Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 727
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 9, 2004, 6:45 PM MDT for 15 counties in Colorado. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 9, 2004, 6:45 PM MDT (00:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 9, 2004, 11:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Adams County, CO, 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), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:45 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
21 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Aug 9, 7:18 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Crowley | 87 min |
| Aug 9, 7:26 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Elbert, Lincoln | 64 min |
| Aug 9, 7:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Pueblo | 89 min |
| Aug 9, 7:32 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Cheyenne | 58 min |
| Aug 9, 7:46 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Kit Carson | 59 min |
| Aug 9, 7:59 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | PUB | El Paso | 61 min |
| Aug 9, 8:27 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | PUB | Crowley, Pueblo | 63 min |
| Aug 9, 8:28 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Kiowa | 92 min |
| Aug 9, 8:29 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Cheyenne | 46 min |
| Aug 9, 8:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 29 min |
| Aug 9, 8:50 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 40 min |
| Aug 9, 9:00 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Lincoln | 45 min |
| Aug 9, 9:05 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | GLD | Cheyenne | 40 min |
| Aug 9, 9:41 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | El Paso | 64 min |
| Aug 9, 9:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Las Animas | 65 min |
| Aug 9, 10:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Pueblo | 64 min |
| Aug 9, 10:23 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Baca | 67 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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 195 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
- 2151 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -57 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1371 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 21 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 245 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 10.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 100044
SEL7
SPC WW 100045
COZ000-100500-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 727
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
645 PM MDT MON AUG 9 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN COLORADO
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY EVENING FROM 645 PM UNTIL 1100 PM MDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 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 50 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF LIMON COLORADO TO 60
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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 724. WATCH NUMBER 724 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 645
PM MDT. CONTINUE...WW 725...WW 726...
DISCUSSION...INTENSE SUPERCELLS WITH A THREAT OF VERY LARGE/DAMAGING
HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS
OVER ERN CO.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 31020.
...EVANS
395,1015 365,1015 365,1044 395,1044SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 9:29 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, Prowers | 61 min |
| Aug 10, 12:41 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Baca, Bent, Broomfield, Cheyenne and 15 more | 94 min |
| Aug 10, 1:15 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Baca, Bent, Broomfield, Cheyenne and 20 more | 8 hr |
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.