Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 71, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 30, 1996Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 30, 1996, 3:17 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 43 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 30, 1996, 3:17 PM MDT (21:17 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 1996, 4:00 PM MDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 117 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:16 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 30, 4:00 PM MDTHail 1.5Anton, 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 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 11 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 1996-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 11 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 1996-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 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
11 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-159 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1187 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
66 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 302117
TORDEN
COC121-302200-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
317 PM MDT TUE JUL 30 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 400 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
     CENTRAL WASHINGTON

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     ANTON...ARICKAREE SCHOOL AND LINDON

AT 311 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF ANTON...OR
ABOUT 43 MILES NORTHEAST OF LIMON.

THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 20 MILES PER HOUR.

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.

LAT...LON 3971 10302 3969 10341 3987 10344 3993 10311

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 2:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington31 min
Jul 30, 2:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington41 min
Jul 30, 3:43 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULincoln, Washington32 min
Jul 30, 4:16 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULincoln29 min
Jul 30, 4:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln30 min
Jul 30, 5:12 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln38 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.