Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 2, 1987Adams County, Morgan County, Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 2, 1987, 4:46 PM MDT for Adams County, Morgan County, Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 59 min. 2 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
Jul 2, 1987, 4:46 PM MDT (22:46 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 1987, 5:45 PM MDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Adams County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Washington 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 2, 4:53 PM MDTHail 1.75Morgan, CO
Jul 2, 5:10 PM MDTHail 1Morgan, 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 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 51 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1987-07-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 51 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1987-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -8 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
51 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-313 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1747 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
55 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 022247
SVRDEN
COC121-087-001-022345-
 
BULLETIN...IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
446 PM MDT THU JUL 02 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 545 PM  MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST COLORADO:
 
     SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON
     MORGAN
     CENTRAL AND EASTERN ADAMS
 
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING TOWNS/CITIES:
 
     BRUSH..FT MORGAN..GOODRICH..ORCHARD..WELDONA..WIGGINS..
     AND WOODROW
 
THE STORM IS LOCATED 56 MILES NORTHEAST OF DENVER.
 
AT 445 PM MDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN THE SOUTHWEST
CORNER OF MORGAN COUNTY..MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF EASTERN 
COLORADO UNTIL  PM MDT.
 
TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE
IN DENVER..OR CALL YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
AT 361-0663.  DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER FOR INFORMATION.
 
SEM       
 
LAT..LON  4039 10412 4051 10346 3983 10351 3985 10430

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 2, 2:59 PM MDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
300 PM MDT THU JUL 2 1987

   ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT RANGE...

AT 255 PM MDT RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT
RANGE.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE OVER LITTLETON IN WESTERN ARAPAHOE
COUNTY.. AND ABOUT 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF BOULDER IN BOULDER COUNTY.
THE STORMS ARE MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 10 TO 20 MPH.

THE LITTLETON STORM HAS PRODUCED HAIL HALF AN INCH IN DIAMETER.

THESE TWO STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCAL BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..HAIL..AND STRONG
GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON..AND OTHER THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO
DEVELOP.

MARKKANEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 1, 7:13 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUPhillips, Sedgwick42 min
Jul 1, 9:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULarimer51 min
Jul 2, 3:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Douglas53 min
Jul 2, 3:34 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams26 min
Jul 2, 4:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe, Weld63 min
Jul 2, 5:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Colorado, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

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.