Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 577

July 6, 199715 counties in Colorado; 14 counties in Kansas; 15 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 6, 1997, 3:15 PM MDT for 15 counties in Colorado; 14 counties in Kansas; 15 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 6, 1997, 3:15 PM MDT (21:15 UTC)
Expired
Jul 6, 1997, 9:00 PM MDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 44 counties

Baca County, CO, Bent County, CO, Cheyenne County, CO, Crowley County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Lincoln County, CO, Logan County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Otero County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO, Washington County, CO, Yuma County, CO, Cheyenne County, KS, Grant County, KS, Greeley County, KS, Hamilton County, KS, Kearny County, KS, Logan County, KS, Morton County, KS, Rawlins County, KS, Sherman County, KS, Stanton County, KS, Stevens County, KS, Thomas County, KS, Wallace County, KS, Wichita County, KS, Arthur County, NE, Banner County, NE, Chase County, NE, Cheyenne County, NE, Deuel County, NE, Dundy County, NE, Garden County, NE, Hayes County, NE, Hitchcock County, NE, Keith County, NE, Kimball County, NE, McPherson County, NE, Morrill County, NE, Perkins County, NE, Scotts Bluff County, NE

Warnings issued inside it

11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 6, 5:09 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSKimball31 min
Jul 6, 5:11 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULogan, Washington34 min
Jul 6, 5:21 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULogan24 min
Jul 6, 5:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDYuma50 min
Jul 6, 5:46 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULogan29 min
Jul 6, 6:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDYuma65 min
Jul 6, 6:13 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBent62 min
Jul 6, 6:15 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULogan, Sedgwick30 min
Jul 6, 6:33 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDDundy62 min
Jul 6, 6:39 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUSedgwick36 min
Jul 6, 6:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDYuma49 min

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 94 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 1997-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 46 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 1997-07-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 140 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
46 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-461 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2062 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
222 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.

556 
WWUS9 KMKC 062035
SEL7  
MKC WW 062035
KSZ000-NEZ000-COZ000-070300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 577
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
235 PM MDT SUN JUL 6 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   WESTERN KANSAS                             
   SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA                           
   EASTERN COLORADO                           

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 315 PM UNTIL 900
PM MDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 1/2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 60 MILES EAST OF SCOTTSBLUFF NEBRASKA TO 30 MILES WEST
OF ELKHART KANSAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...STRONG DIRECTION SHEAR IN PLACE CENTRAL HI PLAINS AS
AIRMASS HAS BECOME MODERATELY UNSTABLE.  STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP RAPIDLY OFF HIGHER ELEVATIONS THEN MOVE SOUTH/SOUTHEAST
INTO INCREASING LOW LEVEL SELY JET.  CONDITIONS FAVORBLE FOR
ISOLATED SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 1/2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 32030.


...HALES

415,1005 370,1010 365,1034 415,1035

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Colorado, 1997Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 1997Tornado Watches in Kansas, 1997Every tornado watch 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.