Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 201, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 28, 1996Logan County, Phillips County, Sedgwick County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 28, 1996, 6:43 PM MDT for Logan County, Phillips County, Sedgwick County, Colorado. It was in force for 47 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 28, 1996, 6:43 PM MDT (00:43 UTC)
Expired
Jul 28, 1996, 7:30 PM MDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Logan County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 170 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:46 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 28, 7:38 PM MDTHail 1.75Fleming, CO

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 109 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 1996-07-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 83 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 1996-07-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -121 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
83 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-149 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2683 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-121 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-101 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 290042
SVRDEN
COC075-095-115-290130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
643 PM MDT SUN JUL 28 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 730 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE 
FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
     EASTERN LOGAN...PHILLIPS AND WESTERN SEDGWICK

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     CROOK...FAIRFIELD...FLEMING...HAXTUN...HIGHLAND CENTER...
     HOLYOKE...MARKS BUTTE...OVID...PAOLI...PROCTOR...SEDGWICK...ST
     PETERS...TWIN BUTTES AND WAGES

AT 640 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES NORTH OF TWIN BUTTES...OR ABOUT 32 MILES 
NORTHEAST OF STERLING.

THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES PER HOUR.

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 VERY HEAVY RAIN.

TORNADOS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.  A TORNADO WATCH IS IN 
EFFECT UNTIL 9PM THIS EVENING.

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

HOLZINGER

LAT...LON 4049 10218 4047 10289 4101 10308 4100 10237

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, Jul 28, 2:11 PM MDT, 4 hours 32 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-290600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
210 PM MDT SUN JULY 28 1996

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM MDT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST COLORADO...

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

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

A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED UNTIL 9PM MDT FOR THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES:  LOGAN...MORGAN...SEDGWICK...NORTHERN WASHINGTON AND
EASTERN WELD COUNTIES.  THE WATCH INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS:  AKRON...FORT MORGAN...HOLYOKE...ROGGEN...
STERLING AND JULESBURG.

A MOIST NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BE OVER NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  THE BEST SOURCE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE
WILL REMAIN IN THE NORTHEASTERN PLAINS...MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF A
LINE FROM HEREFORD IN NORTHCENTRAL WELD COUNTY TO FORT MORGAN TO
AROUND ELBA IN CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTY.  A WEAK UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO EASTERN WYOMING LATE THIS
AFTERNOON...THIS MAY BE ENOUGH TO HELP SPAWN A FEW SEVERE STORMS IN
THE NORTHEASTERN PLAINS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

A FEW SEVERE STORMS MAY DEVELOP EAST OF THE LINE MENTIONED EARLIER.
ISOLATED TORNADOS...LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH
AND VERY HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED FOR MORGAN AND PHILLIPS COUNTIES
AFTER 5PM THIS AFTERNOON.

AT 200 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPING IN THE FOOTHILLS...THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED OVER
SOUTHERN JEFFERSON...PARK AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES.   THESE STORMS WERE
MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

SMALL HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND BRIEF
HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE STORMS.  SEEK SHELTER IF A STORM
APPROACHES YOUR AREA.

FMC
Special weather statement, Jul 28, 2:55 PM MDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before
COZ035-038-282130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
255 PM MDT SUN JUL 28 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN NORTHEASTERN LARIMER COUNTY...

AT 250 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM 14 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF NATURAL FORT REST AREA...OR
ABOUT 30 MILES NORTH OF FORT COLLINS...ALONG THE COLORADO/WYOMING
BORDER.

THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MILES PER HOUR.

PERSONS IN OR NEAR CARR...NATURAL FORT REST AREA...ROCKPORT AND
WELLINGTON SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND MOVE
TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF BAD WEATHER APPROACHES.

DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND GUSTY WINDS
TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.  SEEK SHELTER IF THE STORM
APPRACHES YOUR AREA.

FMC
Special weather statement, Jul 28, 3:31 PM MDT, 3 hours 12 minutes before
COZ035-038-282215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
330 PM MDT SUN JUL 28 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE IN EXTREME NORTHEASTERN LARIMER AND
NORTHWESTERN WELD COUNTIES...

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DISSIPATE AND REDEVELOP ALONG THE
COLORADO/WYOMING BORDERS.  AT 324 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NATURAL
FORT REST AREA...OR ABOUT 26 MILES NORTH OF FORT COLLINS.

THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MILES PER HOUR.

PERSONS IN OR NEAR CARR...NATURAL FORT REST AREA AND ROCKPORT
SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND MOVE TO A PLACE
OF SAFETY IF BAD WEATHER APPROACHES.

DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND STRONG
GUSTY WINDS WILL OCCUR WITH THIS STORM.  SEEK SHELTER IF A STORM
APPROACHES YOUR AREA.

FMC

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 28, 6:08 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Denver, Weld37 min
Jul 28, 6:35 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Weld25 min
Jul 28, 6:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUBoulder53 min
Jul 28, 6:56 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Denver34 min
Jul 28, 7:03 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe27 min
Jul 28, 7:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Phillips45 min
Jul 28, 8:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln43 min
Jul 28, 8:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Colorado, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.