Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 10, 2004Elbert County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 10, 2004, 6:25 PM MDT for Elbert County, Colorado. It was in force for 65 min. 22 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 10, 2004, 6:25 PM MDT (00:25 UTC)
Expired: May 10, 2004, 7:30 PM MDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Elbert County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:29 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 10, 6:35 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:35 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:35 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:35 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:35 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:44 PM MDT	TORNADO	4 Wnw Simla, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:44 PM MDT	TORNADO	4 Wnw Simla, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:44 PM MDT	TORNADO	4 Wnw Simla, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:44 PM MDT	TORNADO	4 Wnw Simla, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:44 PM MDT	TORNADO	4 Wnw Simla, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:45 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:45 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:45 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:45 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:45 PM MDT	TORNADO	7 Nw Matheson, CO	NO DAMAGE REPORTED
May 10, 6:59 PM MDT	TORNADO 1	4 N Ramah, CO	DOWNED POWER LINES
May 10, 6:59 PM MDT	TORNADO 1	4 N Ramah, CO	DOWNED POWER LINES
May 10, 6:59 PM MDT	TORNADO 1	4 N Ramah, CO	DOWNED POWER LINES
May 10, 6:59 PM MDT	TORNADO 1	4 N Ramah, CO	DOWNED POWER LINES
May 10, 7:25 PM MDT	TORNADO 2	18 W Limon, CO	GARAGE DAMAGED. TREES AND POWER LINES DOWNED
May 10, 7:25 PM MDT	TORNADO 2	18 W Limon, CO	GARAGE DAMAGED. TREES AND POWER LINES DOWNED
May 10, 7:25 PM MDT	TORNADO 2	18 W Limon, CO	GARAGE DAMAGED. TREES AND POWER LINES DOWNED

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

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 10, 3:00 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 114 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: 1849 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1895 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 197 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 358 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 17.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

788 
WFUS55 KBOU 110025
TORBOU
COC039-110130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
624 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL ELBERT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 730 PM MDT

* AT 624 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 8 MILES WEST OF SIMLA...OR
  ABOUT 29 MILES WEST OF LIMON...MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH.

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

THIS WARNING REPLACES THE EARLIER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR 
ELBERT COUNTY. LARGE HAIL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. 

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 3915 10449 3914 10400 3938 10396 3938 10442

$$

ENTREKIN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 10, 6:13 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Weld	32 min
May 10, 7:26 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Elbert	64 min
May 10, 8:32 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Arapahoe, Elbert, Lincoln, Washington	58 min
May 10, 9:14 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Arapahoe, Washington	46 min
May 10, 9:25 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Logan, Phillips	35 min
May 10, 9:37 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	53 min
May 10, 10:02 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick	58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.