Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 26, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

June 20, 1996Logan County, Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jun 20, 1996, 9:30 PM MDT for Logan County, Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 30 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 20, 1996, 9:30 PM MDT (03:30 UTC)
Expired
Jun 20, 1996, 10:00 PM MDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Logan County, CO, Washington County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 134 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:30 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 00:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 54 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 1996-06-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1009 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1996-06-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 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
1009 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3283 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDEN 210332
TORDEN
COC075-121-210400-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
930 PM MDT THU JUN 20 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES

IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
     SOUTHWESTERN LOGAN AND EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     ATWOOD...LOGAN CORNERS...MERINO...PAWNEE PASS...PREWITT
     RESERVOIR AND WILLARD

AT 930 PM MDT WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF
MERINO ...OR ABOUT 13 MILES SOUTHWEST OF STERLING.

SPOTTERS INDICATED SEVERAL FUNNEL CLOUDS IN THE MERINO AND PEETZ
AREAS AT 925PM.  

THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 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.

RTG
LAT...LON 4052 10317 4039 10313 4036 10341 4065 10349
          4064 10340 4059 10317

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 20, 3:38 PM MDT, 5 hours 52 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-210600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
330 PM MDT THU JUN 20 1996

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

SYNOPSIS:  RADAR AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATED A DEVELOPING
LINE OF CUMULUS LATE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE
COUNTIES.  THIS WILL BE A POTENTIAL AREA OF STRONG/SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS EVENING.  AT THIS TIME...IT IS STILL
UNCERTAIN IF THESE CUMULUS CAN BREAK THROUGH A STABLE LAYER IN THE
ATMOSPHERE.  IF THEY CAN BREAK THROUGH THIS CAP EARLY THIS EVENING...
A FEW STORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...
AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.

FARTHER WEST INCLUDING THE FOOTHILLS AND METRO AREAS ALONG I-25...
WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING.
THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE...BUT WILL PRODUCE GUSTY
WINDS UP TO 50 MPH...AND LITTLE OR NO RAIN.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED IN AREAS EAST OF INTERSTATE 25
THIS EVENING.

BARJENBRUCH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 20, 6:23 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan37 min
Jun 20, 7:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Morgan, Weld29 min
Jun 20, 7:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Weld30 min
Jun 20, 8:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan27 min
Jun 20, 8:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan, Weld30 min
Jun 20, 8:59 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUMorgan31 min
Jun 20, 9:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Weld21 min
Jun 20, 9:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan, Weld35 min
Jun 21, 3:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Washington31 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.