Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 77, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 30, 1996Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 30, 1996, 11:59 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 31 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 30, 1996, 11:59 PM MDT (05:59 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 1996, 12:30 AM MDT
In force
31 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 05:59 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, 6.0 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 00:00Z on 1996-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 794 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1996-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 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
794 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2039 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDEN 310601
TORDEN
COC121-310630-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1159 PM MDT TUE JUL 30 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 AM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
     SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     LAST CHANCE...LINDON AND WOODLIN SCHOOL

AT 1155 PM MDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO JUST NORTHWEST OF LAST
CHANCE...OR ABOUT 34 MILES NORTH OF LIMON.

THE TORNADO WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES PER HOUR.  PEOPLE IN 
LAST CHANCE SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!  

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 WIN`DOWS.

BARJENBRUCH

&

LAT...LON 3957 10323 3957 10370 3977 10371 3986 10324

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 30, 6:01 PM MDT, 5 hours 58 minutes before
COZ042-048-310100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
600 PM MDT TUE JUL 30 1996

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF EASTERN COLORADO UNTIL
9 PM MDT...

THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES AREAS EAST OF A LINE FROM CHEYENNE TO
JUST EAST OF DENVER TO ABOUT 15 MILES EAST OF COLORADO SPRINGS.

AT 6 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST WELD AND WESTERN LOGAN
COUNTIES.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH AND LIKELY
CONTAINED MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

ANOTHER STRONG STORM WAS QUICKLY DEVELOPING ALONG THE ELBERT/EL PASO
COUNTY LINE.

A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVOxRABLE FOR TORNADOES IN
AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.  IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...
MOVE INDOORS IMMEDIATELY.

BARJENBRUCH
Special weather statement, Jul 30, 7:10 PM MDT, 4 hours 49 minutes before
COZ042>050-310300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
708 PM MDT TUE JUL 30 1996

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF EASTERN COLORADO UNTIL
9 PM MDT...

THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES AREAS EAST OF A LINE FROM CHEYENNE TO
JUST EAST OF DENVER TO ABOUT 15 MILES EAST OF COLORADO SPRINGS.

AT 7 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
WEAKENING THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEASTERN COLORADO.  HOWEVER...AN
INTENSE THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHEAST WYOMING WAS MOVING QUICKLY SOUTHWARD
AND SHOULD BE APPROACHING NORTHEAST WELD AND NORTHWEST LOGAN COUNTIES BY
8 PM.  THIS STORM HAS ALREADY PRODUCED 65 MPH WINDS AND 1/2 DIAMETER
HAIL.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE IN NORTHEAST COLORADO THIS
EVENING.  IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...MOVE INDOORS
IMMEDIATELY.

BARJENBRUCH
Special weather statement, Jul 30, 8:10 PM MDT, 3 hours 49 minutes before
COZ042>050-310300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
808 PM MDT TUE JUL 30 1996

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF EASTERN COLORADO UNTIL
9 PM MDT...

THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES AREAS EAST OF A LINE FROM CHEYENNE TO
JUST EAST OF DENVER TO ABOUT 15 MILES EAST OF COLORADO SPRINGS.

AT 8 PM MDT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE APPROACHING THE COLORADO BORDER.
THE STORMS WILL MOVE INTO NORTHEASTERN WELD AND NORTHWESTERN LOGAN
COUNTIES BY 820 PM.  EXPECT STRONG GUSTY WINDS UP TO 60 MPH AND 1 INCH
DIAMETER HAIL WITH THE STORMS.

TORNADOES ARE STILL POSSIBLE IN NORTHEAST COLORADO THIS EVENING.  IF A
TORNADO IS SPOTTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED...MOVE IMMEDIATELY TO THE
LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME.  STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

BARJENBRUCH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 8:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Weld44 min
Jul 30, 8:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld47 min
Jul 30, 9:12 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUWeld48 min
Jul 30, 9:41 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUMorgan49 min
Jul 30, 10:15 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUMorgan45 min
Jul 30, 10:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld55 min
Jul 30, 10:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington40 min
Jul 30, 10:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Washington31 min
Jul 30, 11:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan55 min
Jul 30, 11:28 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington47 min
Jul 31, 12:40 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUWashington110 min
Jul 31, 12:55 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUAdams50 min
Jul 31, 12:55 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams50 min
Jul 31, 1:09 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln36 min
Jul 31, 2:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln32 min
Jul 31, 3:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln44 min
Jul 31, 4:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln38 min
Jul 31, 4:47 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln43 min
Jul 31, 5:28 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld47 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.