Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 64, NWS Goodland, KS

June 12, 1997Kit Carson County, Colorado

NWS Goodland, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 12, 1997, 2:32 PM MDT for Kit Carson County, Colorado. It was in force for 63 min. 4 reports 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
Jun 12, 1997, 2:32 PM MDT (20:32 UTC)
Expired
Jun 12, 1997, 3:35 PM MDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Goodland, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Kit Carson County, CO

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:31 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 12, 2:35 PM MDTHail 0.75Flagler, CO
Jun 12, 2:50 PM MDTHail 0.88Seibert, CO
Jun 12, 3:20 PM MDTHail 0.75Vona, CO
Jun 12, 3:35 PM MDTHail 0.75Stratton, CO

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 12, 12:30 PM MDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 83 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 12:00Z on 1997-06-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 48 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1997-06-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
48 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-253 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1774 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 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 KGLD 122031 RRA
SVRGLD
COC063-122135-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
232 PM MDT THU JUN 12 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  KIT CARSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 335 PM MDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  SEIBERT                                 AROUND 245 PM MDT
  VONA                                    AROUND 305 PM MDT
  STRATTON                                AROUND 325 PM MDT

* AT 231 PM MDT...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 38 MILES WEST OF BURLINGTON OR 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  SEIBERT MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS! A TORNADO
WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES.

BARKER

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 Jun 12, 1:06 PM MDT, 1 hour 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 12, 1:06 PM MDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
106 PM MDT (206 PM CDT) THU JUN 12 1997

BIGGEST CHALLANGE TDA IS POPS FOR 1ST PD.

SVRL FACTORS COMING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT HI POPS TNGT. CNVTN ALREADY
STG NR LIC AND XPCD TO DVLP EWD ALG PALMER DIVIDE THRU RMNDR OF THE
AFTN. THE BOUNDARIES LAID DN BY THIS STM WL LKLY INTERACT WITH THE
PLETHERA OF BOUNDARIES LEFT BEHIND FM YDAS STMS. THE MOST PRONOUNCED
BNDRY IS LCTD JUST S OF FA. ONE ROUND OF SCT ACTVTY IS LKLY LT THIS
AFTN AND ERL THIS EVE IN WRN AND SRN ZNS DUE TO THERMAL FORCING.

NXT ROUND SHOULD COME LT TNGT AND ERL FRI AS FAIRLY STG SW CURRENTLY
OVR WRN NEW MEXICO MOVES INTO FA. ETA SEEMS A BIT TOO FAST AND WK
WITH THIS SYS AND FAVOR NGM/AVN HANDLING. BTR COVERAGE BUT LESS
STRENGTH TO THE CNVTN IS LKLY AS THIS DYNAMIC FORCING AFFECTS THE
AREA. WL GO WITH GD CHC OR LKLY MOST ZNS. IN ADDITION...UPSLP FLOW
SHOULD ADD A POTENTIAL OF FOG TO RGN.

TOMORROWS FORCING SHOULD BE SIMILAR IN TIMING JUST NOT AS STG.
MORNING FOG AND CLDS SHOULD KEEP BEST THERMAL FORCING CONFINED TO
CO ZNS AND INCOMING WV APPRS WKER. WL FOLLOW A GEN DRYING TREND THRU
PACKAGE WITH CUTOFF LOW REMAINING W OF AREA BEYOND PACKAGE PD. ONCE
AGN CONCERNED THE MODELS MAY NOT BE TIMING EJECTED WVS CORRECTLY...
SO WL NEED TO BROADBRUSH A BIT.

FWCS SEEM A BIT HI TMW ERN ZNS AND ALL BUT EXTRM SW ZNS ON SAT GVN
CONTINUED UPSLP FLOW AND CLDS. WL UNDERCUT HI TEMPS ACCORDINGLY.

GLD  057/075/055/082 6532   HLC  058/075/057/081 5522
CBK  057/075/056/081 6532   MCK  057/074/056/081 5522
TRB  057/077/055/083 6532   ITR  056/076/055/084 6333

BARKER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 12, 9:41 AM MDT, 4 hours 51 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-130600-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
942 AM MDT THU JUN 12 1997

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

CHEYENNE CO   CHEYENNE KS   DECATUR KS     DUNDY NE        GOVE KS
GRAHAM KS     GREELEY KS    HITCHCOCK NE   KIT CARSON CO   LOGAN KS
NORTON KS     RAWLINS KS    RED WILLOW NE  SHERIDAN KS     SHERMAN KS
THOMAS KS     WALLACE KS    WICHITA KS     YUMA CO

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED...PARTICULARLY SOUTHWEST OF A
WRAY COLORADO / OAKLEY KANSAS / QUINTER KANSAS LINE.

SYNOPSIS: MOIST UNSTABLE AIR REMAINS ENTRENCHED OVER THE REGION
TODAY AND WILL COMBINE WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE TO PRODUCE
ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED
TO DEVELOP SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 BY MIDDLE AFTERNOON...AND THEN
BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST AFTER DARK AS THE
UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES.

SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE ACROSS WESTERN AND SOUTHERN
PORTIONS OF THE REGION BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THROUGH
THE EVENING...WITH LARGE HAIL BEING THE BIGGESTZ THREAT.

BARKER
Special weather statement, Jun 12, 9:42 AM MDT, 4 hours 50 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-130600-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
942 AM MDT THU JUN 12 1997

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

CHEYENNE CO   CHEYENNE KS   DECATUR KS     DUNDY NE        GOVE KS
GRAHAM KS     GREELEY KS    HITCHCOCK NE   KIT CARSON CO   LOGAN KS
NORTON KS     RAWLINS KS    RED WILLOW NE  SHERIDAN KS     SHERMAN KS
THOMAS KS     WALLACE KS    WICHITA KS     YUMA CO

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED...PARTICULARLY SOUTHWEST OF A
WRAY COLORADO / OAKLEY KANSAS / QUINTER KANSAS LINE.

SYNOPSIS: MOIST UNSTABLE AIR REMAINS ENTRENCHED OVER THE REGION
TODAY AND WILL COMBINE WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE TO PRODUCE
ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED
TO DEVELOP SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 BY MIDDLE AFTERNOON...AND THEN
BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST AFTER DARK AS THE
UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES.

SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE ACROSS WESTERN AND SOUTHERN
PORTIONS OF THE REGION BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THROUGH
THE EVENING...WITH LARGE HAIL BEING THE BIGGEST THREAT.

BARKER
Special weather statement, Jun 12, 11:53 AM MDT, 2 hours 39 minutes before
COZ090>092-122100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1153 AM MDT THU JUN 12 1997

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 6 PM...

A MOIST UNSTABLE AIR MASS REMAINS ENTRENCHED ACROSS EXTREME EASTERN
COLORADO AT MIDDAY. AS ABUNDANT SUNSHINE DESTABALIZES THE
ATMOSPHERE...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD INTO
EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO.

THE WIND SHEAR IN THE ATMOSPHERE IS SUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE A THREAT
OF TORNADOES...AS WELL AS...LARGE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OVER 55 MPH.
THIS TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM FOR YUMA...KIT CARSON...
AND CHEYENNE COUNTIES.

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 THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER
SITUATION.

BARKER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 12, 2:17 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDKit Carson63 min
Jun 12, 3:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDKit Carson50 min
Jun 12, 4:03 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDKit Carson37 min
Jun 12, 5:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDCheyenne63 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.