Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 34, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 22, 2004Adams County, Arapahoe County, Denver County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jul 22, 2004, 1:22 PM MDT for Adams County, Arapahoe County, Denver County, Colorado. It was in force for 38 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 22, 2004, 1:22 PM MDT (19:22 UTC)
Expired: Jul 22, 2004, 2:00 PM MDT
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Adams County, CO, Arapahoe County, CO, Denver County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 13 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:21 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, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 124 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: 12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -330 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2129 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 9 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 221922
TORBOU
COC001-005-031-222000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
121 PM MDT THU JUL 22 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN ADAMS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  WESTERN ARAPAHOE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  EAST CENTRAL DENVER COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF NORTHEASTERN DENVER

* UNTIL 200 PM MDT

* AT 118 PM MDT...A TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED A LARGE WALL 
  CLOUD OVER EASTERN AURORA...OR ABOUT 13 MILES EAST OF DENVER.     
  THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THE WALL CLOUD WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
  15 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...CENTRAL
AURORA...NORTHEASTERN CENTENNIAL...NORTHEASTERN DENVER...ARAPAHOE
PARK...BUCKLEY AFB AND WATKINS.

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THAT WAS IN 
EFFECT FOR THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE DENVER METRO AREA.  THIS 
STORM WILL ALSO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...UP TO AN INCH AND A HALF IN 
DIAMETER...AND POSSIBLE FLOODING IN THE AURORA AREA.

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 3980 10460 3979 10483 3958 10481 3958 10450

$$
DANKERS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 21, 7:51 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	39 min
Jul 22, 12:54 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Adams, Arapahoe, Denver	51 min
Jul 22, 1:50 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Elbert	40 min
Jul 22, 3:32 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Lincoln	43 min
Jul 22, 4:05 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BOU	Lincoln	2 hr

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.