Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 23, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 30, 1996, 8:50 PM MDT for Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 40 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
- May 30, 1996, 8:50 PM MDT (02:50 UTC)
- Expired
- May 30, 1996, 9:30 PM MDT
- In force
- 40 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lincoln County, CO
The radar
The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:53 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 9:05 PM MDT | Hail 1.75 | Limon, 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, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 101 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
- 930 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -153 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2007 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 65 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 179 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KDEN 310251
TORDEN
COC073-310330-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
850 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 930 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
NORTH CENTRAL LINCOLN
AT 850 PM MDT WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM
WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF LIMON.
THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
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.
TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORECAST OFFICE IN DENVER.
LESZCYNSKI
LAT...LON 3930 10j344 3930 10370 3941 10370 3942 10345What 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, May 30, 2:53 PM MDT, 5 hours 57 minutes before
COZ038>050-302145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 251 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF NORTHEAST COLORADO UNTIL 900 PM MDT... AT 245 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS SOUTHWEST OF AKRON NEAR WOODROW. THESE STORMS WERE INTENSIFYING RAPIDLY AND MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...HAIL...GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO IS VERY UNSTABLE AND ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY IN THE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS. KLEYLA
Special weather statement, May 30, 3:21 PM MDT, 5 hours 29 minutes before
COZ038>050-302200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 320 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF NORTHEAST COLORADO UNTIL 900 PM MDT... AT 315 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS FROM SOUTHWEST OF STERLING TO EAST OF FORT MORGAN. ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF AKRON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...HAIL...GUSTY WINDtS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. KLEYLA
Local storm report, May 30, 4:37 PM MDT, 4 hours 13 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
428 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996
...PRELIMINARY STORM REPORTS FOR MAY 30...
TIME(MDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
425 PM 1N ELBA CO 1/2 MILE WIDE TORNADO
05/30/96 WASHINGTON
BARJENBRUCHSpecial weather statement, May 30, 8:17 PM MDT, 33 minutes before
COZ038>050-300300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 815 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEAST PLAINS OF COLORADO UNTIL 900 PM MDT... ...TORNADO WATCH NO LONGER IN EFFECT WEST OF A LINE FROM BRIGGSDALE TO STRASBURG TO KIOWA... AT 810 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS...SOME SEVERE FROM SOUTH OF AKRON EXTENDING SOUTHWEST TO EASTERN ELBERT COUNTY NEAR AGATE. THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER THE URBAN CORRIDOR HAS ENDED THUS THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED. HOWEVER OVER THE NORTHEAST PLAINS THE TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 900 PM MDT. KLEYLA
The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 6:15 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 30 min |
| May 30, 6:26 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 64 min |
| May 30, 6:45 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 45 min |
| May 30, 7:15 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 30 min |
| May 30, 7:31 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 29 min |
| May 30, 7:46 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 29 min |
| May 30, 7:52 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 38 min |
| May 30, 7:52 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Elbert | 38 min |
| May 30, 8:15 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 30 min |
| May 30, 8:37 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert, Lincoln | 68 min |
| May 30, 9:12 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 48 min |
| May 30, 9:24 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 36 min |
| May 30, 9:49 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 41 min |
| May 31, 2:17 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 43 min |
| May 31, 5:39 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Washington | 66 min |
| May 31, 5:45 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes 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.