Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 35, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 22, 1998, 1:00 PM MDT for Adams County, Weld County, Colorado. It was in force for 30 min. 3 reports came from 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, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 22, 1998, 1:00 PM MDT (19:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 22, 1998, 1:30 PM MDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Adams County, CO, Weld County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:01 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 1:07 PM MDT | Hail 1 | Brighton, CO | |
| May 22, 1:11 PM MDT | Hail 0.75 | Wattenburg, CO | |
| May 22, 1:30 PM MDT | Hail 0.75 | Ft Lupton, CO | Hail caused substantial crop damage in this area as it piled up 3 to 5 inches deep. |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The nearest sounding before it
Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 140 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 105 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 747 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 109 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
525
WUUS1 KDEN 221859 RRA
SVRDEN
COC001-123-221930-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
100 PM MDT FRI MAY 22 1998
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
NORTHWESTERN ADAMS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
SOUTHWESTERN WELD COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
* UNTIL 130 PM MDT
* AT 100 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES WEST OF BRIGHTON...OR ABOUT 15 MILES
NORTH OF DENVER...MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES PER HOUR.
* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BROOMFIELD...NORTHGLENN...
THORNTON...NORTHEASTERN WESTMINSTER...BARR LAKE...BRIGHTON...
DACONO...FEDERAL HEIGHTS...FORT LUPTON...FREDERICK...HUDSON AND
LOCHBUIE
HAIL UP TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS
STORM. HAIL ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 5 INCHES DEEP ON ROADWAYS HAVE ALSO
BEEN REPORTED. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR
IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS UP TO 1.5 INCHES PER HOUR ARE ALSO EXPECTED WITH
THIS STORM.
LAT...LON 4001 10505 3986 10502 3989 10482 3996 10467
4005 10464 4013 10463 4015 10478 4011 10491
4006 10501
RJKWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, May 22, 9:51 AM MDT, 3 hours 9 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-060>081-241200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 10AM MDT FRI MAY 22 1998 ...A GREAT WEEKEND ON THE RIVERS... THE ORDERLY MELTING OF THE SNOWPACK NEAR THE HEADWATERS OF STREAMS EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE IN COLORADO CONTINUES. AROUND AN INCH OF WATER A DAY IS MELTING OUT OF THE PACK BUT THIS MELT IS BEING HANDLED QUITE WELL BY STREAMS IN THE AREA. RIVER LEVELS MONITORED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER REMAIN WELL BELOW BANKFULL IN ALMOST ALL LOCATIONS. IF THE CURRENT PATTERN CONTINUES...THE PEAK RIVER FLOWS DUE TO SNOWMELT WILL HAVE OCCURRED AT MOST LOCATIONS BY THIS TIME NEXT WEEK AND THERE WILL BE LITTLE IF ANY SIGNIFICANT FLOODING DURING THE SNOWMELT PERIOD THIS YEAR. CURRENT TEMPERATURE FORECASTS INDICATE LITTLE CHANGE IN THE SNOWMELT PATTERN OVER THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND...AND RAINFALL DURING THE PERIOD SHOULD BE SPOTTY ENOUGH AND LIGHT ENOUGH SO THAT FLOODING IS NOT ANTICIPATED. BOTTOM LINE...GOOD CONDITIONS THIS WEEKEND FOR RIVER ACTIVITIES ON UNCONTROLLED STREAMS EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...INCLUDING CAMPING...RAFTING...ETC...WITH LITTLE CHANCE OF HIGH ENOUGH RIVER LEVELS OR ENOUGH RAINFALL TO INTERFERE. ENJOY... TUNNELL
Special weather statement, May 22, 11:24 AM MDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before
COZ036-039-040-221745- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1124 AM MDT FRI MAY 22 1998 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HAIL IN JEFFERSON COUNTY... AT 1108 AM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES NORTH OF BERGEN PARK...OR ABOUT 20 MILES WEST OF DENVER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES PER HOUR. THIS STORM WAS PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS AND HAIL. THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT REPORTED HAIL UP TO 5 INCHES DEEP ON INTERSTATE 70 NEAR FLOYD HILL. PERSONS IN OR NEAR ARVADA...EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN BROOMFIELD... GOLDEN...NORTHWESTERN LAKEWOOD...CENTRAL WESTMINSTER...WESTERN WHEAT RIDGE...BERGEN PARK...ELDORADO SPRINGS...EVERGREEN...KITTREDGE... ROCKY FLATS AND WHITE RANCH OPEN SPACE SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF BAD WEATHER APPROACHES. RJK
Special weather statement, May 22, 11:29 AM MDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-230600- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO 1129 AM MDT FRI MAY 22 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: A FAIRLY MOIST...UNSTABLE...AIRMASS IS NOW IN PLACE OVER THE FORECAST AREA. AT THE SURFACE...DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE OVER SOUTHERN COLORADO WILL ALLOW AN EASTERLY COMPONENT TO THE WINDS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO BRING MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW TO AREAS EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE...STRONG SOUTH-SOUTHWEST FLOW...A STORM SYSTEM CENTERED JUST TO THE NORTHWEST OF COLORADO...AND COOLER AIR ALOFT WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENT TO THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALREADY DEVELOPING OVER THE FOOTHILLS... PALMER...AND CHEYENNE RIDGES LATE THIS MORNING. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE SHOULD BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER MOST OF THE PLAINS AND THE FOOTHILLS OF THE FORECAST AREA. SOME POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS IN MOST AREAS OF THE FLATLANDS...WITH TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...AND HEAVY RAINS THE THREATS. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED BY 12:30 PM. RJK
The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 6:13 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Phillips, Sedgwick | 22 min |
| May 21, 6:15 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan | 45 min |
| May 21, 7:27 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 33 min |
| May 21, 8:01 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 39 min |
| May 21, 8:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan, Phillips | 35 min |
| May 21, 10:36 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Weld | 34 min |
| May 22, 11:56 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Boulder, Jefferson | 34 min |
| May 22, 12:29 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Boulder, Jefferson, Weld | 46 min |
| May 22, 12:29 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams | 46 min |
| May 22, 1:10 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Boulder, Larimer, Weld | 25 min |
| May 22, 1:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Weld | 45 min |
| May 22, 1:35 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Larimer, Weld | 40 min |
| May 22, 1:41 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 34 min |
| May 22, 2:06 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe, Denver | 39 min |
| May 22, 2:15 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 45 min |
| May 22, 2:21 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 24 min |
| May 22, 2:45 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 45 min |
| May 22, 2:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 32 min |
| May 22, 3:15 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 40 min |
| May 22, 3:21 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 24 min |
| May 22, 3:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Washington | 35 min |
| May 22, 4:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams | 34 min |
| May 22, 4:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan, Morgan, Washington | 30 min |
| May 22, 4:40 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 50 min |
| May 22, 4:46 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Washington | 44 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Colorado, 1998Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.