A destructive severe thunderstorm warning is active for parts of southeastern Colorado right now. The National Weather Service in Pueblo issued the warning at 10:56 PM MDT for northeastern Otero County, southwestern Kiowa County, southeastern Crowley County, and northwestern Bent County, and it runs until 11:45 PM MDT. The storm carries 70 mph wind gusts and ping pong ball size hail (1.50 inches) with a CONSIDERABLE damage threat tag — the exact combination that produces roofing, siding, and window claims for restoration and roofing teams. This is a live snapshot as of 10:05 PM PDT on September 20, 2026. Conditions change fast — always verify with the National Weather Service for your specific county or ZIP code.
Southeastern Colorado — Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Issuing office: National Weather Service in Pueblo, CO. Issued: 10:56 PM MDT, September 20, 2026. Expires: 11:45 PM MDT. Severity: Severe. Certainty: Observed. Urgency: Immediate. VTEC: /O.NEW.KPUB.SV.W.0362.260921T0456Z-260921T0545Z/.
The warning covers:
- Northeastern Otero County in southeastern Colorado
- Southwestern Kiowa County in southeastern Colorado
- Southeastern Crowley County in southeastern Colorado
- Northwestern Bent County in southeastern Colorado
Hazard detail, verbatim from the alert: At 10:55 PM MDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Ordway, or 23 miles northwest of La Junta, moving southeast at 25 mph. HAZARD: 70 mph wind gusts and ping pong ball size hail. SOURCE: Radar indicated.
Impact, verbatim: People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.
Locations impacted include: Rocky Ford, Ordway, Swink, Sugar City, Cheraw, and Crowley.
Official instructions: For your protection, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
Track this warning live at the NWS Pueblo office page and the alert source at weather.gov.
Stay safe tonight
Severe thunderstorms with destructive hail are a shelter-first hazard. If you are in the warned counties:
- Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, away from windows. The NWS instruction is explicit — do not shelter under trees or in mobile homes.
- Keep people and animals indoors until the warning expires. Hail at ping pong ball size can injure anyone caught outdoors.
- If you are driving when hail starts, pull safely off the road and into a covered area if one is immediately available — do not stop under overpasses, which blocks lanes and creates a hazard for other drivers.
- Bring patio furniture, grills, and anything loose inside or secure it — 70 mph gusts turn yard items into projectiles that break windows and siding.
- After the storm passes, stay clear of downed power lines and report them to the utility, not 911. Watch for broken tree limbs that can fall later in the night.
- When it is safe, photograph hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles before any cleanup — date-stamped photos are what insurance carriers and restoration contractors need first. Do not climb on a damaged roof at night.
What this means for restoration teams
This is a signature destructive-hail setup for southeastern Colorado, and it is the call pattern roofers and restorers in the Arkansas Valley know well: 70 mph gusts plus 1.50-inch hail against a CONSIDERABLE damage threat. The NWS itself states the expected outcome plainly — hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles, considerable tree damage, and likely wind damage to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.
Translate that into the job categories that will start ringing overnight and through tomorrow:
- Roofing claims: bruised and fractured asphalt shingles from ping pong ball hail, lifted or torn shingles from 70 mph gusts, and damaged ridge caps. Expect homeowner calls about visible dimpling, granule piles at downspouts, and leak spots showing up with the next rain.
- Siding and window damage: cracked vinyl siding, shattered or pitted windows, and damaged screens — the cosmetic damage that drives insurance volume even when roofs hold.
- Vehicle and outbuilding damage: dented vehicles and damaged sheds, barns, and carports — 70 mph winds work over anything not anchored.
- Tree damage with interior follow-on: considerable tree damage means broken limbs on roofs and fences, which opens the water-intrusion path if rain follows.
The play for local contractors: stage now, not tomorrow. Keep an on-call rotation through the morning because hail calls do not wait for business hours — homeowners find the damage at first light and the first contractor to answer owns the job. Capture the address, the storm direction and time, the hail size the homeowner observed, and affected materials on the first call. Field discipline: photo-document everything before any temporary mitigation, tarp compromised roofs the same day to stop the second wave of water damage, and keep the homeowner’s payment responsibility clear in writing before work starts.
FEMA & federal assistance
If this storm produces damage that overwhelms local capacity, the standard federal pathway is: FEMA Helpline 1-800-621-3362 (7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, 7 days a week), DisasterAssistance.gov, the FEMA mobile app, and fema.gov/drc to locate disaster recovery centers. Basic eligibility: U.S. citizenship or qualified status, identity verification, proof of occupancy or ownership of the damaged home, and unmet needs not covered by insurance. Apply as soon as it is safe to do so. County emergency management may also stand up local damage assessment hotlines after the storm clears.
Looking ahead
This warning expires at 11:45 PM MDT. When it does, the immediate sheltering requirement lifts, but the work does not end there. Overnight, watch for additional rounds — the same environment that produced this storm can fire more cells along the same boundary, so keep an eye on the NWS Pueblo page for new warnings. Rivers and creeks are not the concern with this hazard; wind and hail are, and the damage they caused will be discovered in stages over the next several days.
For contractors, the demand window opens tonight and runs for weeks: emergency tarping and board-up calls come first, then roof inspection and insurance-scoping visits as homeowners file claims, then the full repair and replacement cycle. Water-intrusion callbacks follow any secondary rain, because hail-compromised roofs fail on the next storm, not this one. If you serve Otero, Kiowa, Crowley, or Bent counties, tomorrow morning’s drive-through of Ordway, Rocky Ford, Swink, Sugar City, Cheraw, and Crowley is the move — that is where the storm tracked.
Sources & how to verify
Sources: the NWS Pueblo severe thunderstorm warning (issued 10:56 PM MDT, September 20, 2026, AWIPS SVRPUB, WMO WUUS55 KPUB 210456), the NWS Pueblo office page, and weather.gov. To verify for your own county or ZIP code, enter your ZIP at weather.gov or open your local NWS office page — warnings update in real time and expire without notice.
This post is for informational purposes and is not an official weather warning. Always follow instructions from local authorities and the National Weather Service.
