Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

April 25, 1994Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Apr 25, 1994, 2:20 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 25 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 25, 1994, 2:20 PM MDT (20:20 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 1994, 2:45 PM MDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, CO

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDEN), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 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 12:00Z on 1994-04-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 1994-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -16 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1386 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 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 252022
TORDEN
COC121-252045-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
220 PM MDT MON APR 25 1994

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 245 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES

IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
     SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON

AT 220 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
A POSSIBLE TORNADO 24 MILES NORTH OF LIMON. A PUBLIC REPORT INDICATED A
TORNADO WAS ALSO ON THE GROUND 3 MILES NORTH OF THE LINCOLN COUNTY LINE.

THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH.

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.

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


LAT...LON 3958 10346 r3957 10369 3973 10370 3972 10347

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, Apr 25, 10:47 AM MDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
COZALL-251730-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1045 AM MDT MON APR 25 1994

...EARLY SEASON THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST COLORADO...

ALL SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS HAVE EXPIRED BUT LIGHT TO MODERATE
INTENSITY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO RUMBLE ALONG THE FRONT RANGE AND
ADJACENT PLAINS THIS MORNING.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL THROUGH MIDDAY AND POSSIBLY THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON.  SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE
REST OF NORTHEAST COLORADO AS THE DAY PROGRESSES.

LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN FROM SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD CAUSE LOCAL
FLOODING OF STREETS...UNDERPASSES AND LOW LYING AREAS.  SMALL STREAMS...
CREEKS AND CANALS MAY HAVE WATER LEVELS RISE TO NEAR BANKFULL STAGE.
THE AREA MOST PRONE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL BE THE FOOTHILLS AND THE PLAINS
AREAS BETWEEN THE FOOTHILLS AND I-25.

ALL PERSONS IN NORTHEAST COLORADO AND THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS EAST OF
THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE SHOULD STAY ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER
FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR LATER WEATHER BULLETINS.

BOODA
Special weather statement, Apr 25, 11:57 AM MDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before
COZ015-030>045-048>050-260700-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1200 PM MDT MON APR 25 1994

THIS UPDATED OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

ADAMS          DENVER     JACKSON      LOGAN       SEDGWICK
ARAPAHOE       DOUGLAS    JEFFERSON    MORGAN      SUMMIT
BOULDER        GILPIN     LARIMER      PARK        WASHINGTON
CLEAR CREEK    GRAND      LAKE         PHILLIPS    WELD

...SNOW ADVISORY MOUNTAINS AND FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS NORTH OF
   DENVER THIS AFTERNOON...

AN EARLY SPRING STORM WILL SPREAD PRECIPITATION ACROSS NORTHEAST AND
NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS NORTH OF DENVER ADDITIONAL
SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON.  LESSER
AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE IN THE FOOTHILLS SOUTHWEST OF DENVER.
LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS WITH SOME ADDITIONAL
ACCUMULATIONS.

OVER THE NORTHEASTERN HIGH PLAINS LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE FLOW HAS DEVELOPED
WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.  A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS
MAY BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN OF UP TO AN INCH IS POSSIBLE FROM
THESE THUNDERSTORMS.  SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DECREASE DURING THE
LATE EVENING HOURS WITH OCCASIONAL RAIN BECOMING MIXED WITH SNOW NEAR
THE FOOTHILLS.

GARD...WSFO DENVER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 25, 8:18 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUBoulder, Jefferson27 min
Apr 25, 8:18 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Denver27 min
Apr 25, 8:32 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULarimer, Weld28 min
Apr 25, 8:49 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Denver, Jefferson41 min
Apr 25, 8:49 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUBoulder, Weld41 min
Apr 25, 9:03 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULarimer, Weld42 min
Apr 25, 9:45 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld30 min
Apr 25, 1:47 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Washington43 min
Apr 25, 2:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington25 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994

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.