Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 40, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

August 16, 1997Adams County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1997, 7:28 PM MDT for Adams County, Colorado. It was in force for 32 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 1997, 7:28 PM MDT (01:28 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1997, 8:00 PM MDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties

County Adams County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 20 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:31 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

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 95 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 1997-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1611 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 1997-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1611 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1576 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-15 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 KDEN 170128 RRA
TORDEN
COC001-170200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
728 PM MDT SAT AUG 16 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
     EASTERN ADAMS

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     SHAMROCK

AT 728 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES WEST OF SHAMROCK...OR
ABOUT 26 MILES SOUTH OF FORT MORGAN.

THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTH AT 5 MILES PER HOUR.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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.h..LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3984 10368 3971 10391 3988 10404 3998 10395

FMC

The office that day

Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 6:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson45 min
Aug 16, 6:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Morgan, Washington39 min
Aug 16, 7:38 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld22 min
Aug 16, 7:48 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington27 min
Aug 16, 7:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld46 min
Aug 16, 8:17 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln, Washington28 min
Aug 16, 8:31 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULarimer, Weld44 min
Aug 16, 8:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Weld30 min
Aug 16, 9:10 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld50 min
Aug 16, 9:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUBoulder, Larimer31 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.