Cripple Creek takes the brunt of Friday storm

CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo. (KRDO) -- Cripple Creek had damaging hail, serious flooding, and even a tornado warning Friday night. Both residents and first responders were kept busy by the severe weather.

The ground in the small mountain casino town looked like it was covered with a fresh layer of snow, completely white, from all the hail.

Jason Taylor has lived in Cripple Creek for four years now, but is from Denver, and he said he had never seen anything as severe as Friday's storm.

"We had no chance to even get out there and put anything on our cars," Taylor said about his broken windshields on his two cars.

Taylor also described his neighbors being pelted in the head by serious hail as they ran outside to try and protect their own property. The Cripple Creek resident said he saw welts on his neighbors heads from the impact.

Cripple Creek police said Friday night they are still busy responding to calls and assessing the damage.

Friday night in Cripple Creek is just one example of the extreme weather Southern Colorado has seen recently. The National Weather Service said we've already had more thunderstorms and tornado warnings this year than we have since 2018.