Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

March 17, 2003Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Mar 17, 2003, 3:27 PM MST for Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Colorado. It was in force for 48 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: Mar 17, 2003, 3:27 PM MST (22:27 UTC)
Expired: Mar 17, 2003, 4:15 PM MST
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Arapahoe County, CO, Douglas County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 36 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:28 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 144 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1304 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 5 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 172227
TORDEN
COC005-035-172315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
327 PM MST MON MAR 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN ARAPAHOE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  NORTH CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 415 PM MST

* AT 327 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  CENTENNIAL...OR ABOUT 11 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DENVER.  THE STORM WAS 
NEARLY STATIONARY. 

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...CENTRAL 
CENTENNIAL...AURORA...AND GREENWOOD VILLAGE.

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 3960 10496 3952 10484 3958 10478 3965 10486

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 17, 2:45 PM MST	Tornado Warning	BOU	Adams, Arapahoe	45 min
Mar 17, 3:25 PM MST	Tornado Warning	BOU	Adams, Arapahoe	50 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.