Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 6, NWS Pueblo, CO

July 16, 2012El Paso County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 16, 2012, 1:20 PM MDT for El Paso County, Colorado. It was in force for 2 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, 1:20 PM MDT (19:20 UTC)
Expired
Jul 16, 2012, 3:37 PM MDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Pueblo, CO
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County El Paso County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:23 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, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 176 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.

451 
WGUS55 KPUB 161920
FFWPUB
COC041-162230-
/O.NEW.KPUB.FF.W.0006.120716T1920Z-120716T2230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 430 PM MDT

* AT 115 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING ACROSS   
  THE NORTH SIDE OF THE WALDO BURN SCAR. 

* THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. RUNOFF FROM
  THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO OCCUR. SOME   
  LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE MONUMENT           
  CREEK...DRY CREEK AND   THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY. RADAR INDICATED 1   
  TO 1.5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS  FALLEN OVER THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE   
  BURN SCAR. OVER THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF THE BURN SCAR 0.25 TO 0.5    
  INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN. THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF THE WALDO BURN    
  SCAR WAS SEVERELY BURNED...SO FLASH FLOODING WILL OCCUR RAPIDLY    
  OVER THIS REGION. 

JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF RAINFALL ON A BURN SCAR CAN LEAD TO FLASH
FLOODING. WATER THAT IS NORMALLY ABSORBED BY VEGETATION...RUNS OFF
ALMOST INSTANTLY. THIS CAUSES CREEKS AND DRAINAGE AREAS TO FLOOD AT A
MUCH FASTER RATE THAN NORMAL. ADDITIONALLY...THE SOILS IN A BURN SCAR
BECOME UNSTABLE WHEN IT RAINS...RESULTING IN MUD FLOWS AND FALLING
ROCK. ROADWAYS CAN BE WASHED OUT BY THE FORCE OF THE RUSHING WATER.

LAT...LON 3900 10487 3894 10484 3895 10500 3900 10502

$$
2 follow-up statements
824 
WGUS75 KPUB 161957
FFSPUB

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

COC041-162230-
/O.CON.KPUB.FF.W.0006.000000T0000Z-120716T2230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
EL PASO CO-
157 PM MDT MON JUL 16 2012

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR WEST CENTRAL EL PASO 
COUNTY UNTIL 430 PM MDT...WHICH INCLUDES THE NORTH SIDE OF THE WALDO 
BURN SCAR...

AT 152 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE 
HEAVIEST RAIN OVER THE WALDO BURN SCAR WAS LOCATED IN AREAS NEAR THE 
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY. OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE BURN 
SCAR...GENERALLY LIGHT RAIN WAS FALLING. RADAR TRENDS AND SHORT 
RANGE SIMULATIONS SHOW THAT THE RAIN OVER THE BURN SCAR SHOULD END 
BY 215 PM. HOWEVER...THERE IS A CHANCE THAT MORE RAIN COULD DEVELOP 
OVER THE BURN SCAR LATER ON THIS AFTERNOON. 

NO REPORTS OF FLOODING HAVE BEEN RECEIVED AS OF 150 
PM...HOWEVER...IF FLOODING WERE TO OCCUR...IT WOULD OCCUR ALONG WEST 
MONUMENT CREEK...GENERALLY WEST OF THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY. 

PLEASE REMAIN ALERT TO THE WEATHER TODAY...ESPECIALLY WERE RAIN HAS 
ALREADY FALLEN EARLIER TODAY. 

LAT...LON 3900 10487 3894 10484 3895 10500 3900 10502

$$

HODANISH
157 
WGUS75 KPUB 162137
FFSPUB

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

COC041-162150-
/O.CAN.KPUB.FF.W.0006.000000T0000Z-120716T2230Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
EL PASO CO-
337 PM MDT MON JUL 16 2012

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR WEST CENTRAL EL 
PASO COUNTY...INCLUDING THE NORTH SIDE OF THE WALDO BURN SCAR...HAS 
BEEN CANCELLED...

NO REPORTS OF FLASH FLOODING HAVE OCCURRED WITH THIS EVENT. 
HOWEVER...MOST OF THE RAIN ON THE BURN SCAR OCCURRED IN UNPOPULATED 
AREAS. IN ADDITION...MOST OF THE HEAVIER RUNOFF RAN INTO THE RAMPART 
RESERVOIR NETWORK WEST OF THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY. 

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

LAT...LON 3900 10487 3894 10484 3895 10500 3900 10502

$$

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, 12:54 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningPUBEl Paso3 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.