Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 255, NWS Goodland, KS
NWS Goodland, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 11, 1997, 7:55 PM MDT for Cheyenne County, Colorado. It was in force for 65 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
- Oct 11, 1997, 7:55 PM MDT (01:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 11, 1997, 9:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 65 min
- Issued by
- NWS Goodland, KS
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cheyenne County, CO
The radar
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:59 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 8:30 PM MDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Kit Carson, CO | Spotter estimated 60 mph wind gust. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 5:00 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 128 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
- 2617 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 56 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 120 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 68 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
998 WUUS1 KGLD 120156 RRA SVRGLD COC017-120300- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 755 PM MDT SAT OCT 11 1997 * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL CHEYENNE COUNTY COLORADO IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO * UNTIL 900 PM MDT * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED KIT CARSON AROUND 805 PM MDT 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF KIT CARSON AROUND 825 PM MDT 8 MILES NORTH OF FIRST VIEW AROUND 825 PM MDT * AT 756 PM MDT...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHEYENNE WELLS OR 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF KIT CARSON MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES. VOJTESAK
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.
NWS Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Oct 11, 2:14 PM MDT, 5 hours 41 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 11, 2:14 PM MDT, 5 hours 41 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 214 PM MDT (314 PM CDT) SAT OCT 11 1997 ...MAIN CHALLENGE THIS GO ROUND WILL BE POPS FIRST THREE PDS AND TIMING OF COLD FRONT AND RESULTING TEMPS SUN AND SUN NIGHT... ...SHORT TERM... ALL MODELS SIMILAR ON H7-H5 INITIALIZATION OF AMPLIFIED L/W TROF OVER NV/UT AT 12Z. HOWEVER...ETAS SLOWER TIMING OF TROF OPENING UP AND PULLING INTO CWA PREFFERRED WITH 140-160 KT JET MAX MAKING ITS WAY DOWN THE UPSTREAM SIDE. THUS PREFER SLOWER PROGRESSION EAST AND BOUT 3-6 HR DELAY IN S/W ARRIVAL AROUND BASE OF L/W SYSTEM. MM5 SEEMS TO GRASP SFC-BNDY FEATURES A BIT BETTER THAN ETA...SO WILL FOLLOW FOR SFC CYCLONE DEVELOPMENT AND COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE WHICH IS BOUT 3 HRS SLOWER THAN AVN/NGM. MDT RISK OUT TONIGHT FROM SPC. SLY BNDY LAYER WINDS UP TO 50KTS EXPECTED FEED ABUNDANT LOW LVL MSTR FROM OK/TX INTO AREA TNGT AND SUNDAY WHICH WILL WARRANT NPW INTO SUN. STAYED CLOSE TO PREV FCSTR THOUGHTS ON POPS AS STG JET MAX SWINGS ROUND BASE OF TROUGH TONIGHT AND EJECTS INITIAL S/W WITH INTO SERN CO OVERNIGHT. ONLY WORRY IS WHEN CAP WILL BREAK. ONCE IT DOES...FEEL TSTORMS MAY BEGIN TO FIRE ALONG LEE TROF. ONCE IT DOES SO...DYNAMICS SHOULD HELP PCPN BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AND MOVE OVER INTO KS/NEB BY MIDNIGHT. PWS OF 1.25 TO 1.5 LOCATED OVER KS/NEB...SO WILL ADD LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN TO THE ZNS. SINCE I FEEL FWC IS TOO FAST WITH FRONT...WILL HIKE LOWS AT LEAST A CAT OR SO MOST AREAS WITH STRONG LOW LVL WAA OCCURRING AHEAD OF WESTERN SYSTEM. ...LONG TERM... L/W H5 TROF OPENS UP ONCE 150-160 KT JET MAX COMES THRU. THIS WILL HELP SFC LOW THAT DEVELOPS OVER ERN CO TO EJECT OUT INTO N-CNTRL KS BY 00Z SUN. FEEL FROPA TO OCCUR NW OF ITR-MCK LINE 15-18Z. CENTRAL AREAS AROUND 18Z...THEN THE TRB AND HLC BETWEEN 18 AND 21Z. SFC LOW TO REALLY DEEPEN AS STRONG S/W EJECTS OUT INTO HIGH PLAINS. FEEL THE GRADIENT WILL INCREASE TO HIGH WIND CRITERIA...THUS HIGH WIND WATCH SUGGESTED FOR SUN. HIGH POPS WARRANTED ONCE AGAIN...ESPECIALLY SE AREAS AHEAD OF COLD FRONT AND WITH PLENTY PVA AROUND. WILL GO MORN HIGHS ONCE AGAIN A CAT HIGHER THAN MOS WITH MM5 SLOWER TIMING OF FROPA. BY SUN NGT...STG CAA FROM SFC-H7 TO OCCUR BY 06Z. RR QUAD OF JET WILL BE CLOSE BY WITH COLD AIR AT H5 SHEARING OUT OVER THE AREA AND THEN NE OF AREA BY 12Z MON MORN. SO SCATTERED...PRE-FRONTAL PCPN NOT OUTTA THE QUESTION. 543 TCKNS PROGGED BY 12Z ALSO. H85-H7 CAA INDICATES THAT AREAS NW OF A GLD-MCK LINE MAY SEE SHOWERY TYPE PCPN CHANGE OVER TO SNOW BY 06Z MON. WILL PUT IN ZONES. KEPT LOWS BETWEEN FAN AND FWC NUMBERS WITH UNCERTAINTY OF CLEARING BY MON MORN. IF FREEZE OCCURS...BELIEVE IT MAY BE MORE THE NW HALF MON MORN... WINDS STAY UP EARLY MON BUT SHOULD DIMINISH BY 00Z TUES. WILL STAY CLOSE TO GUIDANCE HIGHS HERE WITH SUNSHINE HELPING TEMPS TO PUSH FWC VALUES. IN EXTENDED...STG NWLY FLO ALOFT BEHIND DEPARTING L/W TROF AND SFC RIDGE BUILDING IN...FEEL IT WILL BE DRY AND COOL. MORE LIKE FALL. .GLD...WIND ADVSRY TNGT...HIGH WIND WATCH SUNDAY ALL ZNS. MARTELLO
