Denver and 11 other Colorado counties were under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Monday as thunderstorms, hail and strong winds moved across the metro area and into the plains. At Denver International Airport, a ground delay was in effect through Monday evening after the FAA first imposed a ground stop and then shifted to delays around 5:30 p.m.
The warning kept travelers searching for the difference between tornado watch vs warning while the airport counted 897 delayed flights and six cancellations. The average delay at DIA was about 76 minutes, with more than half of the delayed flights originating in Denver and 426 of them bound for the city.
The National Weather Service said severe thunderstorms could bring hail as large as 3.5 inches across the metro area, up to Fort Collins and east across the plains, with high winds and tornadoes also possible. By early evening, most of the storm had moved into the eastern part of the state, but the disruption had already rippled through one of the busiest travel hubs in Colorado.
The ground delay was scheduled to last until 8:59 p.m., just ahead of the tornado watch's 9 p.m. expiration. That leaves the key question for travelers tonight not whether the storm had passed, but whether the airport could recover before the next bank of flights was due.
