Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 26, 2003Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 26, 2003, 6:18 PM MDT for Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 42 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 26, 2003, 6:18 PM MDT (00:18 UTC)
Expired: May 26, 2003, 7:00 PM MDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Elbert County, CO, Lincoln County, CO

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 26, 4:40 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 75 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: 143 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2346 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -22 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.

000 
WFUS55 KBOU 270018
TORBOU
COC039-073-270100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
618 PM MDT MON MAY 26 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 700 PM MDT

* AT 618 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF LIMON...
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

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

THIS WARNING REPLACES THE EARLIER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR 
ELBERT COUNTY. 

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.

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 3943 10394 3910 10377 3917 10348 3946 10357

ENTREKIN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 27, 5:22 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Clear Creek, Gilpin	58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes in 2003

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.