Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 724
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 9, 2004, 12:30 PM MDT for 14 counties in Colorado. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 9, 2004, 12:30 PM MDT (18:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 9, 2004, 7:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Arapahoe County, CO, Baca County, CO, Bent County, CO, Cheyenne County, CO, Crowley County, CO, El Paso County, CO, Elbert County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Las Animas County, CO, Lincoln County, CO, Otero County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Pueblo County, CO
The radar
The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:47 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
15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Baca | 89 min |
| Aug 9, 3:38 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 52 min |
| Aug 9, 4:24 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Baca | 96 min |
| Aug 9, 4:55 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | PUB | El Paso | 65 min |
| Aug 9, 5:18 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert | 57 min |
| Aug 9, 5:24 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Elbert | 51 min |
| Aug 9, 5:25 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Las Animas | 95 min |
| Aug 9, 5:28 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | El Paso | 62 min |
| Aug 9, 6:06 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Otero, Pueblo | 84 min |
| Aug 9, 6:13 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Elbert | 47 min |
| Aug 9, 6:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe | 59 min |
| Aug 9, 6:46 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Lincoln, Washington | 44 min |
| Aug 9, 6:52 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Elbert | 38 min |
| Aug 9, 6:52 PM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | PUB | Pueblo | 113 min |
| Aug 9, 7:00 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | PUB | El Paso | 60 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, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 198 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 218 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -241 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1193 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 8 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 75 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 091828
SEL4
SPC WW 091830
COZ000-100100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 724
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1230 PM MDT MON AUG 9 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN COLORADO
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1230 PM UNTIL 700
PM MDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF LIMON COLORADO TO 55
MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF TRINIDAD COLORADO.
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 723...
DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP RAPIDLY ACROSS
ERN PLAINS AND OFF THE FRONT RANGE SERN CO. WITH 30-35 KT OF DEEP
LAYER SHEAR AND VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS SUPERCELLS WILL DEVELOP
INCREASING POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES AND LARGE HAIL.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 33025.
...HALES
395,1015 365,1020 365,1044 395,1044SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 12:03 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Kit Carson and 6 more | 87 min |
| Aug 9, 12:50 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Baca | 7 hr |
| Aug 9, 4:36 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bent, Crowley, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Kiowa and 4 more | 54 min |
| Aug 9, 5:30 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baca | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado 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.