Nearly 100 People Injured by ‘Golf Ball-Sized’ Hail at Louis Tomlinson Concert

Louis Tomlinson performs onstage during the z100 All Access Lounge presented by Poland Spring Pre-Show at Pier 36 in N.Y.C., on Dec. 13, 2019. Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Nearly 100 people were injured Wednesday night when a massive hailstorm battered Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks amphitheater ahead of Louis Tomlinson’s show, according to authorities.

The West Metro Fire Rescue confirmed in a post on Twitter that seven people were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries in connection to the incident.

Apart from those who required hospitalization, up to 90 people were treated on the scene, the agency said. Injuries included cuts and broken bones, it added.

The National Weather Service in Boulder issued several warnings on social media Wednesday night regarding a “significant storm” that would contain “golf ball-sized hail or larger” near Red Rocks. The agency also noted that radar technology had indicated severe thunderstorms were expected to pass over the area, urging people to take cover.

In a series of posts on Twitter, organizers of the concert initially told fans that they were experiencing weather delays and advised people to seek shelter in their vehicles before they gave an “all clear” that brought people back to the world-famous venue. About an hour later, the organizers ultimately postponed the event to a later date due to another weather delay approaching the venue, telling ticket holders to go home and to stay tuned for more information.

Tomlinson, a musician who rose to fame as a member of the boy band “One Direction,” was scheduled to perform at the amphitheater. The singer posted on Twitter that he was “devastated” by what happened at the show and hoped everyone was alright.

“I’ll be back! Even though we didn’t play the show I felt all of your passion! Sending you all love!” he wrote.

Cataclysm of Hail

Several people who attended the concert posted videos of the hail storm on social media. In one clip, a person is seen squeezed into a bathroom stall to avoid the storm.

“Our view. We were so fortune [sic] to have been able to squeeze into the bathroom before it got too cramped,” the concertgoer wrote. “I can’t imagine what all you that were stuck outside must be feeling and how you’re hurting.”

Another attendee described the storm in the caption of a video as “the scariest night of my life.” In the footage, people are heard screaming and crying as they’re sent scrambling for cover.

“It started pelting people with hail at Red Rocks and my sister and I luckily found shelter under a sign. I am bleeding and have huge bumps on my head from the hail. Hoping everyone made it out safely,” she wrote.

Tornadoes Strike Southwest

The hail storm struck Colorado around the same time multiple tornadoes were reported across several states, including Texas, where at least four people died and significant damage was caused around the town of Matador.

According to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, nearly 300,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma were without power as of Thursday morning due to extreme weather.

The National Weather Service in Boulder, meanwhile, also issued weather warnings Wednesday night for the Denver area and portions of northern Colorado, which included threats of tornadoes.

AccuWeather’s Tony Laubach, a storm chaser, shared a stunning video of twin tornadoes forming in Washington County, Colorado. There have not been immediate reports of damage or power outages from the tornadoes in Colorado.

From NTD News