Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 96, NWS Goodland, KS

June 25, 1997Yuma County, Colorado

NWS Goodland, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 25, 1997, 5:14 PM MDT for Yuma County, Colorado. It was in force for 61 min. 2 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 25, 1997, 5:14 PM MDT (23:14 UTC)
Expired
Jun 25, 1997, 6:15 PM MDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Goodland, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Yuma County, CO

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:18 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 25, 5:17 PM MDTHail 0.88Clarkville, CO
Jun 25, 6:02 PM MDTThunderstorm Wind 50Wray, 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 25, 1:45 PM MDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 70 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 1997-06-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 51 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 1997-06-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 69 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
51 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-211 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1628 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
122 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 252314 RRA
SVRGLD
COC125-260015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
514 PM MDT WED JUN 25 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  NORTHERN YUMA COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO

* UNTIL 615 PM MDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  9 MILES NORTHWEST OF WRAY               AROUND 550 PM MDT
  HWY 385...8 MILES NORTH OF WRAY         AROUND 600 PM MDT

* AT 514 PM MDT...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 22 MILES NORTHWEST OF WRAY OR 15 MILES NORTH OF ECKLEY
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

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

ENTWISTLE

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 25, 2:40 PM MDT, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 25, 2:40 PM MDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED TYPOS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
240 PM MDT (340 PM CDT) WED JUN 25 1997

...FORECAST PROBLEM WILL BE TSTM CHANCES FIRST THREE PERIODS
FOLLOWED BY AMOUNT OF WARMUP...

BASED ON INITIALIZATION...SATL...AND UPR AIR ANAL...PREFER NGM/AVN
THROUGH PERIOD WITH AVN DOING BETTER AT THE SFC. BLV 12Z MODEL RUN
WAS AFFECTED BY NO RAOBS IN KEY LOCATIONS THIS MORNING...SLC...RIW...
AND ABQ. SLC AND RIW WERE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO INCMG S/W. MODELS DO
CATCH SOMETHING INITIALLY...HOWEVER DO NOT REALLY BRING IN ANYTHING
THIS AFTERNOON/THIS EVENING WITH THAT FEATURE. ALSO VERY WK VORT MAX
OVR NM THAT COULD COME UP IN SLY FLOW...AND CAUSE PROBLEMS.

BASED ON SATL AND PLAN PROFILER WINDS...A FAIRLY STRONG S/W WILL BE
COMG THRU FM THE WEST. WITH THE DARKENING SEEN ON SATL WITH THIS
FEATURE...WOULD NOT BE SUPRISED IF A GOOD COOL POOL WITH THIS
FEATURE. THIS FEATURE ALONG WITH NMRS SFC BOUNDERIES AND VERY
MOIST/UNSTABLE AMS IN PLACE...HAS CAUSED TSTMS ALONG FRONT RANGE
INTO NE PHANDLE. EVEN THOUGH MISSED ABV S/W NGM QPF FOR 00Z
DOES CATCH TSTM ACTIVITY NICELY OVER NE.

BASED ON ABV...BLV ALL MODELS DO NOT BRING IN STRONG ENOUGH S/W FOR
TONIGHT SO WILL GO CLOSER TO HIR AVN POPS FOR TON. GOOD PROFILE FOR
SVR STORMS WITH WATCH ALREADY OUT IN CO. WILL MENTION PSBL SVR
IN NEXT TWO COLUMNS OF CNTYS. BASED ON VVEL...FORCG...AND THETA
PROGS...STORMS WILL GO ALL NIGHT WITH SOME LINGERING OVER IN EASTERN
6 COUNTIES TMRW MRNG.

LEE TROF SHAPES AGAIN TMRW WITH GROUND WET FROM RECENT RAINS AND
WINDS NOT PUSHING OUT LOW LVL MSTR IN PLACE. DYNAMICS ARE WEAKER
TMRW/TMRW NIGHT WITH A LTL WARMER 700 MB TEMPS. WL GO LOW CHANCE
POPS OVER ENTIRE CWA BASED ON ABV.

NGM MOS WAS A LITTLE WARM TODAY BUT NOT TOO FAR OFF. WITH STAGNANT
PATTERN IN PLACE...NGM MOS DOES NOT DO TOO BAD. HWVR...BLV WITH
CURRENT AIR PATTERN IN PLACE...NGM LOOKS TO BE PUSHING LEE TROF TOO
FAR EAST AND OVERDOING WARMING. BASED ON ALL FACTORS...WL STICK
CLOSE TO GUIDANCE AND MAYBE SHADE A DEGREE OR TWO LOWER. NGM MOS
MINS DOING WELL FM YDA...AND BASED ON WINDS/EXPECTED CLD COVER THOSE
ALSO LOOK RSNBL.

GLD  061/087/062/093 522  HLC  063/089/067/095 422
CBK  062/088/063/093 522  MCK  063/089/065/095 422
TRB  059/089/061/094 522  ITR  060/087/062/094 622

BULLER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 25, 1:39 PM MDT, 3 hours 35 minutes before
COZ090>092-260200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
139 PM MDT WED JUN 25 1997

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL
COLORADO UNTIL 8 PM MDT...

THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED...IN EAST CENTRAL
COLORADO...YUMA...KIT CARSON AND CHEYENNE.

A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS WITH AN APPROACHING SHORT WAVE FROM THE
WEST WILL ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE
WATCH AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.

PERSONS IN OR CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA SHOULD TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO
PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION AND
TELEVISION FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

LUCAS
Special weather statement, Jun 25, 3:52 PM MDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-NEZ079>081-260255-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
352 PM MDT (452 PM CDT) WED JUN 25 1997

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 525 IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST KANSAS
AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA UNTIL 10 PM CDT (9 PM MDT)...

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 523 REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR EXTREME EAST
CENTRAL COLORADO UNTIL 8 PM MDT...

STRONG AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH TORNADOES...HAVE
DEVELOPED NORTH AND WEST OF THE AREA.  THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
BECOME MORE NUMEROUS THIS EVENING AND PASS THROUGH THE AREA.  THE
STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS...BRIEF
TORRENTIAL RAINS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND LARGE HAIL.

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 525 IS IN EFFECT ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM
SHARON SPRINGS TO WAKEENEY AND INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN
GOODLAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY...

IN SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...DUNDY...HITCHCOCK...AND RED WILLOW

IN NORTHWEST KANSAS...

     CHEYENNE...RAWLINS...DECATUR... NORTON
     SHERMAN... THOMAS... SHERIDAN...GRAHAM
     WALLACE... LOGAN...  AND GOVE

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 523 CONTINUES UNTIL 8 PM MDT FOR YUMA...KIT
CARSON...AND CHEYENNE COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO.

THE KEY TO SURVIVAL IS ADVANCED PLANNING.  YOU SHOULD KNOW WHERE
THE SAFEST AREAS OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS ARE...SUCH AS INTERIOR
ROOMS ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.

IF YOU OBSERVE HAIL OF DIME SIZE OR LARGE...WINDS OF 60 MPH OR
MORE...OR A TORNADO PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
AND ASK THEM TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
GOODLAND.

ENTWISTLE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 24, 6:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDCheyenne64 min
Jun 24, 6:33 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDCheyenne62 min
Jun 24, 7:01 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDCheyenne64 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.