Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 31, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

August 9, 1998Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this flash flood warning at Aug 9, 1998, 4:49 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 86 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
Aug 9, 1998, 4:49 PM MDT (22:49 UTC)
Expired
Aug 9, 1998, 6:15 PM MDT
In force
86 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Washington County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:53 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 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 20 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 1998-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 13 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 12:00Z on 1998-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
13 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-340 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2304 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
11 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 092252
FFWDEN
COC121-100015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
449 PM MDT SUN AUG 9 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
     CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 615 PM MDT

* AT 441 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTY...OR ABOUT 7 MILES 
NORTHEAST OF ELBA. RADAR HAS ESTIMATED RAINFALL FROM 3 TO 4 INCHES 
DURING THE PAST HOUR.

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.

ENTREKIN

LAT...LON 3999 10311 3992 10304 3997 10295 4005 10303

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, Aug 9, 11:15 AM MDT, 5 hours 34 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-100600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1115 AM MDT SUN AUG 09 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: MONSOON MOISTURE AROUND WILL BE PLENTY OF FUEL FOR WIDELY
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
THIS EVENING.  A WEAK DISTURBANCE ALOFT WILL TRIGGER THE STORMS BUT
WEAK STEERING WINDS WILL KEEP THE STORMS NEARLY STATIONARY ALLOWING
RAIN TO FALL OVER AREAS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME.  THUS HEAVY
RAIN IS POSSIBLE.  A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL TOO.  THE
STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE SO SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.  TA
Special weather statement, Aug 9, 11:15 AM MDT, 5 hours 34 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-100600-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1115 AM MDT SUN AUG 09 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: MONSOON MOISTURE AROUND WILL BE PLENTY OF FUEL FOR WIDELY
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
THIS EVENING.  A WEAK DISTURBANCE ALOFT WILL TRIGGER THE STORMS BUT
WEAK STEERING WINDS WILL KEEP THE STORMS NEARLY STATIONARY ALLOWING
RAIN TO FALL OVER AREAS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME.  THUS HEAVY
RAIN IS POSSIBLE.  A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL TOO.  THE
STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE SO SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.  TA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 8, 6:20 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUMorgan85 min
Aug 8, 6:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan50 min
Aug 8, 7:12 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUMorgan93 min
Aug 8, 8:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe31 min
Aug 9, 3:35 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOULincoln3 hr
Aug 9, 3:38 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOULincoln3 hr
Aug 9, 3:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas43 min
Aug 9, 3:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUDouglas, Elbert43 min
Aug 9, 3:38 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Elbert52 min
Aug 9, 3:48 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams27 min
Aug 9, 3:57 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUMorgan, Weld48 min
Aug 9, 4:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington44 min
Aug 9, 4:33 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUAdams, Morgan117 min
Aug 9, 4:43 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Morgan, Weld32 min
Aug 9, 4:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln, Washington38 min
Aug 9, 5:21 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOULincoln, Washington99 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.