Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 53, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 13, 1996Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 13, 1996, 4:24 PM MDT for Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 21 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
Jul 13, 1996, 4:24 PM MDT (22:24 UTC)
Expired
Jul 13, 1996, 4:45 PM MDT
In force
21 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Elbert County, CO, Lincoln County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:26 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, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 96 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 1996-07-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 470 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1996-07-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 17 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
470 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-201 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1684 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Jul 13, 11:25 AM MDT, 4 hours 59 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-140600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1130 AM MDT SAT JUL 13 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...A PERSISTENT UPPER RIDGE OVER THE WEST COAST AND GREAT
BASIN WILL KEEP NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKY
MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT.  A STRONG UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE OVER MONTANA EARLY THIS MORNING WILL APPROACH THE STATE BY
THIS EVENING.  AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHEAST
PORTION OF THE STATE AFTER 600 PM MDT THIS EVENING.

THE AIR MASS OVER THE AREA REMAINS MOIST AND RELATIVELY UNSTABLE.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE FOOTHILLS
...CHEYENNE RIDGE AND PALMER DIVIDE.  THESE STORMS WILL MOVE TO THE
SOUTHEAST OVER THE HIGH PLAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS.
A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE COLD FRONT.  LARGE HAIL AND/OR
STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL BE ASSOICATED WITH THESE STORMS.  BOTH SPEED
AND DIRECTIONAL WIND SHEAR WOULD MODERATELY FAVOR ISOLATED SUPERCELL
TORNADO FORMATION.  THUNDERSTORM RAINFALL WILL BE BRIEFLY HEAVY BUT GOOD
STORM MOVEMENT SHOULD PREVENT PERSISTENT HEAVY RAIN.  THE AIR MASS BY
LATE EVENING WILL STABILIZE ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS BEHIND THE COLD
FRONT AND PREVENT THUNDERSTORMS FROM PERSISTING THROUGH THE NIGHT.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED BY MID AFTERNOON.

GARD...WSFO DENVER
Special weather statement, Jul 13, 1:34 PM MDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
COZ035-038-043-132030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
135 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM NORTH OF FORT COLLINS COLORADO...

AT 130 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 11 MILES WEST OF NATURAL FORT REST AREA ...OR
ABOUT 23 MILES NORTH OF FORT COLLINS.  THE STORM WAS MOVING TO THE
SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

ALL PEOPLE IN NORTHEASTERN LARIMER AND NORTHWESTERN WELD COUNTIES OF
COLORADO INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     CARR...FORT COLLINS...NATURAL FORT REST AREA...NUNN...
     PIERCE...ROCKPORT...SEVERANCE...TIMNATH...WELLINGTON AND
     WINDSOR...
SHOULD BE ALERT FOR BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...STRONG GUSTY
WINDS AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING UNTIL 230 PM MDT THIS
AFTERNOON.

GARD...WSFO DENVER
LAT...LON 4041 10489 4085 10525 4100 10522 4097 10444
Special weather statement, Jul 13, 2:36 PM MDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before
COZ035-038-042>044-132130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
235 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NORTH AND EAST OF FORT COLLINS...

AT 230 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN LARIMER AND NORTHERN
WELD COUNTIES.  THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 5 MILES NORTHWEST
OF NATURAL FORT REST AREA ... OR ABOUT 29 MILES NORTH OF FORT COLLINS.
THE STORMS WERE  MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A SPECIAL
WEATHER STATEMENT EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING AREAS OF EASTERN LARIMER...NORTHERN WELD AND NORTHWESTERN
MORGAN COUNTIES OF COLORADO
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     AULT...BARNESVILLE...BELLVUE...BRIGGSDALE...CARR...DRAKE...
     EATON...EVANS...FORT COLLINS...GALETON...GARDEN CITY...GILL
     ...GOODRICH...GREELEY...GROVER...HARMONY...HEREFORD...
     JACKSON RESERVOIR...KEOTA...KERSEY...LA SALLE...LIVERMORE
     ...LOVELAND...LUCERNE...MASONVILLE...NATURAL FORT REST AREA
     ...NUNN...ORCHARD...PIERCE...PURCELL...RIVERSIDE RESERVOIR
     ...ROCKPORT...SEVERANCE...TEDS PLACE...TIMNATH...WELDONA...
     WELLINGTON...WIGGINS AND WINDSOR
ALL PEOPLE IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR HAIL...FREQUENT DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS UNTIL 330 PM MDT.

HEAVY RAINS MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND
UNDERPASSES.  AVOID THESE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS
AS THEY MAY BE WASHED OUT.  WATER LEVELS OF SMALL STREAMS AND
RIVERS MAY ALSO RISE...THEREFORE SEEK HIGHER GROUND IF
THREATENED BY FLOOD WATERS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAZL AND EASTERN
COLORADO UNTIL 900PM MDT.

ARD...WSFO DENVER
LAT...LON 4017 10396 4041 10534 4100 10518 4098 10379

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 12, 6:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington40 min
Jul 12, 7:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas, Jefferson43 min
Jul 12, 7:10 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Elbert50 min
Jul 12, 7:26 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe, Washington34 min
Jul 12, 7:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas, Elbert40 min
Jul 12, 7:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Denver21 min
Jul 12, 7:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas21 min
Jul 12, 8:13 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUBoulder, Weld47 min
Jul 12, 8:20 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Douglas40 min
Jul 12, 8:50 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Denver, Jefferson25 min
Jul 12, 8:50 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUBoulder25 min
Jul 12, 9:05 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUWeld25 min
Jul 12, 9:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe, Denver, Jefferson44 min
Jul 12, 9:19 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas41 min
Jul 12, 9:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Weld31 min
Jul 12, 10:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas, Elbert44 min
Jul 12, 10:06 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Weld24 min
Jul 12, 10:13 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUJefferson, Park4 hr
Jul 13, 2:30 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUJefferson3 hr
Jul 13, 2:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULarimer, Weld35 min
Jul 13, 3:12 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUWeld33 min
Jul 13, 3:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULarimer, Weld35 min
Jul 13, 3:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln40 min
Jul 13, 4:10 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe, Washington35 min
Jul 13, 4:10 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln35 min
Jul 13, 4:11 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUMorgan, Washington34 min
Jul 13, 4:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Denver45 min
Jul 13, 4:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld45 min
Jul 13, 4:50 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUWashington25 min
Jul 13, 5:00 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe30 min
Jul 13, 5:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe, Elbert45 min
Jul 13, 5:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington6 hr

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.