Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 23, 1987, 3:11 PM MDT for Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Colorado. It was in force for 29 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 23, 1987, 3:11 PM MDT (21:11 UTC)
- Expired
- May 23, 1987, 3:40 PM MDT
- In force
- 29 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Arapahoe County, CO, Douglas County, CO
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Denver, CO (KDEN), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 127 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -186 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 733 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 20 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 43 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KDEN 232112
TORDEN
COC005-035-232140-
BULLETIN...EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
311 PM MDT SAT MAY 23 1987
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 340 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST COLORADO:
SOUTHWESTERN ARAPAHOE
NORTHWESTERN DOUGLAS
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING TOWNS/CITIES:
ENGLEWOOD...SOUTHERN AURORA
THE STORM IS LOCATED 15 MILES SOUTH OF DENVER.
AT 310 PM MDT SEVERAL FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTS WEST OF PARKER.
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 OR OTHER LOW SPOT.
IN ALL CASES..STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS..DOORS AND OUTSIDE WALLS.
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.
KAPLAN
LAT..LON 3968 10498 3969 10478 3949 10482 3951 10504What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, May 23, 2:51 PM MDT, 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...NOWCAST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 252 PM MDT SAT MAY 23 1987 ...THUNDERSTORMS BUILDING TO SOUTH AND WEST OF DENVER METRO AREA... AT 245 PM THUNDERSTORMS HAD BEGUN TO BUILD RATHER RAPIDLY FROM WESTERN ARAPAHOE COUNTY ACROSS NORTHERN DOUGLAS COUNTY INTO SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL JEFFERSON COUNTIES. CONDITIONS APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR CONTINUED INTENSIFICATION OF THESE STORMS BETWEEN NOW AND 400 PM. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST AND WILL LIKELY AFFECT MUCH OF THE DENVER METRO AREA DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON. THEY COULD BECOME SEVERE RATHER QUICKLY...SO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS. KAPLAN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 4:12 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe, Weld | 63 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.