Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 15, 1998Arapahoe County, Elbert County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 15, 1998, 3:28 PM MDT for Arapahoe County, Elbert County, Colorado. It was in force for 32 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
Jul 15, 1998, 3:28 PM MDT (21:28 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 1998, 4:00 PM MDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Arapahoe County, CO, Elbert County, CO

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 118 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 1998-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 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 1998-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3332 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
39 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.

442 
WFUS1 KDEN 152132 RRA
TORDEN
COC005-039-152200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
328 PM MDT WED JUL 15 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
     NORTHWESTERN ELBERT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
     CENTRAL ARAPAHOE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 400 PM MDT

* AT 325 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTH OF OEA
  BUILDING...OR ABOUT 28 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DENVER...MOVING WEST AT
  10 MILES PER HOUR.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...OEA BUILDING
 
THIS THUNDERSTORM IS ALONG A LINE OF CLOUDS THAT HAVE PRODUCED TWO 
TORNADOES SINCE 3PM SOUTH OF STRASBURG AND BENNETT.  

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3947 10449 3972 10444 3973 10467 3946 10465
RTG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 2:54 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe26 min
Jul 15, 3:05 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe25 min
Jul 15, 3:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUElbert36 min
Jul 15, 5:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld23 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.