Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 20, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 30, 1998Lincoln County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 30, 1998, 8:56 PM MDT for Lincoln 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, 8:56 PM MDT (02:56 UTC)
Expired: Jul 30, 1998, 11:00 PM MDT
In force: 2 hr
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 02:59 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, 2.9 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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 310258
FFWDEN
COC073-310500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
856 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 11 PM MDT

* ALTHOUGH SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO      
  DECREASE IN INTENSITY...A FEW STORMS MAY STILL PRODUCE FROM 0.50   
  TO 1.0 INCHES OF RAIN IN 30 MINUTES.

THE LINCOLN COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED WATER STILL COVERING THE ROADWAY 
SOUTH OF PUNKIN CENTER ALONG STATE ROAD 71.  

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...FORDER...KARVAL...PUNKIN CENTER
AND WILD HORSE POINT

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM CURRENT AND PAST STORMS THIS EVENING WILL 
CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS.  OTHER NORMALLY 
DRY WASHES AND ARROYOS...AS WELL AS FARMLAND ALONG THE BANKS OF 
CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL ALSO BE FLOODED.  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, 1 hour 36 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

Local storm report, Jul 30, 8:30 PM MDT, 26 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
0830 PM MDT THU JUL 30 1998

...PRELIMINARY STORM REPORT FOR JULY 30 1998...

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0655 PM    ELIZABETH                 CO   80 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
07/30/98   ELBERT                         ESTIMATED BY OBSERVER

RAY

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 30, 6:00 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOU	Lincoln	45 min
Jul 30, 6:00 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Lincoln	45 min
Jul 30, 7:27 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOU	Lincoln	93 min
Jul 31, 3:15 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOU	Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson	60 min
Jul 31, 3:15 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson	60 min
Jul 31, 5:05 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOU	Jefferson	85 min
Jul 31, 5:50 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOU	Douglas	85 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Colorado, 1998 Every 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.