Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 44, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

June 22, 1991Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jun 22, 1991, 8:02 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 28 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 22, 1991, 8:02 PM MDT (02:02 UTC)
Expired
Jun 22, 1991, 8:30 PM MDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, CO

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDEN), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 11 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 00:00Z on 1991-06-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 144 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 00:00Z on 1991-06-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 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
144 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-186 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2689 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
121 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 230205
TORDEN
COC121-230230-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
802 PM MDT SAT JUN 22 1991

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES

IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
     NORTHERN WASHINGTON

AT 802 PM MDT THE WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED A TORNADO
19 MILES SOUTH OF STERLING OR 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF OTIS.

THE STORM PRODUCING THE TORNADO NEARLY STATIONARY.

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WHICH WAS
IN EFFECT.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT.  GET
UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.  IF NO
BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE
BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET.  USE
BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY
FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.  IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN
THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH
YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEAST COLORADO UNTIL 1100 PM
MDT.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORECAST OFFICE IN DENVER.

RAW/RTG

LAT...LON 4025 10294 4021 10335 4043 10335 4044 10302

What 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, Jun 22, 2:07 PM MDT, 5 hours 55 minutes before
COZ011-222100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
207 PM MDT SAT JUN 22 1991

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO DENVER...

AT 156 PM MDT MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED
TWO THUNDERSTORMS INTENSIFYING AS THEY MOVE INTO THE DENVER METRO
AREA.  ONE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED OVER ARVADA...WITH A SECOND
STORM OVER SOUTHWEST DENVER.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

A PUBLIC REPORT OF A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED NEAR EDGEWATER AT
2 PM MDT...WITH A SECOND FUNNEL REPORTED AT 100TH AND LOWELL IN
WESTMINSTER AT 205 PM.  THE ENTIRE FRONT RANGE CONTINUES UNDER A TORNADO
WATCH UNTIL 9 PM MDT...SO RESIDENTS ALONG THE FRONT RANGE SHOULD
CLOSELY MONITOR THE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON...AND BE PREPARED TO
TAKE COVER FROM THUNDERSTORMS.  TORNADOES AND LARGE HAIL MAY BE
POSSIBLE.

RTG
Special weather statement, Jun 22, 5:45 PM MDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
COZ011-012-013-230100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
545 PM MDT SAT JUN 22 1991

...PART OF TORNADO WATCH CANCELLED...

PART OF TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 577 HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

COUNTIES NO LONGER INCLUDED IN THE TORNADO WATCH ARE...
BOULDER...DENVER...DOUGLAS...JEFFERSON...WESTERN AND CENTRAL ADAMS...
WESTERN AND CENTRAL ARAPAHOE...WESTERN AND CENTRAL WELD...LARIMER...
FREMONT...TELLER...WESTERN AND CENTAL ELBERT...EL PASO...SOUTHWESTERN
LINCOLN...CROWLEY...CUSTER...HUERFANO...WESTERN AND CENTRAL LAS ANIMAS
...OTERO...AND PUEBLO.

CITIES AND TOWNS NO LONGER IN THE TORNADO WATCH ARE...
TRINIDAD...WALSENBURG...LA JUNTA...ORDWAY...PUEBLO...CANON CITY...
COLORADO SPRINGS...WOODLAND PARK...KIOWA...CASTLE ROCK...CONIFER...
BENNETT...METRO DENVER...BOULDER...GREELEY...AND FORT COLLINS.

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 577 CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES UNTIL
9PM...EASTERN ELBERT...CENTRAL LINCOLN...WESTERN BENT...~EXTREME WESTERN
KIOWA...AND EASTERN LAS ANIMAS.  TOWNS AND CITIES STILL IN THE WATCH
AREA ARE...LIMON...FORT MORGAN...AND LAS ANIMAS.

IN ADDITION...ANOTHER TORNADO WATCH IS CONTINUING FOR EXTREME NORTHEAST
COLORADO UNTIL 11PM.

HOLZINGER
Special weather statement, Jun 22, 6:15 PM MDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
COZ012-013-017-230130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
615 PM MDT SAT JUN 22 1991

...REST OF TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 577 CANCELLED WHILE TORNADO AND
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES CONTINUE IN EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO...

THE REMAINDER OF TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 577 HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

THIS MEANS THAT THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE NO LONGER IN THE WATCH
AREA...ELBERT...LINCOLN...WESTERN BENT...EXTREME WESTERN KIOWA...
AND EASTERN LAS ANIMAS.  TOWNS AND CITIES NO LONGER IN THE WATCH
AREA ARE...LIMON...FORT MORGAN...AND LAS ANIMAS.

A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 11PM FOR EXTREME NORTHEAST COLORADO...
WHILE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 11PM FOR EXTREME
EAST CENTRAL AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST COLORADO.

HOLZINGER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 22, 6:34 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULogan, Washington26 min
Jun 22, 6:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Washington46 min
Jun 22, 7:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington41 min
Jun 22, 8:31 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991

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.