Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2016

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 24, 2016Washington County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at May 24, 2016, 6:26 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 34 min. 7 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 24, 2016, 6:26 PM MDT (00:26 UTC)
Expired: May 24, 2016, 7:00 PM MDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 1.25 in

County Washington County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:27 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 was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 24, 6:44 PM MDT	TORNADO	S Akron, CO
May 24, 6:45 PM MDT	HAIL 1.25	2 Ne Akron, CO
May 24, 6:45 PM MDT	HAIL 1.5	Se Akron, CO	HAIL DAMAGED SHINGLES AND DENTED VEHICLES.
May 24, 6:45 PM MDT	HAIL 1.75	S Akron, CO
May 24, 6:47 PM MDT	TORNADO	Akron, CO	EMERGENCY MANAGER SAID THAT FIRE CREWS REPORTED TWO TORNADOES NEAR AKRON, ONE TO THE NE AND ONE TO THE SE
May 24, 6:52 PM MDT	TSTM WND GST 61	Akron, CO
May 24, 6:57 PM MDT	TSTM WND DMG	1 Ene Platner, CO	SEVEN TO 10 STRUCTURES DAMAGED BETWEEN COUNTY ROAD 41 AND 42. DAMAGE EXTENDED FROM NEAR PLATNER EASTWARD TO THE WASHINGTON COUNTY LINE. EXTENSIVE HAIL DAMAGE TO HOME AND CAR WINDOWS.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 24, 12:45 PM MDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDEN), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 40 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 484 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -114 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1902 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 300 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 5.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

632 
WFUS55 KBOU 250026
TORBOU
COC121-250100-
/O.NEW.KBOU.TO.W.0011.160525T0026Z-160525T0100Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
626 PM MDT TUE MAY 24 2016

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO...

* UNTIL 700 PM MDT
    
* AT 624 PM MDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED 4 MILES SOUTH OF MIDWAY...OR 10 MILES WEST OF
  AKRON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO AND HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST
           COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON HAVE PRODUCED LARGE HAIL...HEAVY
           RAINFALL...FUNNEL CLOUDS AND A FEW BRIEF TORNADOES.   

  IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
           SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 
           DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE 
           DAMAGE IS LIKELY. 

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  AKRON...PLATNER AND MIDWAY. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE
HOME...A VEHICLE OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL
SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4038 10312 4013 10300 4006 10341 4019 10348
      4024 10347
TIME...MOT...LOC 0024Z 246DEG 20KT 4016 10342 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...1.25IN

$$

DANKERS

1 follow-up statement

797 
WWUS55 KBOU 250051
SVSBOU

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
651 PM MDT TUE MAY 24 2016

COC121-250100-
/O.CON.KBOU.TO.W.0011.000000T0000Z-160525T0100Z/
WASHINGTON CO-
651 PM MDT TUE MAY 24 2016

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM MDT FOR NORTH
CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTY...
    
AT 648 PM MDT...A CONFIRMED TORNADO WAS LOCATED 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
AKRON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

HAZARD...DAMAGING TORNADO AND GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL. 

SOURCE...WEATHER SPOTTERS CONFIRMED TORNADO. THE BRIEF FUNNEL CLOUD
         AND TORNADO WAS ALSO OBSERVED ON A WEB CAMERA LOCATED IN
         AKRON AT 645 PM MDT. THE FUNNEL CLOUD DISSIPATED AFTER
         ABOUT 1 MINUTE. SPOTTERS TO THE SOUTH OF AKRON WERE ALSO
         REPORTING GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL.

IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
         SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. DAMAGE 
         TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE DAMAGE IS 
         LIKELY. 

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
AKRON...PLATNER AND MIDWAY. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TO REPEAT...A TORNADO HAS RECENTLY BEEN ON THE GROUND. TAKE COVER
NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR
OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4038 10312 4013 10300 4006 10341 4019 10348
      4024 10347
TIME...MOT...LOC 0048Z 246DEG 20KT 4021 10326 

TORNADO...OBSERVED
HAIL...1.25IN

$$

DANKERS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 24, 6:05 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BOU	Morgan, Washington	25 min
May 24, 7:01 PM MDT	Tornado Warning Tornado observed	BOU	Washington	29 min
May 25, 3:58 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BOU	Washington	18 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2016 Every tornado warning in 2016 Tornadoes in 2016

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.