Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 170, NWS Pueblo, CO

July 26, 1996El Paso County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 26, 1996, 3:53 PM MDT for El Paso County, Colorado. It was in force for 32 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 26, 1996, 3:53 PM MDT (21:53 UTC)
Expired
Jul 26, 1996, 4:25 PM MDT
In force
32 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 21:57 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 26, 4:20 PM MDTHail 2Calhan, 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, 9.9 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 12:00Z on 1996-07-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 12 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 12:00Z on 1996-07-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-414 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1304 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
43 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 KPUB 262153
SVRPUB
COC041-262225-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
353 PM MDT FRI JUL 26 1996

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  EASTERN EL PASO COUNTY      IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 425 PM MDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    CALHAN BY 400 PM MDT

* AT 352 PM MDT RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE STORM 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CALHAN
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOlR FOLLOW UP STATEMENTS AND
WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO.



SC

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 26, 11:52 AM MDT, 4 hours 1 minute before
COZ060>081-270600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1150 AM MDT FRI JUL 26 1996

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES:

ALAMOSA      BACA        BENT          CHAFFEE        CONEJOS
COSTILLA     CROWLEY     CUSTER        EL PASO        FREMONT
HUERFANO     KIOWA       LAS ANIMAS    MINERAL        OTERO
PROWERS      PUEBLO      RIO GRANDE    SAGUACHE       TELLER

ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...COMBINED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST...WILL INITIATE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

THERE IS A THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS ON THE EASTERN PLAINS THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BUT THE THREAT IS NOT A GREAT AS EARLIER
ANTICIPATED.  LOW CLOUDS ARE PERSISTING OVER PARTS OF THE EASTERN
PLAINS...REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF DAYTIME HEATING. WITH LESS
HEATING...THE INSTABILITY WILL NOT BE A GREAT AS FIRST ANTICIPATED.

ON THE EASTERN PLAINS THERE STILL IS A THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  THESE STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN.  THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PERSIST WELL INTO THE EVENING IN
KIOWA...BENT...PROWERS...EASTERN LAS ANIMAS AND BACA COUNTIES.

OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND SAN LUIS VALLEY...THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP
THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST INTO EARLY EVENING...BUT THESE STORMS ARE
NOT EXCECTED TO BE SEVERE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON.

WOLYNV
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 12:58 PM MDT, 2 hours 55 minutes before
COZ067>069-071>073-262000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1257 PM MDT FRI JUL 26 1996

...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FORMING OVER THE MOUNTAINS...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DEVELOPING OVER THE UPPER ARKANSAS
VALLEY AND THE PIKES PEAK REGION THROUGH THE REST OF THE
AFTERNOON. AT 1245 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT PUEBLO
SHOWED A THUNDERSTORM ALONG HIGHWAY 115 WEST OF FORT CARSON. THIS STORM
WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH AND WILL BRING LIGHT SHOWERS ACROSS FORT
CARSON TO I-25 NEAR PINON BY 2 PM MDT.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER THE UPPER ARKANSAS
VALLEY FROM BUENA VISTA TO THE ROYAL GORGE. THESE SHOWERS WERE MOVING
SLOWLY SOUTHEAST.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS ON THESE
DEVELOPING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

FORTUNE
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 1:41 PM MDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before
COZ067-069>071-073-262045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
141 PM MDT FRI JUL 26 1996

...THUNDERSTORMS RUMBLING ACROSS THE REGION AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON...

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHERN TELLER COUNTY NEAR VICTOR
IS GOING TO CAUSE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL UNDER 1/2 INCH IN
DIAMETER AS IT CROSSES HIGHWAY 115 BETWEEN 2 AND 230 PM MDT.
THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE UPPER
ARKANSAS VALLEY AND ALONG THE WET MOUNTAINS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY DRIFT
EAST DURING THE AFTERNOON...PRODUCING BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL.
THESE STORMS ARE GOING TO BE MOVING SLOWLY EAST ACROSS FREMONT
AND CUSTER COUNTIES THROUGH MID AFTERNOON.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION
CONCERNING THESE DEVELOPING STORMS.

SC/BF

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 6:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBProwers62 min
Jul 25, 6:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBent48 min
Jul 26, 1:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBTeller64 min
Jul 26, 2:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso65 min
Jul 26, 2:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso61 min
Jul 26, 5:23 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso47 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.