Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 29, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Sep 12, 2002, 4:23 PM MDT for Elbert County, Colorado. It was in force for 37 min. 4 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
- Sep 12, 2002, 4:23 PM MDT (22:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 12, 2002, 5:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Elbert County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 4:30 PM MDT | Hail 1.75 | Elbert, CO | |
| Sep 12, 4:45 PM MDT | Hail 2 | Elbert, CO | Large hail broke a skylight in a home. |
| Sep 12, 4:50 PM MDT | Hail 0.75 | Elizabeth, CO | |
| Sep 12, 4:55 PM MDT | Tornado F0 | Elbert, CO | A tornado touched down briefly but did no damage. |
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, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 133 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
- 137 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -46 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 827 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -6 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 9 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
727
WFUS55 KBOU 122223
TORDEN
COC039-122300-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
422 PM MDT THU SEP 12 2002
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
WEST CENTRAL ELBERT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
* UNTIL 500 PM MDT
* AT 422 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR ELBERT...OR ABOUT 29
MILES NORTHEAST OF COLORADO SPRINGS. THE STORM WAS NEARLY
STATIONARY.
LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...ELBERT.
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 3930 10466 3914 10466 3917 10446 3930 10443
3938 10451
BAKERThe office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 3:18 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert | 42 min |
| Sep 12, 4:07 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Douglas, Elbert | 53 min |
| Sep 12, 4:23 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Elbert | 37 min |
| Sep 12, 5:59 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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.