Alert archive / Colorado / Mesoscale Discussions in 2011

Mesoscale Discussion 800

May 17, 2011Washington County, Colorado

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 17, 2011, 6:39 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 36 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 2011, 6:39 PM MDT (00:39 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2011, 7:15 PM MDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

County Washington County, CO

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:39 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 nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 62 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 2011-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 26 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 2011-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1293 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
146 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

713 
ACUS11 KWNS 180040
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 180039
COZ000-180115-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0800
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0739 PM CDT TUE MAY 17 2011

AREAS AFFECTED...ERN CO

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY

VALID 180039Z - 180115Z

ISOLD POTENTIAL FOR TORNADO/S MAY CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER HR OR SO
ACROSS ERN CO.

SURFACE ANALYSIS/RADAR COMPOSITE SHOWS STRONG UPSLOPE FLOW OVER ERN
CO MAINTAINING A RELATIVELY MOIST FLUX INTO THE REGION AS BAND OF
SMALL TORNADIC SUPERCELLS MAINTAIN RESIDENCE TIME ALONG VORTICITY
RICH ZONE ZIPPERING DOWN A NNW-SSE ORIENTED DRYLINE/SURFACE TROUGH.
VERY STEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATE PLUME FROM SERN CO INTERSECTING
TRIPLE POINT FEATURE INVOF I-70 IN CHEYENNE COUNTY CO IS LIKELY
AIDING IN STORM INTENSITY BUT SHOULD LESSEN OVER THE NEXT 1-2 HRS AS
DAYTIME HEATING WANES.  IN THE MEANTIME...STORMS NEAR AND N OF THE
LOW MAY REMAIN CAPABLE OF AN ISOLD TORNADO/S...IN ADDITION TO LARGE
HAIL/SEVERE WIND GUSTS.

..SMITH.. 05/18/2011

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

ATTN...WFO...GLD...PUB...BOU...

LAT...LON   38610314 39580322 40190341 40370325 40310296 39730281
            38950268 38570266 38440292 38610314

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Colorado, 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.