Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Watches in 2015
Tornado Watch 258
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 5, 2015, 1:09 PM MDT for 24 counties in Colorado. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jun 5, 2015, 1:09 PM MDT (19:09 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 5, 2015, 7:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 24 counties
Adams County, CO, Arapahoe County, CO, Baca County, CO, Bent County, CO, Boulder County, CO, Broomfield County, CO, Crowley County, CO, Denver County, CO, Douglas County, CO, El Paso County, CO, Elbert County, CO, Huerfano County, CO, Jefferson County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Larimer County, CO, Las Animas County, CO, Lincoln County, CO, Logan County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Otero County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Pueblo County, CO, Washington County, CO, Weld County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:12 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
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 80%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 60%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 1:48 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 42 min |
| Jun 5, 2:17 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert | 43 min |
| Jun 5, 2:20 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Las Animas | 55 min |
| Jun 5, 2:33 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Las Animas, Otero, Pueblo | 30 min |
| Jun 5, 3:04 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 26 min |
| Jun 5, 3:27 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 33 min |
| Jun 5, 3:41 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln, Washington | 49 min |
| Jun 5, 3:51 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Bent, Las Animas, Otero | 24 min |
| Jun 5, 4:03 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Morgan | 42 min |
| Jun 5, 4:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 29 min |
| Jun 5, 4:34 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln, Washington | 26 min |
| Jun 5, 4:36 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PUB | Baca, Las Animas | 33 min |
| Jun 5, 4:44 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 31 min |
| Jun 5, 4:58 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Washington | 32 min |
| Jun 5, 5:24 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan, Morgan, Washington | 39 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 (KDEN), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 109 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 356 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -70 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 888 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -12 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 68 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
350
WWUS20 KWNS 051906
SEL8
SPC WW 051906
COZ000-060100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 258
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
110 PM MDT FRI JUN 5 2015
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN COLORADO
* EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 110 PM UNTIL
700 PM MDT.
* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
WIDESPREAD LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2.5
INCHES IN DIAMETER LIKELY
SCATTERED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
SUMMARY...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY OVER
THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS OF COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON AND SPREAD
ACROSS THE WATCH AREA. SUFFICIENT CAPE AND SHEAR PARAMETERS SUGGEST
A RISK OF VERY LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES IN THE STRONGEST
STORMS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 55 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTHEAST OF FORT
COLLINS COLORADO TO 40 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF TRINIDAD COLORADO.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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.
&&
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030.
...HARTSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 6:06 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Kit Carson, Yuma | 5 hr |
| Jun 4, 7:20 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bent, Crowley, El Paso, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo | 2 hr |
| Jun 4, 8:20 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert and 2 more | 115 min |
| Jun 5, 12:49 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Bent, Broomfield, Crowley, Denver and 14 more | 86 min |
| Jun 5, 4:22 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Phillips, Yuma | 53 min |
| Jun 5, 4:44 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Phillips, Sedgwick, Yuma | 7 hr |
| Jun 5, 5:59 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Kit Carson | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Colorado, 2015Every tornado watch in 2015
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.