Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Watches in 2005
Tornado Watch 322
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 24, 2005, 1:10 PM MDT for 14 counties in Colorado. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 24, 2005, 1:10 PM MDT (19:10 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 2005, 8:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Adams County, CO, Arapahoe County, CO, Broomfield County, CO, Denver County, CO, Douglas County, CO, Elbert County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Logan County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO, Washington County, CO, Weld County, CO, Yuma County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 117 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:13 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
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 1:29 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams | 23 min |
| May 24, 1:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe, Elbert | 45 min |
| May 24, 2:13 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 62 min |
| May 24, 2:27 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Logan, Morgan, Weld | 48 min |
| May 24, 2:51 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Morgan, Washington | 39 min |
| May 24, 3:26 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 49 min |
| May 24, 3:49 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Yuma | 56 min |
| May 24, 4:15 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 24 min |
| May 24, 4:40 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | GLD | Yuma | 51 min |
| May 24, 5:03 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | GLD | Kit Carson | 20 min |
| May 24, 5:16 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Kit Carson | 59 min |
| May 24, 5:24 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Denver, Jefferson | 32 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, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 43 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
- 73 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -398 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1712 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 17 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 22 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 241911
SEL2
SPC WW 241911
COZ000-250200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 322
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
110 PM MDT TUE MAY 24 2005
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 110 PM UNTIL 800
PM MDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF AKRON
COLORADO TO 10 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF LIMON COLORADO. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).
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 320...
DISCUSSION...MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW AND STRONG SURFACE HEATING IS
RESULTING IN STORMS DEVELOPING IN THE FOOTHILLS. AS THESE STORMS
MOVE EASTWARD INTO THE PLAINS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS...A
MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS AND 40-50 KT DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL
RESULT IN SUPERCELLS. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE VERY LARGE HAIL.
HOWEVER...A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE DENVER CYCLONE/COLD
FRONT THAT EXTENDS FROM THE DENVER AREA NEWD TO THE NORTHEAST
CORNER OF CO.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 31025.
...IMY
405,1020 390,1020 390,1050 405,1051SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 8:38 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln and 2 more | 67 min |
| May 24, 12:03 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Cheyenne, Crowley, Denver and 14 more | 117 min |
| May 24, 12:45 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert and 8 more | 7 hr |
| May 24, 1:45 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, El Paso, Huerfano and 6 more | 6 hr |
| May 24, 4:13 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert and 8 more | 92 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Colorado, 2005Every tornado watch in 2005
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.