Status: ACTIVE — live snapshot as of 2:47 PM PDT (3:47 PM MDT), Sunday, September 20, 2026. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning carrying a considerable damage threat and observed tennis-ball-size hail is in effect for northwestern Cheyenne County and southwestern Kit Carson County, Colorado until 4:45 PM MDT. This post is for informational purposes and is not an official weather warning — always follow instructions from local authorities and the National Weather Service.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning: Cheyenne & Kit Carson Counties — issued by NWS Goodland
The National Weather Service in Goodland issued this warning at 3:45 PM MDT, and it is valid until 4:45 PM MDT.
- Area: Northwestern Cheyenne County and southwestern Kit Carson County in east central Colorado.
- Storm location: At 3:45 PM MDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 7 miles north of Boyero, or 19 miles southwest of Flagler, moving southeast at 20 mph.
- Hazard: Tennis ball size hail and 60 mph wind gusts.
- Source: Radar indicated (hail observed).
- Damage threat: Considerable (per NWS parameters).
- Impact: People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
- Locations in the storm’s path include: Wild Horse and Aroya.
- Coverage note: The storm will remain over mainly rural areas of northwestern Cheyenne and southwestern Kit Carson Counties.
NWS instruction: “For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.”
Alert source: NWS alert record. Issuing office: NWS Goodland.
Stay safe through the hail
Tennis-ball-size hail — about 2.5 inches — is the heavy end of the scale. It breaks windows, dents vehicles deeply, and can seriously injure anyone caught outdoors. If you are in the warned area:
- Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building, now.
- Stay away from windows and skylights — large hail can shatter them and drive glass inward.
- Bring pets indoors; move vehicles under cover only if you can do so quickly and safely.
- After the storm, photograph any hail damage to your roof, siding, windows, or vehicles before cleanup — documentation matters for insurance.
- Rural roads in the warned area may carry storm debris or accumulated hail — drive cautiously or stay put until the cell passes.
What this means for restoration teams
Observed 2.5-inch hail with a considerable damage threat in rural east central Colorado is the classic high-severity restoration event: the NWS explicitly expects hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles, plus wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. Rural corridors like the ones around Wild Horse, Aroya, and Boyero tend to have older roofing stock and more outbuildings — both take hail harder, and both get inspected later, so damage discovered days out still needs a paper trail.
The play:
- Stage tarping and board-up assets now — broken windows and skylights on farmsteads and rural homes are the highest-urgency first response.
- Plan inspection coverage for the Wild Horse–Aroya corridor and surrounding farm country. Rural hail work is route-heavy; batch inspections by road to keep crews efficient.
- Keep an on-call rotation through the evening. The first calls will be window and vehicle damage; roof reports follow as homeowners get on ladders.
- Capture on the first call: address, hail size witnessed, any broken windows or skylights, water entry, and outbuilding damage.
- Field discipline: photo-document before mitigation, note impact marks on every elevation and roofing plane, and keep the homeowner’s payment responsibility clear in writing before work starts.
- Wind + hail combo: 60 mph gusts compound the damage — check ridge caps, gutters, and tree limbs on roofs that took hail. Wind-driven rain through compromised envelopes starts mold risk within 24–48 hours.
FEMA & federal assistance
FEMA Helpline 1-800-621-3362 (7 a.m.–10 p.m. local, 7 days). DisasterAssistance.gov, the FEMA app, and fema.gov/drc for recovery centers. Basic eligibility: citizenship or qualified status, identity verification, proof of occupancy or ownership, and unmet needs not covered by insurance. Apply as soon as it’s safe.
Looking ahead
This warning expires at 4:45 PM MDT. The storm is moving southeast at 20 mph through mainly rural areas — residents east of the current cell should watch the sky and keep a weather source open. NWS Goodland will issue updates or new warnings as the storm evolves.
Demand window note: hail inspection and emergency-repair calls typically start within an hour or two of the storm passing and keep coming for days as people spot damage. With observed tennis-ball hail, adjuster pipelines will be busy — contractors who document first and document well win the long tail of this event.
Sources & how to verify
- NWS alert: Severe Thunderstorm Warning, Cheyenne/Kit Carson Counties CO (issued 3:45 PM MDT, expires 4:45 PM MDT; read September 20, 2026).
- Issuing office: NWS Goodland (read September 20, 2026).
To verify for your own county or ZIP code: visit weather.gov and enter your location, or go straight to the NWS Goodland page for the latest warnings.
This post is for informational purposes and is not an official weather warning. Always follow instructions from local authorities and the National Weather Service.
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