Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 17, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 7, 1988, 6:14 PM MDT for Weld County, Colorado. It was in force for 31 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 7, 1988, 6:14 PM MDT (00:14 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 7, 1988, 6:45 PM MDT
- In force
- 31 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties
County Weld 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 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 125 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
- 967 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -17 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1433 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 61 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 105 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 2.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KDEN 080017
TORDEN
COC123-080045-
BULLETIN...EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
614 PM MDT THU JUL 07 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 645 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST COLORADO:
CENTRAL WELD
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING TOWNS/CITIES:
EAST OF EATON AND NORTH OF GREELY
THE STORM WAS LOCATED 35 MILES EAST OF FT COLLINS.
AT 615 A TORNADO WAS SIGHTED ON THE GROUND 7 MILES EAST OF EATON.
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.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF EASTERN
COLORADO UNTIL 8PM.
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.
DUNN
LAT..LON 4064 10453 4062 10420 4034 10444 4039 10461What 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, Jul 7, 2:32 PM MDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 225 PM MDT THU JUL 7 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF EASTERN COLORADO... SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 271 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR MOST OF EASTERN COLORADO. AT 220 PM MDT RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN A LINE FROM NORTH EASTERN EL PASO COUNTY ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS OF ELBERT COUNTY TO I-70 NEAR LIMON COLORADO. THESE THUNDERSTRMS ARE MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST. VERY HEAVY RAIN IS CERTAIN ACROSS THIS AREA UNTIL AROUND 315 PM MDT. RESIDENTS OF NORTHEAST EL PASO AND EASTERN ELBERT COUNTIES SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR HEAVY RAIN AND THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCAL FLOODING OF THE SMALL STREAMS AND GULCHES. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE FOOTHILLS AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE PALMER DIVIDE. THESE THUNDER STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND DEADLY LIGHTNING . LOONEY
Special weather statement, Jul 7, 3:34 PM MDT, 2 hours 40 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 330 PM MDT THU JUL 7 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF EASTERN COLORADO... SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 271 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR MOST OF EASTERN COLORADO. AT 330 PM RADAR INDICATES MOST THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN EASTERN COLORADO IS STILL ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PALMER DIVIDE IN AREAS EAST OF COLORADO SPRINGS. THERE ARE TWO OTHER AREAS OF STRONG STORMS...ONE IN CENTRAL ADAMS COUNTY AND ANOTHER IN EXTREME SOUTHERN YUMA COUNTY. IT APPEARS THAT MOST OF EASTERN ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES WILL SEE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN 330 AND 430 PM. ALL THUNDERSTORMS TODAY ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 1/2 TO 2 1/2 INCHES OF WATER LESS THAN 2 HOURS. THIS WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AND RAPID RISES IN SMALL STREAMS AND NORMALLY DRY WASHES. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAIN PERSONS IN EASTERN COLORADO SHOULD BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS. DUNN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 7:04 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Larimer, Weld | 61 min |
| Jul 7, 7:17 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 58 min |
| Jul 8, 3:49 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 31 min |
| Jul 8, 5:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan, Morgan, Washington | 59 min |
| Jul 8, 5:17 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams | 33 min |
| Jul 8, 5:35 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Logan | 30 min |
| Jul 8, 5:53 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 32 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988
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.