Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Watches in 2016
Tornado Watch 203
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 24, 2016, 12:45 PM MDT for 9 counties in Colorado. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 24, 2016, 12:45 PM MDT (18:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 2016, 8:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 3 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Adams County, CO, Arapahoe County, CO, Denver County, CO, Logan County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO, Washington County, CO, Weld County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 97 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:44 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
- 70%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 30%
- 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
- 50%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 95%
Warnings issued inside it
13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 1:59 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Broomfield, Jefferson | 31 min |
| May 24, 2:05 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe, Denver | 25 min |
| May 24, 2:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Broomfield, Weld | 45 min |
| May 24, 2:43 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 47 min |
| May 24, 3:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams | 32 min |
| May 24, 4:36 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Morgan | 24 min |
| May 24, 4:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Morgan | 32 min |
| May 24, 5:18 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Washington | 27 min |
| May 24, 5:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Morgan | 29 min |
| May 24, 5:44 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Adams, Morgan | 31 min |
| May 24, 6:05 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Morgan, Washington | 25 min |
| May 24, 6:26 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 34 min |
| May 24, 7:01 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Washington | 29 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, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 83 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1378 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 89 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 122 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted.
696
WWUS20 KWNS 241839
SEL3
SPC WW 241839
COZ000-250200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 203
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1240 PM MDT TUE MAY 24 2016
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST COLORADO
* EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1240 PM UNTIL
800 PM MDT.
* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
A FEW TORNADOES LIKELY WITH A COUPLE INTENSE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
WIDESPREAD LARGE HAIL LIKELY WITH ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL
EVENTS TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
SCATTERED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
SUMMARY...THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM SOON OVER THE FOOTHILLS NEAR
DENVER AND SPREAD EAST-NORTHEASTWARD THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING. PARAMETERS APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF VERY
LARGE HAIL AND A FEW TORNADOES.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 50 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTH OF DENVER
COLORADO TO 55 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF AKRON COLORADO. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).
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 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26025.
...HARTSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 11:31 AM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and 9 more | 59 min |
| May 24, 2:34 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Logan, Morgan, Phillips and 4 more | 86 min |
| May 24, 5:46 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Yuma | 89 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Colorado, 2016Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.