Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 59, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 1998, 4:18 PM MDT for Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 27 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, 4:18 PM MDT (22:18 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 1998, 4:45 PM MDT
- In force
- 27 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County Lincoln County, CO
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 4:27 PM MDT | Hail 1.25 | Karval, 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 1:00 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 144 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.
903
WUUS1 KDEN 242220
SVRDEN
COC073-242245-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
418 PM MDT SUN MAY 24 1998
...CORRECTED FOR WATCH LOCATION...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
SOUTH CENTRAL LINCOLN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
* UNTIL 445 PM MDT
* AT 415 PM MDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF FORDER...OR ABOUT 44 MILES SOUTH OF LIMON...MOVING
SOUTHEAST AT 20 MILES PER HOUR. THE PUBLIC REPORTED GOLFBALL SIZE
HAIL 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF KARVAL AT 410 PM.
* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...WILD HORSE POINT
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE
WARNING. PREPARE TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A STURDY STRUCTURE
SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM IF A TORNADO IS SPOTTED.
A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM MDT FOR SOUTHEAST
COLORADO.
LAT...LON 3869 10376 3853 10374 3852 10361 3852 10331
3870 10333
KLEYLAWhat 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, 5 hours 33 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, 5 hours 33 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, 12:35 PM MDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before
COZ041-241945- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1235 PM MDT SUN MAY 24 1998 ...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN DOUGLAS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO... AT 1228 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS FORMING ACROSS DOUGLAS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM ON RADAR WAS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTH OF CASTLE ROCK IN CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY...OR 29 MILES SOUTH OF DENVER. THIS THUNDERSTORM HAS HAD A RECENT HISTORY OF PRODUCING 1/4 INCH DIAMETER HAIL AND FREQUENT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING. THUNDERSTORMS IN DOUGLAS COUNTY WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 TO 15 MPH AND MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN IN THE NEXT 15 TO 20 MINUTES AS THEY MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ELBERT COUNTY. BAKER
Special weather statement, May 24, 12:35 PM MDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before
COZ041-241945- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1235 PM MDT SUN MAY 24 1998 ...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN DOUGLAS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO... AT 1228 PM MDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS FORMING ACROSS DOUGLAS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM ON RADAR WAS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTH OF CASTLE ROCK IN CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY...OR 29 MILES SOUTH OF DENVER. THIS THUNDERSTORM HAS HAD A RECENT HISTORY OF PRODUCING 1/4 INCH DIAMETER HAIL AND FREQUENT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING. THUNDERSTORMS IN DOUGLAS COUNTY WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 TO 15 MPH AND MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN IN THE NEXT 15 TO 20 MINUTES AS THEY MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ELBERT COUNTY. BAKER
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 | Elbert, Lincoln | 46 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 |
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.