Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 1, 2002Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 1, 2002, 8:26 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 49 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: Jul 1, 2002, 8:26 PM MDT (02:26 UTC)
Expired: Jul 1, 2002, 9:15 PM MDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, CO

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 1, 8:50 PM MDT	Tornado F0	Akron, 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 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 17 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: 175 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 4732 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 135 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -74 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

862 
WFUS55 KBOU 020226
TORDEN
COC121-020315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
825 PM MDT MON JUL 1 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 915 PM MDT

* AT 825 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF ARICKAREE
  SCHOOL...OR ABOUT 28 MILES SOUTH OF AKRON...MOVING SOUTH AT 15
  MPH.

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

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 3988 10326 3958 10326 3959 10283 3992 10282

KLEYLA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 1, 6:57 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	58 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.