Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 19, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 30, 1998Lincoln County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 30, 1998, 7:27 PM MDT for Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 93 min. 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, 7:27 PM MDT (01:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 1998, 9:00 PM MDT
In force
93 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Lincoln County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 55 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:27 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 1998-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 10 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 1998-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 18 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
10 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-73 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
945 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KDEN 310131
FFWDEN
COC073-310300-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS EXTENDED THE 

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
     SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 900 PM MDT

* THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FROM EXTREME SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY       
  WILL EXPIRE AT 730 PM MDT.

* SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WILL CONTINUE 
THIS EVENING.  A FEW STORMS MAY STILL PRODUCE FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES OF 
RAIN IN 30 MINUTES.  SINCE THE HEAVIEST RAIN OCCURRED BETWEEN PUNKIN 
CENTER AND KARVAL...RUSH CREEK AND BIG SANDY CREEK WILL BE 
ESPECIALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLASH FLOODING.   

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...FORDER AND KARVAL

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF 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.  AVOID TRAVELING 
THE COUNTY ROADS IN SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY AS THEY MAY BE WASHED 
OUT.  

LAT...LON 3884 10403 3863 10401 3864 10321 3885 10322 3885 10367

COOPER

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, 7:20 PM MDT, 7 minutes before
COZ035-036-038>047-049-310400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
720 PM MDT THU JUL 30 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS CANCELLED THE FLASH FLOOD
WATCH FOR ALL OF NORTHEAST COLORADO INCLUDING THE FOOTHILLS AND
MOUNTAIN AREAS EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE.

ALTHOUGH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL
POSSIBLE THIS EVENING THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAINFALL HAS DIMINISHED
ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO AND IN THE FOOTHILLS AND MOUNTAIN AREAS
EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE.

HOWEVER OVER EAST CENTRAL COLORADO THE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY UNTIL 10 PM WHERE THE THREAT OF ADDITIONAL
HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE WITHIN
THE WATCH AREA.  PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA ARE ADVISED TO CHECK
PREPAREDNESS REQUIREMENTS...KEEP INFORMED...AND BE READY FOR QUICK
ACTION IF FLASH FLOODING THREATENS.

KLEYLA

x

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 6:00 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOULincoln45 min
Jul 30, 6:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln45 min
Jul 30, 8:56 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOULincoln2 hr
Jul 31, 3:15 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUClear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson60 min
Jul 31, 3:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUClear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson60 min
Jul 31, 5:05 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUJefferson85 min
Jul 31, 5:50 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUDouglas85 min

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.