Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 34, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

June 20, 2008Morgan County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jun 20, 2008, 5:49 PM MDT for Morgan County, Colorado. It was in force for 26 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jun 20, 2008, 5:49 PM MDT (23:49 UTC)
Expired: Jun 20, 2008, 6:15 PM MDT
In force: 26 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Morgan County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:49 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 20, 5:54 PM MDT	HAIL 1.75	3 S Wiggins, CO
Jun 20, 5:59 PM MDT	HAIL 1.5	5 S Wiggins, CO
Jun 20, 6:04 PM MDT	TORNADO	18 Ssw Fort Morgan, CO	PUBLIC REPORTED TWO TORNADOES ON THE GROUND.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jun 19, 6:22 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	27 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 65 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 359 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -185 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1200 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS55 KBOU 202349
TORBOU
COC087-210015-
/O.NEW.KBOU.TO.W.0034.080620T2349Z-080621T0015Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
549 PM MDT FRI JUN 20 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN MORGAN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO

* UNTIL 615 PM MDT

* AT 548 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES WEST OF 
  ADENA SCHOOL...OR 11 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FORT MORGAN. ANOTHER       
  POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF WIGGINS.  BOTH STORMS   
  WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO TWELVE-MILE
  CORNER...HOYT...ADENA SCHOOL AND ADENA.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SAFE SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN
THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR
HANDS.

LAT...LON 4020 10378 4001 10371 4000 10414 4022 10414
TIME...MOT...LOC 2348Z 294DEG 19KT 4013 10390

$$

RPK

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS55 KBOU 202357
SVSBOU

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
557 PM MDT FRI JUN 20 2008

COC087-210015-
/O.CON.KBOU.TO.W.0034.000000T0000Z-080621T0015Z/
MORGAN CO-
556 PM MDT FRI JUN 20 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM MDT FOR
SOUTHWESTERN MORGAN COUNTY...

AT 556 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS
STORM WAS LOCATED 4 MILES NORTH OF HOYT BEET DUMP...OR 17 MILES 
SOUTHWEST OF FORT MORGAN. THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTH AT 30 MPH.  IN 
ADDITION THIS STORM MAY PRODUCE VERY LARGE DAMAGING HAIL UP TO 
BASEBALL SIZE AND WIND GUSTS OVER 70 MPH.

LOCATIONS REMAINING IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
TWELVE-MILE CORNER...HOYT...ADENA SCHOOL AND ADENA.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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 4020 10378 4001 10371 4000 10414 4022 10414
TIME...MOT...LOC 2356Z 294DEG 19KT 4013 10404

$$

RPK

000 
WWUS55 KBOU 210016
SVSBOU

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
616 PM MDT FRI JUN 20 2008

COC087-210025-
/O.EXP.KBOU.TO.W.0034.000000T0000Z-080621T0015Z/
MORGAN CO-
615 PM MDT FRI JUN 20 2008

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN MORGAN COUNTY HAS EXPIRED...

THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE WARNING WAS ALONG THE 
MORGAN...ADAMS COUNTY LINE MOVING SOUTH AT 30 MPH.

LAT...LON 4020 10378 4001 10371 4000 10414 4022 10414
TIME...MOT...LOC 2357Z 294DEG 19KT 4005 10407

$$

RPK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 19, 8:26 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Logan	49 min
Jun 19, 8:58 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Arapahoe	33 min
Jun 19, 9:06 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick	23 min
Jun 19, 9:43 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Elbert	28 min
Jun 20, 11:37 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Lincoln	38 min
Jun 20, 12:08 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Lincoln	37 min
Jun 20, 1:09 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Elbert, Lincoln	51 min
Jun 20, 3:31 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	44 min
Jun 20, 5:14 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Morgan, Weld	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.