Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 14, 1986Washington County, Yuma County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 14, 1986, 8:05 PM MDT for Washington County, Yuma County, Colorado. It was in force for 35 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 14, 1986, 8:05 PM MDT (02:05 UTC)
Expired: May 14, 1986, 8:40 PM MDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Whole counties

Counties Washington County, CO, Yuma County, CO

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
May 14, 8:35 PM MDT	Tornado F1	Yuma, CO
May 14, 8:35 PM MDT	Tornado F1	Yuma, CO
May 14, 8:35 PM MDT	Tornado F1	Yuma, CO

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDEN), launched 00:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 38 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -135 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2618 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 26 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: -0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KDEN 150205
TORDEN
COC121-125-150300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
805 PM MDT WED MAY 14 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

NORTHEAST COLORADO...SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHWEST YUMA

THIS WARNING INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING TOWNS AND CITIES... JOES AND
COPE ABOUT 40 TO 50 MILES SOUTHEAST OF AKRON COLORADO

AT 735PM MDT THREE SHORT LIVED TORNADOES WERE SIGHTED ABOUT 47 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF AKRON COLORADO.  THE TORNADOES WERE MOVING TO THE
SOUTHSOUTHEAST AT AN UNDETERMINED

IN HOMES GO TO THE BASEMENT OR INTO A CLOSET OR BATHROOM.  IN SCHOOLS
...HIGH RISES AND HOSPITALS GO TO AN INTERIOR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR.  IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GO TO A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.  IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE..LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH...GULLY OR OTHER LOW SPOT.
<
IN ALL CASES...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS...DOORS AND OUTSIDE WALLS.
PROTECT YOUR HEAD AND FACE.  TRY TO GET UNDER SOMETHING STURDY.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER...OR
CALL YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER AT
361-0663.  DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER FOR INFORMATION.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 4:45 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington, Yuma	60 min
May 15, 5:48 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Yuma	57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1986 Every tornado warning in 1986 Tornadoes in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.