Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 649

August 28, 200212 counties in Colorado; 4 counties in New Mexico

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 28, 2002, 1:55 PM MDT for 12 counties in Colorado; 4 counties in New Mexico. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 28, 2002, 1:55 PM MDT (19:55 UTC)
Expired: Aug 28, 2002, 7:00 PM MDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Baca County, CO, Bent County, CO, Cheyenne County, CO, Crowley County, CO, El Paso County, CO, Huerfano County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Las Animas County, CO, Lincoln County, CO, Otero County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Pueblo County, CO, Colfax County, NM, Harding County, NM, Mora County, NM, Union County, NM

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 145 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:54 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.

Warnings issued inside it

17 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 28, 3:00 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	PUB	Bent, Prowers	60 min
Aug 28, 3:14 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PUB	Huerfano, Pueblo	2 hr
Aug 28, 3:50 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Bent, Prowers	3 hr
Aug 28, 3:55 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PUB	Las Animas	2 hr
Aug 28, 3:59 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Mora, San Miguel	61 min
Aug 28, 4:00 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	PUB	Prowers	60 min
Aug 28, 4:36 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Union	54 min
Aug 28, 4:39 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PUB	El Paso	66 min
Aug 28, 4:57 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Colfax	63 min
Aug 28, 4:59 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	PUB	Prowers	61 min
Aug 28, 4:59 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	PUB	Prowers	61 min
Aug 28, 5:03 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PUB	Bent	87 min
Aug 28, 5:11 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PUB	Otero	64 min
Aug 28, 5:23 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Harding	52 min
Aug 28, 5:31 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Union	59 min
Aug 28, 6:45 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Bent, Prowers	4 hr
Aug 28, 6:46 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PUB	Bent	59 min

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 303 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: -192 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1121 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 176 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 3.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 281957
SEL9  
SPC WW 281955
COZ000-NMZ000-OKZ000-TXZ000-290100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 649
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
155 PM MDT WED AUG 28 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHEAST COLORADO                           
   NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO                         
   WESTERN OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE                          
   NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE                              

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 155 PM UNTIL
700 PM MDT.

HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 70 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CLAYTON NEW
MEXICO TO 10 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF LIMON COLORADO.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES.

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY THROUGH THE
LATE AFTERNOON ALONG THE FRONT RANGE OF SOUTHERN CO/NORTHERN NM AS
UPPER SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE WEST.  COMBINATION OF STRONG
INSTABILITY AND SUFFICENT VERTICAL SHEAR SUGGESTS POTENTIAL FOR
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS IN STRONGER CELLS.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.  MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 27030.

...HART

391,1020 354,1024 354,1052 391,1045

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Colorado, 2002 Severe Thunderstorm Watches in New Mexico, 2002 Every severe thunderstorm watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.