Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Goodland, KS

August 24, 2002Kit Carson County, Colorado

NWS Goodland, KS issued this tornado warning at Aug 24, 2002, 8:43 PM MDT for Kit Carson County, Colorado. It was in force for 62 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: Aug 24, 2002, 8:43 PM MDT (02:43 UTC)
Expired: Aug 24, 2002, 9:45 PM MDT
In force: 62 min
Issued by: NWS Goodland, KS
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Kit Carson County, CO

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:47 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
Aug 24, 9:05 PM MDT	Hail 0.88	Vona, 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, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 84 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.

998 
WFUS53 KGLD 250243
TORGLD
COC063-250345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
843 PM MDT SAT AUG 24 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  KIT CARSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 945 PM MDT

* AT 843 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF SEIBERT...
  OR ABOUT 13 MILES NORTHEAST OF FLAGLER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  SEIBERT AROUND 855 PM MDT
  VONA AROUND 900 PM MDT
  STRATTON AROUND 910 PM MDT
  BETHUNE AROUND 925 PM MDT
  BURLINGTON AROUND 935 PM MDT

ANOTHER LOCATION IN THIS WARNING IS...FLAGLER.

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING FUNNEL CLOUDS. 

VERY LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED
WITH THIS STORM.

A TORNADO WARNING MEANS THAT A TORNADO HAS BEEN OBSERVED OR DETECTED
BY RADAR. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...SEEK SHELTER NOW

ABANDON VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES AND SEEK SHELTER IN A REINFORCED
BUILDING. AT A LAST RESORT...A DITCH OR LOW SPOT OFFERS BETTER
PROTECTION THAN YOUR CAR OR MOBILE HOME. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES EVEN IF
TIED DOWN. DO NOT USE A CAR TO TRY AND OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE
EASILY TOSSED AROUND AND CAN BECOME MISSILES IN TORNADIC WINDS.

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 OF ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET OR BATHROOM.

PLEASE REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
GOODLAND.

&&

LAT...LON 3958 10206 3956 10316 3904 10317 3905 10206

THEDE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 24, 7:45 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	GLD	Kit Carson	60 min
Aug 24, 7:49 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GLD	Yuma	56 min
Aug 24, 11:03 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	GLD	Yuma	42 min
Aug 24, 11:26 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GLD	Kit Carson	64 min
Aug 25, 3:23 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GLD	Yuma	37 min
Aug 25, 5:09 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GLD	Kit Carson	66 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.