A motorist heads to his vehicle under the cover of an umbrella as a spring storm packing high winds, heavy rains and hail sweeps over Colorado’s Front Range just before the afternoon rush hour starts Monday, May 8, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Hail collects at the base of the windshield of a vehicle as a spring storm, packing high winds, heavy rains and hail, sweeps over Colorado’s Front Range just before the afternoon rush hour starts Monday, May 8, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
A pickup truck hits a puddle along Speer Boulevard as a spring storm, packing high winds, heavy rains and hail, sweeps over Colorado’s Front Range just before the afternoon rush hour starts Monday, May 8, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Leaves, stripped by a hailstorm, blanket a Honda Accord as a spring storm, packing high winds, heavy rains and hail, sweeps over Colorado’s Front Range just before the afternoon rush hour starts Monday, May 8, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
A lone schoolboy is pelted by hail as a spring storm, packing high winds, heavy rains and hail, sweeps over Colorado’s Front Range just before the afternoon rush hour starts Monday, May 8, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
A motorist guides his car through a puddle along Speer Boulevard as a spring storm, packing high winds, heavy rains and hail, sweeps over Colorado’s Front Range just before the afternoon rush hour Monday, May 8, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Aurora Fire Rescue workers remove a fallen tree that brought down a power line in Aurora. Storms moved through Monday knocking trees & power lines down- Treat all power lines as dangerous, officials said. 
Aurora Fire Rescue workers remove a fallen tree that brought down a power line in Aurora. Storms moved through Monday knocking trees & power lines down- Treat all power lines as dangerous, officials said. 
National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin says baseball-sized hail fell in the western Denver suburbs of Wheat Ridge and Golden. Car windshields across the area were smashed by the hail 
National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin says baseball-sized hail fell in the western Denver suburbs of Wheat Ridge and Golden. Car windshields across the area were smashed by the hail 
National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin says baseball-sized hail fell in the western Denver suburbs of Wheat Ridge and Golden. Car windshields across the area were smashed by the hail
DENVER | A large shopping mall in Lakewood was evacuated after it was damaged by a strong spring storm that dropped heavy hail throughout the metro Denver area.
Lakewood police say the Colorado Mills Mall sustained substantial damage Monday afternoon. The building is structurally sound, but shoppers were forced to leave because of heavy flooding inside. No injuries were reported at the mall.
In Aurora, scattered street flooding was reported and Aurora firefighters were called to areas where power-lines were downed by damaged trees. Firefighters issued warnings to residents to not drive into flooded streets or parking lots, pointing out that half of all drowning deaths occur in cars in such situations.
The storm moved quickly through downtown Denver, creating rivers of hail and a layer of ice on Coors Field ahead of a Colorado Rockies baseball game.
National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin says baseball-sized hail fell in the western Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge. He says “you gotta assume there’s gonna be a lot” of damage from the storm, which then moved north of Denver. Car windshields across the area were smashed by the hail.