Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 152, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 4, 1997, 4:15 PM MDT for Douglas County, Elbert County, Colorado. It was in force for 45 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 4, 1997, 4:15 PM MDT (22:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 4, 1997, 5:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Douglas County, CO, Elbert County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:17 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
Fort Carson/Butt, CO (KFCS), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 66 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2548 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 11 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -1 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -5 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KDEN 042217 RRA
SVRDEN
COC035-039-042300-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
415 PM MDT THU SEP 4 1997
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
SOUTHEASTERN DOUGLAS
IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
WEST CENTRAL ELBERT
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
ELBERT AND GREENLAND
AT 415 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF GREENLAND...OR ABOUT 40
MILES SOUTH OF DENVER.
THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 15 TO 20 MILES PER HOUR.
IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER
AWAY FROM CREEK BEDS AND OTHER FLOOD-PRONE AREAS. REMEMBER...A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS OVER 60
MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN UP TO 2.00 INCHES IN AN
HOUR.
VERY LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.
REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILLx RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN DENVER.
LAT...LON 3935 10426 3914 10428 3914 10485 3927 10484
GARD...WSFO DENVERWhat 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, Sep 4, 11:22 AM MDT, 4 hours 53 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-050600- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1115 PM MDT THU SEP 4 1997 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 LARGE AREA OF CLOUDS WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH LATE THIS MORNING WERE ASSOCIATED WITH A FAIRLY VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE. COMPUTER MODELS SHOW THIS DISTURBANCE TRACKING ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON AND NORTHEAST PLAINS THIS EVENING. AMPLE MOISTURE AND AFTERNOON HEATING COUPLED WITH THIS APPROACHING DISTURBANCE ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS PRIOR TO 2 PM. AFTER 2 PM...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST ONTO THE PLAINS. A FEW STORMS LATER TODAY COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL..FREQUENT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER INTO THE LATE EVENING HOURS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS...WITH MOST STORMS ENDING BY MIDNIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE. HOWEVER SKYWARN STORM SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANY REPORTS OF HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WIND GUSTS AND HAIL. BAKER
Special weather statement, Sep 4, 4:03 PM MDT, 12 minutes before
COZ041-042300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 403 PM MDT THU SEP 4 1997 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTHEASTERN DOUGLAS AND WEST CENTRAL ELBERT COUNTIES OF COLORADO... AT 359 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER LARKSPUR...OR ABOUT 36 MILES SOUTH OF DENVER. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 15 TO 20 MILES PER HOUR. PERSONS IN OR NEAR ELBERT...ELIZABETH...GREENLAND...KIOWA...LARKSPUR AND PONDEROSA PARK SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF BAD WEATHER APPROACHES. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND GUSTY WINDS WILL OCCUR WITH THIS STORM. 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. INTENSE LIGHTNING IS REPORTED WITH THIS STORM. IF OUTDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM ISOLATED HIGH OBJECTS SUCH AS TREES. MOVE INDOORS IF POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID USING TELEPHONES UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY. TRY TO UNPLUG UNNECESSARY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES BEFORE THE THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES. GARD...WSFO DENVER
Special weather statement, Sep 4, 4:04 PM MDT, 11 minutes before
COZ041-042300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 403 PM MDT THU SEP 4 1997 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTHEASTERN DOUGLAS AND WEST CENTRAL ELBERT COUNTIES OF COLORADO... AT 359 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER LARKSPUR...OR ABOUT 36 MILES SOUTH OF DENVER. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 15 TO 20 MILES PER HOUR. PERSONS IN OR NEAR ELBERT...ELIZABETH...GREENLAND...KIOWA...LARKSPUR AND PONDEROSA PARK SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF BAD WEATHER APPROACHES. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND GUSTY WINDS WILL OCCUR WITH THIS STORM. 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. INTENSE LIGHTNING IS REPORTED WITH THIS STORM. IF OUTDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM ISOLATED HIGH OBJECTS SUCH AS TREES. MOVE INDOORS IF POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID USING TELEPHONES UNLESS IT IS AN LEMERGENCY. TRY TO UNPLUG UNNECESSARY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES BEFORE THE THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES. GARD...WSFO DENVER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 4:52 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert | 38 min |
| Sep 4, 5:42 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 48 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Colorado, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997
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.