Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 10, 2004Arapahoe County, Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 10, 2004, 9:14 PM MDT for Arapahoe County, Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 46 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, 9:14 PM MDT (03:14 UTC)
Expired
May 10, 2004, 10:00 PM MDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Arapahoe County, CO, Washington County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:18 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
May 10, 7:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 47 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 00:00Z on 2004-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1849 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 00:00Z on 2004-05-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 197 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
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.

452 
WFUS55 KBOU 110314
TORBOU
COC005-121-110400-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN ARAPAHOE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO
  SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 1000 PM MDT

* AT 912 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF JOLLY
  RANCH...OR ABOUT 23 MILES NORTH OF LIMON...MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...JOLLY
RANCH AND LAST CHANCE.

THIS WARNING REPLACES THE EARLIER TORNADO WARNING...WHILE THE 
TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEAST ELBERT AND NORTH CENTRAL LINCOLN HAS 
BEEN CANCELLED. 

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.

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 3974 10384 3957 10387 3957 10354 3975 10352

$$

ENTREKIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 10, 6:13 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUWeld32 min
May 10, 6:25 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUElbert65 min
May 10, 7:26 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUElbert64 min
May 10, 8:32 PM MDTTornado WarningBOUArapahoe, Elbert, Lincoln, Washington58 min
May 10, 9:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Phillips35 min
May 10, 9:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington53 min
May 10, 10:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Phillips, Sedgwick58 min

Nearby

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