00 08:26:00 (MST)
Location: LITTLETON
Magnitude: 1.00 
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 12:47:00 to 17-MAY-00 12:47:00 (MST)
Location: BRIGGSDALE
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 12:55:00 to 17-MAY-00 12:55:00 (MST)
Location: NEW RAYMER
Tornado F-scale: F1
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

A small tornado touched down and damaged a farm.  The extent of the damage is unknown.

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:00:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:00:00 (MST)
Location: PLATNER
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Hail in LARIMER, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 08:25:00 to 17-MAY-00 08:25:00 (MST)
Location: BELLVUE
Magnitude: 0.75 
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:45:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:45:00 (MST)
Location: AKRON
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:47:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:47:00 (MST)
Location: DAILEY
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 15:00:00 to 17-MAY-00 15:00:00 (MST)
Location: FLEMING
Tornado F-scale: F1
Property damage: 10K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

A small tornado touched down, damaging some weather equipment and several nearby structures.

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 15:08:00 to 17-MAY-00 15:08:00 (MST)
Location: DAILEY
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 11:40:00 to 17-MAY-00 11:40:00 (MST)
Location: AKRON
Tornado F-scale: F1
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

A tornado touched down and damaged an oil storage tank, approximately 20 feet in diameter, some grain bins, and the roof of a barn.

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:15:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:15:00 (MST)
Location: PLATNER
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in MORGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:35:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:35:00 (MST)
Location: FT MORGAN
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in MORGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:42:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:42:00 (MST)
Location: FT MORGAN
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in MORGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:20:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:35:00 (MST)
Location: FT MORGAN
Magnitude: 61 E
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Strong thunderstorm winds blew the windows out of a house and damaged a nearby barn.

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:40:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:40:00 (MST)
Location: DAILEY
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in PHILLIPS, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:15:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:15:00 (MST)
Location: HOLYOKE
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Lightning in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:00:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:00:00 (MST)
Location: WINDSOR
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Lightning ignited a fire on the roof of a residence.  The fire burned a 10-foot by 10-foot hole in the roof and was confined to the roof and rafters.

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:35:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:35:00 (MST)
Location: FLEMING
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:08:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:08:00 (MST)
Location: FLEMING
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in MORGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:47:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:47:00 (MST)
Location: FT MORGAN
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in WASHINGTON, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:47:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:47:00 (MST)
Location: AKRON
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Lightning in WELD, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:45:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:45:00 (MST)
Location: GREELEY
Property damage: 28K
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Lightning ignited a fire in the attic of a mobile home in Greeley.  The damage to the home was contained mainly to the attic, but there was some minor smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the residence.

Lightning in LARIMER, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 13:50:00 to 17-MAY-00 13:50:00 (MST)
Location: FT COLLINS
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Lightning blew apart a large ash tree at the Colorado State University campus.  The bolt left a 3-ft crater and splintered the tree into thousands of pieces.  Debris from the blast broke the windows of a nearby building, damaging the inside.

Tornado in LOGAN, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:03:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:03:00 (MST)
Location: FLEMING
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Tornado in PHILLIPS, COLORADO
From 17-MAY-00 14:05:00 to 17-MAY-00 14:05:00 (MST)
Location: HAXTUN
Tornado F-scale: F0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER