Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 490

June 17, 200412 counties in Colorado; 18 counties in Kansas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 17, 2004, 1:45 PM MDT for 12 counties in Colorado; 18 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 17, 2004, 1:45 PM MDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired
Jun 17, 2004, 8:00 PM MDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 30 counties

Baca County, CO, Bent County, CO, Cheyenne County, CO, Crowley County, CO, El Paso County, CO, Huerfano County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Las Animas County, CO, Lincoln County, CO, Otero County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Pueblo County, CO, Finney County, KS, Gove County, KS, Grant County, KS, Gray County, KS, Greeley County, KS, Hamilton County, KS, Haskell County, KS, Kearny County, KS, Lane County, KS, Logan County, KS, Meade County, KS, Morton County, KS, Scott County, KS, Seward County, KS, Stanton County, KS, Stevens County, KS, Wallace County, KS, Wichita County, KS

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:45 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.

Warnings issued inside it

22 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 2:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso55 min
Jun 17, 3:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBPueblo62 min
Jun 17, 4:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBent, Otero54 min
Jun 17, 4:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBPueblo62 min
Jun 17, 5:08 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln67 min
Jun 17, 5:12 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULincoln48 min
Jun 17, 5:31 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBent, Otero59 min
Jun 17, 5:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBPueblo64 min
Jun 17, 5:45 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULincoln30 min
Jun 17, 5:51 PM MDTTornado WarningPUBBent54 min
Jun 17, 6:06 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDCheyenne54 min
Jun 17, 6:11 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBaca, Prowers64 min
Jun 17, 6:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBEl Paso59 min
Jun 17, 6:24 PM MDTTornado WarningBOULincoln36 min
Jun 17, 6:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBPueblo65 min
Jun 17, 7:00 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDCheyenne60 min
Jun 17, 7:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCHamilton, Morton, Stanton43 min
Jun 17, 7:21 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBaca54 min
Jun 17, 7:23 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBaca52 min
Jun 17, 7:42 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCMorton, Stanton33 min
Jun 17, 7:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCGrant, Stevens54 min
Jun 17, 7:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDGreeley62 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 176 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 12:00Z on 2004-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 68 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2004-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 170 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
68 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-278 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
656 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
170 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
226 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 171947
SEL0  
SPC WW 171945
COZ000-KSZ000-180200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 490
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
145 PM MDT THU JUN 17 2004

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       EASTERN COLORADO
       WESTERN KANSAS

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 145 PM UNTIL
800 PM MDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF PUEBLO COLORADO TO
25 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF GARDEN CITY KANSAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 487...WW 488...WW 489...

DISCUSSION...UPSLOPE FLOW AND HEATING ARE PROVIDING INGREDIENTS FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OFF THE HIGHER TERRAIN ERN CO
FROM PALMER DIVIDE SWD.  SHEAR WITH MUCAPES TO 2500 J/KG SUPPORT
SUPERCELLS WITH THREAT OF TORNADOS AND LARGE HAIL.  STORMS EXPECTED
TO EVOLVE INTO A SEVERE MCS THIS EVENING AND MOVE INTO WRN KS WITH
ENHANCED WIND DAMAGE THREAT.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26030.


...HALES

391,1050 390,1001 365,1001 370,1050

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 12:38 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Arapahoe, Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Costilla and 18 more2 hr
Jun 16, 7:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBarton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Finney, Ford and 11 more5 hr
Jun 16, 8:33 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellsworth and 15 more57 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2004Tornado Watches in Colorado, 2004Every tornado watch 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.