Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 33, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 7, 2003Morgan County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 7, 2003, 5:53 PM MDT for Morgan County, Colorado. It was in force for 52 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
Jul 7, 2003, 5:53 PM MDT (23:53 UTC)
Expired
Jul 7, 2003, 6:45 PM MDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Morgan County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:52 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 7, 5:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 77 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2003-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 263 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2003-07-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
263 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-561 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2421 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 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.

977 
WFUS55 KBOU 072353
TORBOU
COC087-080045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
553 PM MDT MON JUL 7 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL MORGAN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF FORT MORGAN

* UNTIL 645 PM MDT

* AT 553 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  WIGGINS...OR ABOUT 13 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FORT MORGAN...MOVING
  EAST AT 10 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...ADENA
SCHOOL...FORT MORGAN...GOODRICH...JACKSON RESERVOIR...LOG LANE
VILLAGE...TWELVE-MILE CORNER...WELDONA AND WIGGINS.

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 4043 10411 4004 10412 4004 10373 4044 10371

$$

RPK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 7, 4:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld46 min
Jul 7, 5:17 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWeld43 min
Jul 7, 5:28 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUMorgan, Washington47 min
Jul 7, 5:42 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan48 min

Nearby

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