Alert archive / Colorado / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 341

June 2, 20125 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jun 2, 2012, 2:33 PM MDT for 5 states. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 2, 2012, 2:33 PM MDT (20:33 UTC)
Expired
Jun 2, 2012, 10:00 PM MDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
70 kt
All 37 counties

Arapahoe County, CO, Baca County, CO, Bent County, CO, Cheyenne County, CO, Crowley County, CO, Elbert County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Las Animas County, CO, Lincoln County, CO, Logan County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Otero County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO, Washington County, CO, Yuma County, CO, Cheyenne County, KS, Greeley County, KS, Hamilton County, KS, Morton County, KS, Sherman County, KS, Stanton County, KS, Wallace County, KS, Union County, NM, Cimarron County, OK, Texas County, OK, Dallam County, TX, Deaf Smith County, TX, Hansford County, TX, Hartley County, TX, Moore County, TX, Oldham County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Sherman County, TX

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:36 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
50%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
80%

Warnings issued inside it

38 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 2, 2:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe, Denver40 min
Jun 2, 2:42 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUArapahoe, Elbert31 min
Jun 2, 2:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe40 min
Jun 2, 3:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe, Elbert42 min
Jun 2, 3:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBCrowley, Otero, Pueblo45 min
Jun 2, 3:23 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUAdams, Morgan52 min
Jun 2, 3:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington46 min
Jun 2, 3:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBaca, Bent, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers41 min
Jun 2, 3:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln38 min
Jun 2, 3:47 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan43 min
Jun 2, 3:57 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan48 min
Jun 2, 4:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBent, Kiowa, Prowers38 min
Jun 2, 4:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDCheyenne, Kit Carson46 min
Jun 2, 4:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBaca, Bent, Prowers27 min
Jun 2, 4:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBent, Las Animas26 min
Jun 2, 4:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington42 min
Jun 2, 4:39 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBKiowa, Prowers66 min
Jun 2, 4:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBent, Kiowa, Prowers53 min
Jun 2, 5:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDCheyenne58 min
Jun 2, 5:09 PM MDTTornado WarningPUBKiowa39 min
Jun 2, 5:10 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDYuma65 min
Jun 2, 5:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDYuma45 min
Jun 2, 5:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBProwers45 min
Jun 2, 5:20 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDCheyenne40 min
Jun 2, 5:27 PM MDTTornado WarningPUBKiowa34 min
Jun 2, 5:34 PM MDTTornado WarningPUBKiowa, Prowers13 min
Jun 2, 5:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCHamilton49 min
Jun 2, 5:46 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDCheyenne, Kit Carson31 min
Jun 2, 5:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDGreeley, Wallace54 min
Jun 2, 5:59 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDCheyenne27 min
Jun 2, 5:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPUBBaca, Prowers38 min
Jun 2, 6:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDSherman66 min
Jun 2, 6:10 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMADeaf Smith, Randall50 min
Jun 2, 6:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDGreeley55 min
Jun 2, 6:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDWallace64 min
Jun 2, 6:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCGrant, Morton, Stanton, Stevens51 min
Jun 2, 6:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDCheyenne51 min
Jun 2, 7:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDCheyenne55 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 159 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 2012-06-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 2012-06-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 35 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1766 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
90 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.

323 
WWUS20 KWNS 022038
SEL1
SPC WW 022038
COZ000-KSZ000-NMZ000-OKZ000-TXZ000-030400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 341
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
235 PM MDT SAT JUN 2 2012

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

       EASTERN COLORADO
       WESTERN KANSAS
       NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO
       OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE
       TEXAS PANHANDLE

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 235 PM UNTIL
1000 PM MDT.

HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70
STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH
NORTHEAST OF LIMON COLORADO TO 10 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF
DALHART TEXAS.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 340...

DISCUSSION...HIGH-BASED STORMS MOVING ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE AND
NERN NM MOUNTAINS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD EAST INTO A WARM AND
MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS ACROSS ERN CO/NERN NM/WRN KS AND THE
OK/TX PNHDLS. BAND OF MODEST WLY MID LEVEL FLOW ACCOMPANYING A WEAK
SHORT WAVE TROUGH...ATOP WEAK SELY LOW LEVEL FLOW...WILL CONTRIBUTE
TO SUFFICIENT DEEP SHEAR FOR STORM UPDRAFTS TO PERSIST. INITIAL
HAZARDS WILL LIKELY TAKE THE FORM OF STRONG TO SEVERE DOWNBURST
WINDS GIVEN EVAPORATIONAL COOLING INTO WARM TO HOT DEEPLY MIXED
SUB-CLOUD AIRMASS. WITH TIME...A FEW SUPERCELLS WITH HAIL MAY
DEVELOP. STORMS MAY MERGE LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING
WITH ONE OR TWO SMALL CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES POSING A WIND THREAT
SPREADING EAST/SOUTHEAST INTO WRN KS AND/OR OK/TX PNHDLS.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 26030.


...CARBIN

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 2, 1:38 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero and 2 more97 min
Jun 2, 4:57 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaca, Bent, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Logan and 5 more2 hr
Jun 2, 5:31 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Ellis and 31 more6 hr
Jun 1, 8:15 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCJackson60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Colorado, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Texas, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Kansas, 2012Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.