There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
The Weather Service says the tornado that damaged Southlands Mall touched down south of Buckley Air Force Base at 1:49 p.m. and may have been on the ground for about 30 minutes, going on an 8- to 10-mile path across southeast Aurora.
Xcel Energy was working with firefighters and the mall to shut down natural gas service there after reports of gas leaks.
Julie Patterson, 36, could see the tornado from the back deck of her house in Aurora. "You could see the debris flying in the funnel cloud," she said.
The other tornadoes were reported 6 miles east of Lafayette; one south of Bennett; one south of Deer Trail; and one north of
Many spots in the Denver area also were pelted with hail, some as big as baseballs. The National Weather Service received reports of hail as big as 3 inches in Arapahoe County, meteorologist Robert Koopmeiners said.
Xcel Energy said the storm blew down power lines, leaving about 3,000 customers in parts of Aurora and Centennial without power for about an hour and 40 minutes before service was restored.
