Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 30, 1998Park County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 30, 1998, 5:00 PM MDT for Park County, Colorado. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued
Jul 30, 1998, 5:00 PM MDT (23:00 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 1998, 7:00 PM MDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Park County, CO

The nearest sounding before it

Grand Junction, CO (KGJT), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 235 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, Grand Junction, CO at 12:00Z on 1998-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Grand Junction, CO at 12:00Z on 1998-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1824 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
79 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 302301
FFWDEN
COC093-310100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
500 PM MDT THU JUL 30 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
     SOUTHERN PARK COUNTY IN CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 700 PM MDT

* AT 500 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  VERY HEAVY RAIN 9 MILES WEST OF 11-MILE CANYON RESERVOIR...OR ABOUT
  45 MILES WEST OF COLORADO SPRINGS.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...11-MILE CANYON RESERVOIR...ANTERO
RESERVOIR...HARTSEL AND WILKERSON PASS

RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES INDICATE 3.0 TO 4.0 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE 
FALLEN 9 MILES WEST OF 11 MILE CANYON RESERVOIR...WITH MORE MODERATE 
TO HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS UPSTREAM.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...COUNTRY ROADS...NORMALLY DRY WASHES AND
ARROYOS...AS WELL AS FARMLAND ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF CREEKS
AND STREAMS...ROADS AND ROADSIDE CULVERTS. THE HEAVY RAINS COULD ALSO
TRIGGER ROCK AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN.

RJK

LAT...LON 3896 10608 3896 10601 3884 10588 3881 10579 3878 10565 
3878 10542 3898 10539 3904 10544 3908 10571 3909 10591 3907 10615

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 30, 11:10 AM MDT, 5 hours 50 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-310600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1110 AM MDT THU JUL 30 1998

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

ADAMS     ARAPAHOE     BOULDER   CLEAR CREEK   DENVER       DOUGLAS
ELBERT    GILPIN       GRAND     JACKSON       JEFFERSON    LARIMER
LINCOLN   LOGAN        MORGAN    PARK          PHILLIPS     SEDGWICK
SUMMIT    WASHINGTON   WELD

SYNOPSIS:  ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS EASTERN
COLORADO THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  THE BEST INSTABILITY
WILL BE FOUND IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS WHERE A FEW PEAKS OF
SUNSHINE WILL OCCUR.  ON THE NORTHEAST PLAINS...THE AIRMASS IS
QUITE STABLE AS LOW LEVEL COOL AIR HAS SPREAD IN BEHIND A SURFACE
FRONT.

AS DAYTIME HEATING REACTS WITH THE MOISTURE IN AND NEAR THE
FOOTHILLS...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DEVELOPING BY 1 PM.  AN UPPER
LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING TOWARD WESTERN COLORADO NOW WILL ALSO BE
APPROACHING BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON TO HELP SPARK THE DEVELOPMENT OF
STORMS.  WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE IN PLACE...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
WILL OCCUR IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS.  THIS WOULD INCLUDE THE FRONT
RANGE FROM CASTLE ROCK AND DENVER NORTHWARD THROUGH FORT COLLINS.

SEVERE STORMS AND LARGE HAIL WILL NOT BE A THREAT TODAY GIVEN THE
CLOUD COVER AND LIMITED INSTABILITY.  HOWEVER...BE ON THE LOOKOUT
FOR HEAVY RAINFALL.  RAINFALL RATES WITH THE STRONGER STORMS MAY
EXCEED 2 INCHES PER HOUR.  A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE REQUIRED FOR
THE FOOTHILLS AND FRONT RANGE CITIES LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TODAY.
HOWEVER...ANY REPORTS OF HEAVY RAINFAVLL WOULD BE GREATLY
APPRECIATED.

BARJENBRUCH
Special weather statement, Jul 30, 11:10 AM MDT, 5 hours 50 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-310600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1110 AM MDT THU JUL 30 1998

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

ADAMS     ARAPAHOE     BOULDER   CLEAR CREEK   DENVER       DOUGLAS
ELBERT    GILPIN       GRAND     JACKSON       JEFFERSON    LARIMER
LINCOLN   LOGAN        MORGAN    PARK          PHILLIPS     SEDGWICK
SUMMIT    WASHINGTON   WELD

SYNOPSIS:  ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS EASTERN
COLORADO THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  THE BEST INSTABILITY
WILL BE FOUND IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS WHERE A FEW PEAKS OF
SUNSHINE WILL OCCUR.  ON THE NORTHEAST PLAINS...THE AIRMASS IS
QUITE STABLE AS LOW LEVEL COOL AIR HAS SPREAD IN BEHIND A SURFACE
FRONT.

AS DAYTIME HEATING REACTS WITH THE MOISTURE IN AND NEAR THE
FOOTHILLS...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DEVELOPING BY 1 PM.  AN UPPER
LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING TOWARD WESTERN COLORADO NOW WILL ALSO BE
APPROACHING BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON TO HELP SPARK THE DEVELOPMENT OF
STORMS.  WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE IN PLACE...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
WILL OCCUR IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS.  THIS WOULD INCLUDE THE FRONT
RANGE FROM CASTLE ROCK AND DENVER NORTHWARD THROUGH FORT COLLINS.

SEVERE STORMS AND LARGE HAIL WILL NOT BE A THREAT TODAY GIVEN THE
CLOUD COVER AND LIMITED INSTABILITY.  HOWEVER...BE ON THE LOOKOUT
FOR HEAVY RAINFALL.  RAINFALL RATES WITH THE STRONGER STORMS MAY
EXCEED 2 INCHES PER HOUR.  A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE REQUIRED FOR
THE FOOTHILLS AND FRONT RANGE CITIES LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TODAY.
HOWEVER...ANY REPORTS OF HEAVY RAINFAVLL WOULD BE GREATLY
APPRECIATED.

BARJENBRUCH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 29, 6:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Elbert29 min
Jul 29, 6:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln43 min
Jul 29, 7:13 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln32 min
Jul 29, 7:39 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln36 min
Jul 30, 1:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas, Jefferson, Park34 min
Jul 30, 3:00 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUArapahoe, Douglas3 hr
Jul 30, 4:22 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln2 hr
Jul 30, 4:24 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln51 min
Jul 30, 5:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln46 min
Jul 30, 5:25 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Colorado, 1998Every flash flood warning in 1998

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.