Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 10, 20044 counties in Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 10, 2004, 8:32 PM MDT for 4 counties in Colorado. It was in force for 58 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: May 10, 2004, 8:32 PM MDT (02:32 UTC)
Expired: May 10, 2004, 9:30 PM MDT
In force: 58 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Arapahoe County, CO, Elbert County, CO, Lincoln County, CO, Washington County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:33 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 10, 7:30 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 55 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.

000 
WFUS55 KBOU 110232
TORBOU
COC005-039-073-121-110330-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN ELBERT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
  NORTH CENTRAL LINCOLN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO
  SOUTHEASTERN ARAPAHOE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 930 PM MDT

* AT 830 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER NORTHEASTERN ELBERT
  COUNTY...OR ABOUT 14 MILES NORTH OF LIMON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10
  MPH.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING
SITUATION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE
TORNADO...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

SPOTTER CONTINUE TO TRACK A TORNADO ABOUT 5 MILES TO THE EAST AND 
NORTHEAST OF CEDAR POINT. THE STORM IS STILL CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A 
TORNADO UNTIL 930 PM. LARGE HAIL WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE 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 3964 10380 3942 10390 3946 10355 3961 10356

$$

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, 6:25 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Elbert	65 min
May 10, 7:26 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Elbert	64 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.