Alert archive / Colorado / Red Flag Warnings in 2023

Red Flag Warning 15, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

May 5, 2023Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this red flag warning at May 5, 2023, 1:56 PM MDT for Elbert County, Lincoln County, Colorado. It took effect at May 6, 2023, 11:00 AM MDT. It was in force for 9 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 5, 2023, 1:56 PM MDT (19:56 UTC)
In effect from
May 6, 2023, 11:00 AM MDT
Expired
May 6, 2023, 8:00 PM MDT
In force
9 hr
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

Counties Elbert County, CO, Lincoln County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:59 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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 352 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2023-05-05Temperature 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 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2023-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 10 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1428 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
27 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this red flag warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this red flag warning went out at May 5, 9:46 AM MDT, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 9:46 AM MDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, May 5, 10:53 AM MDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
1053 AM MDT Fri May 5 2023

COZ030>051-061700-
Jackson County Below 9000 Feet-
West Jackson and West Grand Counties Above 9000 Feet-
Grand and Summit Counties Below 9000 Feet-
South and East Jackson/Larimer/North and Northeast Grand/
Northwest Boulder Counties Above 9000 Feet-
South and Southeast Grand/West Central and Southwest Boulder/
Gilpin/Clear Creek/Summit/North and West Park Counties Above
9000 Feet-Larimer and Boulder Counties Between 6000 and 9000 Feet-
Jefferson and West Douglas Counties Above 6000 Feet/Gilpin/Clear
Creek/Northeast Park Counties Below 9000 Feet-
Central and Southeast Park County-
Larimer County Below 6000 Feet/Northwest Weld County-
Boulder And Jefferson Counties Below 6000 Feet/West Broomfield
County-
North Douglas County Below 6000 Feet/Denver/West Adams and
Arapahoe Counties/East Broomfield County-
Elbert/Central and East Douglas Counties Above 6000 Feet-
Northeast Weld County-Central and South Weld County-Morgan County-
Central and East Adams and Arapahoe Counties-
North and Northeast Elbert County Below 6000 Feet/North Lincoln
County-
Southeast Elbert County Below 6000 Feet/South Lincoln County-
Logan County-Washington County-Sedgwick County-Phillips County-
1053 AM MDT Fri May 5 2023

This hazardous weather outlook is for northeast and north central
Colorado.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Isolated severe thunderstorms will be possible over the far
northeast plains this afternoon. Large hail, strong winds and
possibly a tornado may occur. The best focus will be north of a
Fort Morgan to Akron line.

Elsewhere there will be a chance of showers and a few thunderstorms
across the higher terrain and along the I-25 Corridor. Wind gusts
to 50 mph may accompany this activity.

Finally, critical fire conditions will be in place over eastern
Elbert and Lincoln counties today due to gusty winds and low
humidity levels.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday

On Saturday and Sunday there will be weak showers and storms that
develop mainly over the higher terrain. These will not produce much
precipitation so the burn area flash flood threat is very low.
Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will develop across the
plains due to dry and windy weather. The worst fire weather
conditions will be in Elbert and Lincoln Counties on Saturday and a
Fire Weather Watch is in effect as a result.

Monday and Tuesday will be warmer with weaker winds. Coverage of
showers and storms will be very low. By the end of next week, there
is a chance of more widespread precipitation for our forecast
area which could increase the threat of flash flooding in the
recent burn areas.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation will not be needed today or tonight.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 2:19 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOUAdams41 min
May 5, 2:34 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOUWeld26 min
May 5, 3:05 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOUWeld40 min
May 5, 4:09 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOULogan51 min
May 5, 4:22 PM MDTDust Storm WarningBOUAdams, Arapahoe83 min
May 5, 4:29 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOUSedgwick46 min
May 5, 4:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUPhillips, Sedgwick44 min
May 5, 5:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUPhillips, Sedgwick44 min
May 5, 5:25 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOUArapahoe50 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Colorado, 2023Every red flag warning in 2023

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.