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 11, 5:00 PM MDT, 2 hours 55 minutes before
COZ090>092-120505- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 500 PM MDT SAT OCT 11 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS POSTED UNTIL 11 PM MDT FOR YUMA...KIT CARSON AND CHEYENNE COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO... A NARROW BAND OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDS FROM JUST SOUTH OF SCOTTSBLUFF NEBRASKA TO JUST NORTH OF PUEBLO COLORADO. INDIVIDUAL CELLS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST AT 40 TO 45 MPH WHILE THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LINE MOVES SLOWLY EAST TOWARDS THE KANSAS BORDER AT LESS THAN 10 MPH. WITH THE SURFACE WINDS ALREADY IN THE 35 TO 45 MPH RANGE ACROSS THE AREA...ANY LOCATION UNDERNEATH ONE OF THESE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CELLS COULD EASILY RECEIVE WIND GUSTS APPROACHING 75 MPH. GOLF BALL SIZED OR LARGER HAILSTONES AND ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY ALSO BE GENERATED BY THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO OCCUR. BE READY TO MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM CELLAR IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION...OR TELEVISION FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. VOJTESAK
Special weather statement, Oct 11, 5:01 PM MDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
COZ090>092-120505- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 500 PM MDT SAT OCT 11 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS POSTED UNTIL 11 PM MDT FOR YUMA...KIT CARSON AND CHEYENNE COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO... A NARROW BAND OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDS FROM JUST SOUTH OF SCOTTSBLUFF NEBRASKA TO JUST NORTH OF PUEBLO COLORADO. INDIVIDUAL CELLS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST AT 40 TO 45 MPH WHILE THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LINE MOVES SLOWLY EAST TOWARDS THE KANSAS BORDER AT LESS THAN 10 MPH. WITH THE SURFACE WINDS ALREADY IN THE 35 TO 45 MPH RANGE ACROSS THE AREA...ANY LOCATION UNDERNEATH ONE OF THESE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CELLS COULD EASILY RECEIVE WIND GUSTS APPROACHING 75 MPH. GOLF BALL SIZED OR LARGER HAILSTONES AND ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY ALSO BE GENERATED BY THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO OCCUR. BE READY TO MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM CELLAR IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION...OR TELEVISION FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. VOJTESAK
Special weather statement, Oct 11, 7:33 PM MDT, 22 minutes before
COZ090>092-120335- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 733 PM MDT SAT OCT 11 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MDT... AT 729 PM MDT...WHILE NO THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING IN YUMA...KIT CARSON AND CHEYENNE COUNTIES OF EASTERN COLORADO...A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM EXTREME NORTHEAST COLORADO TO AKRON TO JUST WEST OF LIMON. THESE STORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH NORTHEAST AT AROUND 40 MPH. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE LINE ARE FORECAST TO MOVE INTO EXTREME NORTHWESTERN YUMA COUNTY BY 830 PM MDT. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NORTH OF LAS ANIMAS CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. AT THIS DIRECTION AND SPEED...THE STORM WILL ENTER SOUTH CENTRAL CHEYENNE COUNTY BY 830 PM MDT. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO OCCUR. BE READY TO MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM CELLAR IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION OR CABLE TELEVISION FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. TURNER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 9:01 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Kit Carson | 64 min |
| Oct 11, 10:16 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Cheyenne | 49 min |
| Oct 11, 10:41 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Cheyenne | 49 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.