Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

June 3, 2002Elbert County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jun 3, 2002, 7:10 PM MDT for Elbert County, Colorado. It was in force for 50 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, 7:10 PM MDT (01:10 UTC)
Expired: Jun 3, 2002, 8:00 PM MDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Elbert County, CO

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 3, 7:36 PM MDT	Hail 0.88	Matheson, 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 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 111 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: 1002 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -32 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1152 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 265 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.0
Supercell composite: 7.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

516 
WFUS55 KBOU 040110
TORDEN
COC039-040200-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL ELBERT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 800 PM MDT

* AT 709 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  MATHESON...OR ABOUT 22 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LIMON...MOVING EAST
  AT 30 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...MATHESON.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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.

LAT...LON 3915 10425 3914 10404 3894 10404 3894 10383 3924 10389 
3923 10421

KLEYLA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 3, 7:12 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Adams, Arapahoe, Denver	48 min
Jun 3, 7:48 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Lincoln	42 min
Jun 3, 10:31 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Adams, Arapahoe	59 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.