Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Pueblo, CO

July 16, 2012El Paso County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 16, 2012, 12:54 PM MDT for El Paso County, Colorado. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 16, 2012, 12:54 PM MDT (18:54 UTC)
Expired
Jul 16, 2012, 4:00 PM MDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Pueblo, CO
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County El Paso County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:56 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 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 180 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 12:00Z on 2012-07-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2012-07-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-362 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2158 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 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.

099 
WGUS55 KPUB 161854
FFWPUB
COC041-162200-
/O.NEW.KPUB.FF.W.0005.120716T1854Z-120716T2200Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1254 PM MDT MON JUL 16 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME WEST CENTRAL EL PASO COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO...

* UNTIL 400 PM MDT

* AT 1249 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR            
  INDICATED   SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL     
  ACROSS MAINLY THE WILDCAT BASIN OF THE WALDO BURN SCAR. RADAR HAS 
  INDICATED OVER AN INCH OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN THIS AREA...AND HEAVY 
  RAIN WAS STILL OCCURRING AT 1249 PM.

* THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. RUNOFF FROM   
  THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OVER THE BURN SCAR AREA WILL CAUSE FLASH   
  FLOODING TO OCCUR.

THE FLOODS WILL DRAIN INTO RAMPART RESERVOIR...NICHOLS RESERVOIR AND 
NORTHFIELD RESERVOIR. 

LAT...LON 3899 10494 3896 10497 3894 10500 3899 10501

$$
1 follow-up statement
466 
WGUS75 KPUB 162024
FFSPUB

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
224 PM MDT MON JUL 16 2012

COC041-162200-
/O.CON.KPUB.FF.W.0005.000000T0000Z-120716T2200Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
EL PASO CO-
224 PM MDT MON JUL 16 2012

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EXTREME WEST CENTRAL EL 
PASO COUNTY UNTIL 400 PM MDT...INCLUDING THE NORTH SIDE OF THE WALDO 
BURN SCAR AREA...

AT 219 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED NO 
RAIN WAS FALLING OVER THE WALDO BURN SCAR. HOWEVER...HEAVY RAIN HAS 
OCCURRED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BURN SCAR AND THIS WATER IS STILL 
DRAINING OUT OF THE CREEKS AND INTO WEST MONUMENT CREEK. THERE IS A 
CHANCE THAT WEST MONUMENT CREEK MAY SUDDENLY RISE AS DEBRIS FLOWS 
INTO THE CREEK. AT THIS TIME...THE WORST FLOODING WOULD OCCUR 
GENERALLY FROM THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY WESTWARD TOWARDS RAMPART 
RESERVOIR. 

THERE IS STILL A CHANCE OF MORE RAIN OVER THE BURN SCAR LATER TODAY. 
PLEASE BE ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

LAT...LON 3899 10494 3896 10497 3894 10500 3899 10501

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pueblo, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 16, 12:03 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryPUBEl Paso3 hr
Jul 16, 1:20 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningPUBEl Paso2 hr
Jul 16, 1:41 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryPUBEl Paso3 hr
Jul 16, 3:24 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryPUBFremont2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Colorado, 2012Every flash flood warning in 2012

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.