Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 18, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jun 15, 1997, 3:20 PM MDT for Adams County, Weld County, Colorado. It was in force for 25 min. 1 report came from 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, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Jun 15, 1997, 3:20 PM MDT (21:20 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 15, 1997, 3:45 PM MDT
- In force
- 25 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Adams County, CO, Weld County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:23 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 3:21 PM MDT | Tornado F1 | Dacono, CO | A tornado touched down briefly at the Colorado National Speedway. The tornado ripped through the south grandstand causing at least $50, 000 in damage to a shed, kiosk, bleachers and several concession stands. |
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, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 152 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
- 62 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -239 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1525 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -77 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 152122 RRA
TORDEN
COC001-013-123-152145-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
320 PM MDT SUN JUN 15 1997
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 345 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
SOUTHEASTERN BOULDER...NORTHWESTERN ADAMS AND SOUTHWESTERN WELD
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
DACONO...ERIE AND LAFAYETTE
AT 317 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 3 MILES NORTH OF DACONO...OR
ABOUT 24 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GREELEY.
AT 317 PM MDT AMATEUR RADIO WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR
HIGHWAY 7 AND I-25...IN THE FIRESTONE AREA.
THE STORM WAS STATIONARY.
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 WINDOWS.
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
DANKERS
LAT...LON 4004 10488 3993 10503 4006 10518 4018 10503The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 6:05 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 35 min |
| Jun 14, 7:35 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Washington | 25 min |
| Jun 14, 7:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick | 45 min |
| Jun 14, 8:52 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick | 38 min |
| Jun 14, 9:38 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Phillips | 27 min |
| Jun 15, 12:33 AM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | BOU | Phillips | 3 hr |
| Jun 15, 3:25 AM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | BOU | Phillips | 2 hr |
| Jun 15, 5:23 AM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | BOU | Phillips | 3 hr |
| Jun 15, 1:41 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Larimer, Weld | 34 min |
| Jun 15, 3:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Boulder, Weld | 34 min |
| Jun 15, 3:20 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Boulder | 25 min |
| Jun 15, 3:53 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Weld | 32 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.