Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 30, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 20, 2000Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2000, 4:51 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 24 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 20, 2000, 4:51 PM MDT (22:51 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2000, 5:15 PM MDT
In force: 24 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), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:54 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 20, 1:45 PM MDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 10 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 409 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -401 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1545 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 23 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS55 KBOU 202252
TORDEN
COC121-202315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
451 PM MDT THU JUL 20 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 515 PM MDT

* AT 451 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER ANTON...OR ABOUT 28 MILES
  SOUTH OF AKRON...MOVING EAST ABOUT 20 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...COPE...
ARICKAREE SCHOOL AND ANTON.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING
SITUATION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE
TORNADO...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

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.

DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A
TORNADO...L*EAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE
IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

LAT...LON 3989 10340 3964 10335 3964 10282 3990 10284

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 19, 7:21 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Adams, Morgan, Weld	24 min
Jul 19, 7:45 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Morgan	45 min
Jul 19, 8:26 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Morgan, Washington	34 min
Jul 20, 2:42 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Weld	48 min
Jul 20, 3:16 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Arapahoe, Elbert	44 min
Jul 20, 3:28 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Weld	47 min
Jul 20, 3:54 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	51 min
Jul 20, 4:05 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Morgan, Weld	40 min
Jul 20, 4:08 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Arapahoe, Washington	52 min
Jul 20, 4:32 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	43 min
Jul 20, 4:39 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Morgan	51 min
Jul 20, 4:54 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Adams	51 min
Jul 20, 5:05 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Morgan	40 min
Jul 20, 5:16 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	29 min
Jul 20, 5:18 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Adams, Morgan	42 min
Jul 20, 5:44 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Adams, Arapahoe, Washington	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2000 Every tornado warning in 2000 Tornadoes in 2000

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.