Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 53, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 1998, 10:59 AM MDT for Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 46 min. 1 report 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 24, 1998, 10:59 AM MDT (16:59 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 1998, 11:45 AM MDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Elbert County, CO, Lincoln County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:59 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 11:05 AM MDT | Hail 0.75 | Agate, CO |
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, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 59 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1490 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 14 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 47 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
153
WUUS1 KDEN 241700 RRA
SVRDEN
COC039-073-121-241745-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1059 AM MDT SUN MAY 24 1998
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
NORTHEASTERN ELBERT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
NORTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
* UNTIL 1145 AM MDT
* AT 1053 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF LIMON...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 15 MILES PER HOUR.
* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...ARRIBA...GENOA...LIMON AND
THURMAN
HAIL UP TO 1.75 INCHES IN DIAMETER HAD BEEN REPORTED 10 MILES NORTH
OF LIMON ON HIGHWAY 71 AT AROUND 10:30 AM THIS MONRING WITH THIS
STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A
GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.
HEAVY RAINS MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND
UNDERPASSES. AVOID THESE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THEY
MAY BE WASHED OUT. WATER LEVELS OF SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS MAY ALSO
RISE...THEREFORE SEEK HIGHER GROUND IF THREATENED BY FLOOD WATERS.
LAT...LON 3937 10397 3921 10388 3923 10353 3928 10316
3955 10317 3963 10311 3963 10363 3948 10387
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 24, 10:45 AM MDT, 14 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-250600- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO 1045 AM MDT SUN MAY 24 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: TODAYS ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS FEATURE AMPLE MOISTURE...STRONG INSTABILITY...GENERAL UPSLOPE FLOW...AND UPPER LEVEL LIFT...ALL WHICH WILL SUPPORT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. TODAYS STORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS AND HAIL. THE BEST CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ALONG THE PALMER RIDGE OF ELBERT AND NORTHERN LINCOLN COUNTIES...THEN INTO WASHINGTON COUNTY. THE VERTICAL WIND PROFILE INTO THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE SHOWS THE WIND DIRECTIONS FAVORABLE FOR PRODUCTION OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT PRODUCE TORNADOES... BUT THE WIND SPEEDS ARE FAIRLY LOW. HOWEVER...THESE SPEEDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY LATE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA...THE PALMER RIDGE REGION. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED BY EARLY AFTERNOON FOR MUCH OF NORTHEAST COLORADO. RJK
Special weather statement, May 24, 10:45 AM MDT, 14 minutes before
COZ030-032>050-250600- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO 1045 AM MDT SUN MAY 24 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: TODAYS ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS FEATURE AMPLE MOISTURE...STRONG INSTABILITY...GENERAL UPSLOPE FLOW...AND UPPER LEVEL LIFT...ALL WHICH WILL SUPPORT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. TODAYS STORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS AND HAIL. THE BEST CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ALONG THE PALMER RIDGE OF ELBERT AND NORTHERN LINCOLN COUNTIES...THEN INTO WASHINGTON COUNTY. THE VERTICAL WIND PROFILE INTO THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE SHOWS THE WIND DIRECTIONS FAVORABLE FOR PRODUCTION OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT PRODUCE TORNADOES... BUT THE WIND SPEEDS ARE FAIRLY LOW. HOWEVER...THESE SPEEDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY LATE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA...THE PALMER RIDGE REGION. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED BY EARLY AFTERNOON FOR MUCH OF NORTHEAST COLORADO. RJK
The office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 10:16 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln, Washington | 44 min |
| May 24, 10:16 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert | 44 min |
| May 24, 10:59 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 46 min |
| May 24, 1:03 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert | 42 min |
| May 24, 1:34 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Arapahoe | 26 min |
| May 24, 1:55 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams | 35 min |
| May 24, 2:16 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert | 49 min |
| May 24, 2:37 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 38 min |
| May 24, 3:07 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert, Lincoln | 38 min |
| May 24, 3:15 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 30 min |
| May 24, 3:44 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 31 min |
| May 24, 4:18 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 27 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.