The One That
Started It All
Mr Twister recalls his
first experience with
weather
Tornado outbreak Denver/Thornton
CO June 3rd 1981.
On June 3rd of 1981 I was four years old, and I remember it like it was yesterday. My family and I were at my grandmothers house in Denver CO, and I was doing what ever a four year old does. It was a beautiful Colorado day. Warm and perfect for hanging out in my grandmothers backyard. My, how that would change.
No, this was not Mr Twister's first tornado siting. My mother grabbed me like a football, and ran to the cellar like a fullback. This was no easy task, as my grandmother's cellar was very small and there was seven of us. It was dark, it was loud and it was over quick. We emerged shaken, but we were ok. I did not see a tornado...I don't even think I saw a nasty cloud, but this started my fascination with weather.
How could such a wonderful summer day turn so dangerous, so quick?
How could a blue sky turn green?
Photo courtesy of Thornton Archives
This period was very volatile for Denver weather, as the following year, the Christmas blizzard of 1982 would bury Denver. From that point on, I decided I wanted to follow weather. I would wait on my roof for storms to form near the foothills of Denver. I would create my own weather maps, and I would track cold fronts as they marched across the country. I would cut paper clippings of any event related to weather..creating my own weather log. To this day, I have an insatiable passion for weather, and now I have all this neat technology to share my adventures with you. Attached is a brilliant study of that infamous day in Denver weather.
Denver Tornado's of 1981