Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 124, NWS Pueblo, CO

July 20, 1996El Paso County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 20, 1996, 7:14 PM MDT for El Paso County, Colorado. It was in force for 61 min. 5 reports 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 20, 1996, 7:14 PM MDT (01:14 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 1996, 8:15 PM MDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Pueblo, CO
Area
Whole counties

County El Paso County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:14 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 20, 7:20 PM MDTHail 1Truckton, CO
Jul 20, 7:25 PM MDTHail 1.5Ellicott, CO
Jul 20, 7:40 PM MDTHail 0.75(Cos)Peterson Field, CO
Jul 20, 7:57 PM MDTHail 1Yoder, CO
Jul 20, 8:00 PM MDTThunderstorm Wind 50(Cos)Peterson Field, 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, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 160 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 1996-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 7 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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 1996-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -15 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
7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-32 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3778 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

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 severe thunderstorm 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 20, 5:27 PM MDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
COZ076-077-210100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
528 PM MDT SAT JUL 20 1996

...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY APPROACHING
SOUTHERN OTERO COUNTY...

VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE OVER OPEN COUNTY OF NORTHEAST LAS
ANIMAS COUNTY BETWEEN HIGHWAYS 350 AND 109...AND WILL MOVE INTO
SOUTHERN OTERO COUNTY WEST OF HIGHWAY 109 BY 530 PM.  IF THE STORMS
HOLD TOGETHER...THEY WILL APPROACH HIGHWAY 109 SOUTH OF LA JUNTA BY
630 PM.

THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE RAINFALL AMOUNTS APPROACHING THREE INCHES PER
HOUR...HAIL...WIND GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

AT 526 PM...RADAR SHOWED THE STORMS 24 MILES SOUTH OF LA JUNTA...MOVING
NORTH NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

KT/SR
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 5:36 PM MDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before
COZ068-070-210040-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
536 PM MDT SAT JUL 20 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPING OVER NORTHERN CUSTER COUNTY...

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 96 BETWEEN
SILVER CLIFF AND GREENWOOD THROUGH 615 PM MDT.  THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...SMALL HAIL...AND GUSTY WINDS...AS WELL AS
FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

AT 535 PM MDT PUEBLO DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THE STORM 14 MILES WEST OF
WETMORE...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

KT
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 5:50 PM MDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before
COZ073-210055-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
550 PM MDT SAT JUL 20 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN NORTHERN PUEBLO COUNTY...

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 25 NORTH
OF PUEBLO THROUGH 645 PM MDT BRINGING SOME LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL...GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL
HAIL.

AT 550 PM MDT PUEBLO DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THIS DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORM
9 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF PUEBLO MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

SR/KT
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 6:26 PM MDT, 48 minutes before
COZ079-210130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
627 PM MDT SAT JUL 20 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPING OVER SOTHERN BENT COUNTY...

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHERN BENT
COUNTY...AFFECTING TOONERVILLE THROUGH 635 PM MDT...THEN MOVING OVER
OPEN COUNTRY SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 50 AND EAST OF TOONERVILLE.  THIS STRONG
THUNDERSTORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...GUSTY
WINDS...AND POSSIBLY SFOME SMALL HAIL.

AT 625 PM MDT...PUEBLO DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THE STORM OVER TOONERVILLE
OR 18 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF LAS ANIMAS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

KT/SR
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 6:53 PM MDT, 21 minutes before
COZ071-073-210145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
653 PM MDT SAT JUL 20 1996

...DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORM OVER EXTREME EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY...

A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE OVER FORT CARSON IN
SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY...EXTREME NORTHWESTERN PUEBLO COUNTY...THROUGH
720 PM MDT...PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS
UP TO 55 MPH.

AT 653 PM MDT PUEBLO DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THIS DEVELOPING STORM 20
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF COLORADO SPRINGS MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 10
MPH.

KT/SR
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 6:56 PM MDT, 18 minutes before
COZ071-073-210145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
653 PM MDT SAT JUL 20 1996

...DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORM OVER EXTREME EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY...

A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE OVER FORT CARSON IN
SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY...AND EXTREME NORTHWESTERN PUEBLO COUNTY THROUGH
720 PM MDT...PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS
UP TO 55 MPH.

AT 653 PM MDT PUEBLO DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THIS DEVELOPING STORM 20
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF COLORADO SPRINGS MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 10
MPH.

KT/SR

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pueblo, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 6:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso46 min
Jul 20, 7:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso41 min
Jul 20, 8:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso61 min
Jul 20, 9:12 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso63 min
Jul 20, 10:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso31 min
Jul 20, 11:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso50 min
Jul 21, 4:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBLas Animas61 min
Jul 21, 5:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBaca46 min
Jul 21, 5:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBLas Animas47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Colorado, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.