Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

June 3, 2002Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jun 3, 2002, 2:57 PM MDT for Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 48 min. 1 report 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: Jun 3, 2002, 2:57 PM MDT (20:57 UTC)
Expired: Jun 3, 2002, 3:45 PM MDT
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Elbert County, CO, Lincoln County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:00 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
Jun 3, 3:04 PM MDT	Hail 1.75	Limon, 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
Jun 3, 2:00 PM MDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 63 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: 7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -206 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1224 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 263 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.

866 
WFUS55 KBOU 032057
TORDEN
COC039-073-032145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
257 PM MDT MON JUN 3 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN ELBERT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
  NORTH CENTRAL LINCOLN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF LIMON

* UNTIL 345 PM MDT

* AT 256 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF LIMON...
  MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...GENOA...
HUGO AND LIMON.

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 3956 10381 3913 10379 3913 10334 3955 10334

KLEYLA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 3, 1:28 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Elbert	47 min
Jun 3, 2:13 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Elbert, Lincoln	47 min
Jun 3, 2:25 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Douglas	50 min
Jun 3, 2:49 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Arapahoe	41 min
Jun 3, 3:07 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Douglas	38 min
Jun 3, 3:08 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Weld	52 min
Jun 3, 3:15 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Arapahoe	45 min
Jun 3, 3:29 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Lincoln	46 min
Jun 3, 3:48 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Adams, Denver	42 min
Jun 3, 3:58 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Weld	62 min
Jun 3, 4:00 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Arapahoe	45 min
Jun 3, 4:06 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Weld	54 min
Jun 3, 4:51 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Morgan	39 min
Jun 3, 5:23 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Morgan	37 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.