Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

April 17, 2003Adams County, Denver County, Weld County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Apr 17, 2003, 5:40 PM MDT for Adams County, Denver County, Weld County, Colorado. It was in force for 50 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: Apr 17, 2003, 5:40 PM MDT (23:40 UTC)
Expired: Apr 17, 2003, 6:30 PM MDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Adams County, CO, Denver County, CO, Weld County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 24 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:43 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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 127 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: 1805 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 54 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 103 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.

680 
WFUS55 KBOU 172340
TORBOU
COC001-031-123-180030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
540 PM MDT THU APR 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN ADAMS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  NORTHEASTERN DENVER COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  SOUTH CENTRAL WELD COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 630 PM MDT

* AT 540 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER NORTH CENTRAL DENVER
  INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...OR ABOUT 19 MILES NORTHEAST OF DENVER...
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...NORTH
CENTRAL AURORA...NORTHEASTERN COMMERCE CITY...DENVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT...BARR LAKE...BRIGHTON...HUDSON...KEENESBURG AND LOCHBUIE.

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 3996 10484 3978 10485 3980 10455 4011 10446
          4011 10477

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.