Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

August 24, 2002Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Aug 24, 2002, 6:17 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 43 min. 6 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 24, 2002, 6:17 PM MDT (00:17 UTC)
Expired: Aug 24, 2002, 7:00 PM MDT
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 129 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:16 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
Aug 24, 6:20 PM MDT	Hail 1.75	Otis, CO
Aug 24, 6:25 PM MDT	Hail 2.75	Akron, CO
Aug 24, 6:36 PM MDT	Hail 2.5	Platner, CO
Aug 24, 6:49 PM MDT	Hail 2.5	Akron, CO
Aug 24, 7:02 PM MDT	Hail 1.75	Akron, CO
Aug 24, 7:09 PM MDT	Hail 1.75	Akron, 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
Aug 24, 5:20 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 39 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: 740 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2494 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 31 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

884 
WFUS55 KBOU 250017
TORDEN
COC121-250100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
616 PM MDT SAT AUG 24 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF AKRON

* UNTIL 700 PM MDT

* AT 615 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 8 MILES NORTH OF AKRON...
  MOVING SOUTH AT 20 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...AKRON...
BURDETT...ELBA...LONE STAR...OTIS AND PLATNER.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING 
SITUATION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...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.

LAT...LON 4043 10335 3990 10334 3990 10282 4040 10280

KLEYLA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 24, 6:32 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Phillips	43 min
Aug 24, 6:59 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	46 min
Aug 24, 7:48 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	27 min
Aug 24, 10:22 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	53 min
Aug 24, 10:32 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	43 min
Aug 24, 11:14 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	16 min
Aug 25, 1:28 AM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	62 min
Aug 25, 2:00 AM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	60 min
Aug 25, 2:33 AM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Washington	57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes in 2002

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.