Storm wreaks havoc at family’s home in Elbert County

ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A violent and fast-moving storm heavily damaged property at a home in Elbert County on Tuesday afternoon.

The wind and rain was so intense that it washed out roadways and downed trees . On Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service was investigating to see if a tornado may have touched down.

Cell phone video showed sheets of rain, strong wind and a Colorado flag fighting to stay upright as the storm moved through the area 6 miles north of Elizabeth. The weather was so bad that Jimmy Almquist put his kids in the basement, thinking it would just get worse.

“It was just a wall of water that came in for about 45 minutes to an hour. It was just constantly blowing about 60 to 80 miles an hour,” Almquist said.

When the weather cleared, Almquist checked on his parents’ home.

An outbuilding had been blown to pieces. Debris was scattered in fields.

‘Can’t replace all the trees for another 40 years’

Jimmy’s parents, Norm and Linda Almquist, were out of town and saw the damage for the first time on Wednesday afternoon. The family’s prized trees, planted four decades ago, were heavily damaged too.

“The building can be replaced, but can’t replace all the trees for another 40 years,” Linda Almquist said.

The Almquists’ home was not hit in what neighbors described as a vicious storm.

A neighbor “said they were standing in front of the window watching the storm and all of a sudden it turned pure white, and you couldn’t see 6 inches out the window,” Norm Almquist said.

The National Weather Service is trying to figure out what kind of storm moved through the area.

“We’ll have to reassess what kind of damage that pattern occurred and decide if it was straight lime winds or tornadic winds,” NWS Boulder Meteorologist Gregg Heavener said.

Some roads were also washed out and were being repaired on Wednesday.

The Elizabeth Fire Department said it was glad to report no one was hurt during the storm that moved through the county.

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