Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1995

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 18, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 20, 1995Douglas County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 1995, 1:32 PM MDT for Douglas County, Colorado. It was in force for 20 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 20, 1995, 1:32 PM MDT (19:32 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 1995, 1:52 PM MDT
In force
20 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

County Douglas County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:36 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 158 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 1995-05-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1995-05-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
702 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KDEN 201934
SVRDEN
COC035-202000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
132 PM MDT SAT MAY 20 1995

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 200 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN
THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
     SOUTHEASTERN DOUGLAS

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     GREENLAND AND LARKSPUR

AT 132 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES EAST OF GREENLAND ...OR ABOUT 23
MILES NORTH OF COLORADO SPRINGS.

AMATEUR RADIO WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED 3/4 INCH HAIL 1 MILE NORTH OF
MONUMENT.  

THE STORM WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INSIDE A STURDY
SHELTER AWAY FROM CREEK BEDS AND OTHER FLOOD-PRONE AREAS.
REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS OVER 60 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VVERY
HEAVY RAIN.

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

ANDERSEN

LAT...LON 3912 10465 3913 10494 3927 10491 3928 10462

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, May 20, 10:43 AM MDT, 2 hours 49 minutes before
COZ015-030>050-067-071-072-DD0600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1100 AM MDT DDD MMM DD 1995

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

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

SYNOPSIS:  LOW PRESSURE OVR THE MTNS AND HIGHS PRESSURE IN NEBRASKA WILL
CAUSE SOUTHERLY WINDS ACROSS THE AREAS BRINGING WITH THEM ADDITIONAL
MOISTURE FOR THE AREA.  THIS AND AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL
TRIGGER SOME THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON.  BY LATE AFTERNOON NEAR THE
FOOTHILLS SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS.  IN THE
NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE STATE AN ISOLATED STORM MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS
LATE IN THE DAY.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED AFTER 3 PM NEAR THE FOOTHILLS
AND MAY BE REQUIRED FARTHER EAST BY 5 PM.

ANDERSEN
Special weather statement, May 20, 10:45 AM MDT, 2 hours 47 minutes before
COZ015-030>050-067-071-072-210600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1100 AM MDT SAT MAY 20 1995

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

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

SYNOPSIS:  LOW PRESSURE OVR THE MTNS AND HIGHS PRESSURE IN NEBRASKA WILL
CAUSE SOUTHERLY WINDS ACROSS THE AREAS BRINGING WITH THEM ADDITIONAL
MOISTURE FOR THE AREA.  THIS AND AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL
TRIGGER SOME THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON.  BY LATE AFTERNOON NEAR THE
FOOTHILLS SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS.  IN THE
NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE STATE AN ISOLATED STORM MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS
LATE IN THE DAY.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED AFTER 3 PM NEAR THE FOOTHILLS
AND MAY BE REQUIRED FARTHER EAST BY 5 PM.

ANDERSEN
Special weather statement, May 20, 12:50 PM MDT, 42 minutes before
COZ036-041-201915-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1248 PM MDT SAT MAY 20 1995

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN DOUGLAS COUNTY...

AT 1248 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
A THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES NORTH OF PERRY PARK ...OR ABOUT 30 MILES
SOUTH OF DENVER.

THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SEEK SHELTER AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTH|ER UPDATES.

LAT...LON 3919 10476 3919 10514 3941 10514 3941 10472
Special weather statement, May 20, 1:19 PM MDT, 13 minutes before
COZ036-041-201945-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
117 PM MDT SAT MAY 20 1995

...STRONG STORM IN DOUGLAS COUNTY WILL MOVE OUT OF THE AREA BY 1:30
PM...

 AT 117 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
A THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES SOUTH OF LARKSPUR ...OR ABOUT 24 MILES
NORTH OF COLORADO SPRINGS.

HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THIS STORM AS IT
MOVES TO THE SOUTWEST AT 18 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SEEK SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM
PASSES.

ANDERSEN

LAT...LON 3912 10467 3913 10511 3928 10502 3929 10473

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 3:48 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe42 min
May 20, 5:23 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULarimer, Weld52 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Colorado, 1995Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.