Alert archive / Colorado / Mesoscale Discussions in 2011

Mesoscale Discussion 1997

August 17, 20116 counties in Colorado; Morton County, Stanton County, Kansas; Cimarron County, Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 17, 2011, 6:19 PM MDT for 6 counties in Colorado; Morton County, Stanton County, Kansas; Cimarron County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 56 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 17, 2011, 6:19 PM MDT (00:19 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 2011, 7:15 PM MDT
In force
56 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Baca County, CO, Bent County, CO, Crowley County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Otero County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Morton County, KS, Stanton County, KS, Cimarron County, OK

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:18 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.

The watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 247 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 00:00Z on 2011-08-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 6 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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 00:00Z on 2011-08-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -4 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
6 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
4056 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

149 
ACUS11 KWNS 180019
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 180019 
OKZ000-KSZ000-COZ000-NMZ000-180115-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1997
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0719 PM CDT WED AUG 17 2011

AREAS AFFECTED...SERN CO / FAR SWRN KS / OK PANHANDLE

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE 

VALID 180019Z - 180115Z

SEVERE WIND GUST THREAT MAY PERSIST WELL INTO THE EVENING HOURS
ACROSS SERN CO AND PERHAPS AS FAR SE AS THE OK PANHANDLE AND EXTREME
SWRN KS.  IF SHORT TERM TRENDS CONTINUE TO INCREASE REGARDING
UPSCALE GROWTH...A SMALL WW MAY ADDRESS THIS THREAT.  POSSIBILITY OF
A WW 50 PERCENT.

SELY UPSLOPE FLOW ON THE N SIDE OF A STALLED FRONT ACROSS THE SRN
PLAINS IS PROVIDING A MOIST/UNSTABLE FETCH OF HIGHER THETA-E INTO
THE REGION.  STRONGLY VEERING SHEAR PROFILES /4 KM AGL WINDS 25 KTS
PER KPUX/ WILL SUPPORT STORM ORGANIZATION.  UNCERTAINTY REMAINS
REGARDING THE DEGREE OF UPSCALE GROWTH THAT THE CURRENT LINEAR STORM
CLUSTER MAY ENACT OVER THE NEXT HOUR.  IF THIS OCCURS...STEEP LOW
LEVEL LAPSE RATES...DESPITE SOME DIURNAL COOLING...MAY CONTINUE TO
PROMOTE SEVERE WIND GUSTS TO THE SURFACE.

..SMITH.. 08/18/2011

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...DDC...GLD...AMA...PUB...BOU...ABQ...

LAT...LON   36710254 37060324 38150446 38470453 38750327 38460226
            37780168 36870175 36710254

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 17, 6:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBaca, Bent, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers3 hr
Aug 17, 9:17 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaca, Prowers58 min
Aug 17, 8:18 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCheyenne57 min
Aug 18, 4:26 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarton, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Ness and 6 more64 min
Aug 18, 5:00 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtchison, Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson and 5 more60 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Colorado, 2011Mesoscale Discussions in Kansas, 2011Mesoscale Discussions in Oklahoma, 2011Every mesoscale discussion in 2011

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.