Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 24, 1997, 3:58 PM MDT for Elbert County, Colorado. It was in force for 47 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
- Jun 24, 1997, 3:58 PM MDT (21:58 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 24, 1997, 4:45 PM MDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County Elbert County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:59 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
Fort Carson/Butt, CO (KFCS), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 76 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
- 514 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -165 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1969 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 31 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 25 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 242202 RRA
SVRDEN
COC039-242245-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
358 PM MDT TUE JUN 24 1997
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 445 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
CENTRAL ELBERT
AT 353 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF KIOWA AND 8 MILES SOUTH OF
KIOWA...OR ABOUT 40 MILES WEST OF LIMON.
THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES PER HOUR.
HAIL THREE-QUARTERS OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER WAS REPORTED 5 MILES
SOUTH OF KIOWA AT 350 PM. EVEN LARGER HAIL...UP TO TWO INCHES IN
DIAMETER...IS POSSIBLE. 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
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN DENVER.
LAT...LON 3936 10420 3916 10419 3924 10451 3936 10444
GIMMESTAD
&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, Jun 24, 11:10 AM MDT, 4 hours 48 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-250600- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1110 AM MDT TUE JUN 24 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 COLD FRONT HAD PUSHED THROUGH ALL OF NORTHEAST COLORADO THIS MORNING BRINGING DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR TO THE REGION. HOWEVER...A SECONDARY PUSH OF MOIST AIR WAS NOW BACKING INTO NORTHEAST COLORADO FROM NEBRASKA. THIS BOUNDARY CURRENTLY EXTENDED FROM THE COLORADO BORDER NEAR CHEYENNE TO NEAR AKRON AND WRAY. AS THIS BOUNDARY CONTINUES TO MOVE BACK TOWARD THE FOOTHILLS...THE INCREASE IN MOISTURE AND JUST ENOUGH SURFACE HEATING SHOULD COMBINE TO PRODUCE STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. THE BEST INSTABILITY AND THUS SEVERE WEATHER THREAT BY LATE AFTERNOON WILL BE FOUND ALONG THE FOOTHILLS AND THEN ACROSS THE MONUMENT RIDGE TOWARD LIMON AND POINTS SOUTH. STORMS WILL FIRST DEVELOP IN THE FOOTHILLS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...AND THEN TRY TO PUSH ONTO THE PLAINS. INITIALLY...THE AIRMASS ON THE PLAINS WILL BE TOO STABLE...BUT WITH ADDITIONAL DAYTIME HEATING THE CAP IS EXPECTED TO BREAK BY 4 PM. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER INCLUDING LARGE HAIL...A FEW TORNADOES...AND HEAVY RAINFALL WILL THEN EXIST IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED AREAS INTO THE EARLY EVENING. LOCATIONS NORTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM GREELEY TO LAST CHANCE WILL LIKELY BE TOO STABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED FOR LOCATIONS SOUTH AND WEST OF DENVER AFTER 3 PM. BARJENBRUCH
Special weather statement, Jun 24, 11:15 AM MDT, 4 hours 43 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-260600- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1115 AM MDT TUE JUN 24 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: IT WILL BE A VERY ACTIVE AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR CONVECTION OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO. SEVERAL FACTORS WILL COME TOGETHER TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD...POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN...ESPECIALLY EAST OF GREELEY TO LIMON LINE THIS EVENING. SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO FEED MOIST AIR ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO INTO SOUTHEAST WYOMING. A WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL ALSO HELP FOCUS THE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST COLORADO LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A SURFACE LOW WILL STRENGTHEN EAST OR NORTHEAST OF DENVER WHICH WILL ALSO ACT AS A FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS WILL TURN CLOCKWISE WITH HEIGHT...SO THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES. THUNDERSTORMS WILL RAPIDLY FORM OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN...THE FOOTHILLS...PALMER DIVIDE AND CHEYENNE RIDGE EARLY THIS AFTERNOON... AND DEVELOP TO THE PLAINS BEFORE 2PM. BY EVENING... THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BEGIN DECREASING OVER THE URBAN CORRIDOR...WHILE THUNDERSTORMS BECOME WIDESPREAD TO THE NORTHEAST OF GREELEY AND LIMON. WE WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR...TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...AND POSSIBLE FLOODING. SPOTTERS WILL LIKELY BE ACTIVATED AROUND 1PM. RTG
Special weather statement, Jun 24, 11:45 AM MDT, 4 hours 13 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-270600- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO 1145 AM MDT TUE JUN 24 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: THE SURFACE AIRMASS HAS SLIGHTLY DRIED TODAY FROM YESTERDAY AND THERE HAS BEEN SOME SLIGHT WARMING ALOFT. IN SPITE OF THESE TWO FACTORS THERE IS STILL ENOUGH MOISTURE PRESENT FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WHEN COUPLED WITH THE EXPECTED SIGNIFICANT DAYTIME HEATING. SOUTHEAST SURFACE FLOW SHOULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND INCREASE OVER THE PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON CREATING A CONVERGENCE LINE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP UPON TO THE EAST OF THE DENVER METRO AREA. EXPECT STORMS TO DEVELOP OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN BY 1:30 PM...AND OUT OVER THE PLAINS BY 4 PM. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE OVER MOST OF THE PLAINS...DUE TO LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS. THE BEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE OVER LINCOLN... WASHINGTON...LOGAN....PHILLIPS...AND SEDGWICK COUNTIES. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED AFTER 3 PM. RJK
The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 6:59 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 31 min |
| Jun 23, 8:14 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 46 min |
| Jun 23, 9:00 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 45 min |
| Jun 24, 3:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Douglas, Elbert | 49 min |
| Jun 24, 4:40 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert, Lincoln | 50 min |
| Jun 24, 4:43 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 32 min |
| Jun 24, 5:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 49 min |
| Jun 24, 5:15 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan | 30 min |
| Jun 24, 5:26 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 49 min |
| Jun 24, 5:36 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 39 min |
| Jun 24, 5:50 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 40 min |
| Jun 24, 5:54 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 36 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.