- Large hailstones injured at least eight people at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
- The zoo said two animals, a vulture and a duck, were killed by the hail.
- Other areas near Colorado Springs reported softball-sized hail.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will be closed Tuesday after at least eight people were injured and two animals were killed in a hailstorm Monday afternoon.
The hailstorm lasted about 15 minutes, Jenny Koch, marketing director of the zoo, told the Denver Post.
“It was hail the size I’ve never seen before,” she said. “Basically chunks of ice.”
The individuals were taken to hospitals, Colorado Springs Police said.
Officials were not allowing visitors to drive their cars from the zoo because many had smashed windshields from the hail. The zoo said that about 400 guest cars were severely damaged.
All 3,400 guests were evacuated from the zoo. The zoo also said Daisy, a 4-year-old muscovy duck, and a 13-year-old cape vulture, Motswari, were killed during the storm.
Parts of El Paso County, where Colorado Springs is located, were hammered with hail Monday afternoon. Softball-sized hail was seen about three miles south of Colorado Springs.
A separate storm dumped up to softball-sized stones for 180 miles across western Nebraska on Wednesday afternoon.
