Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 2026
Tornado Warning 26, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this tornado warning at Jun 24, 2026, 6:54 PM MDT for Washington County, Colorado. It was in force for 36 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jun 24, 2026, 6:54 PM MDT (00:54 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 24, 2026, 7:30 PM MDT
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Radar indicated
- Hail
- 2.5 in
County Washington County, CO
The radar
The Denver radar (KFTG), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:55 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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 3:50 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 8 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 254 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
- 688 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -58 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1325 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 67 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -57 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 206 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 6.4
The text
As transmitted.
719
WFUS55 KBOU 250054
TORBOU
COC121-250130-
/O.NEW.KBOU.TO.W.0026.260625T0054Z-260625T0130Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Denver CO
654 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
Southeastern Washington County in northeastern Colorado...
* Until 730 PM MDT.
* At 654 PM MDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located 5 miles north of Arickaree School, or 26 miles south of
Akron, moving southeast at 15 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado and tennis ball size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
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...
Arickaree School.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built building
away from windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a
vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself
from flying debris.
&&
LAT...LON 3985 10323 3997 10300 3979 10282 3966 10307
TIME...MOT...LOC 0053Z 318DEG 12KT 3981 10306
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...2.50 IN
$$
632 follow-up statements
418
WWUS55 KBOU 250108
SVSBOU
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Denver CO
708 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
COC121-250130-
/O.CON.KBOU.TO.W.0026.000000T0000Z-260625T0130Z/
Washington CO-
708 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
...TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 730 PM MDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY...
At 708 PM MDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located near Arickaree School, or 28 miles southeast of Akron,
moving southeast at 20 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado and tennis ball size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
to roofs, windows and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
likely.
Locations impacted include...
Arickaree School.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built building
away from windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a
vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself
from flying debris.
&&
LAT...LON 3983 10320 3997 10300 3979 10282 3966 10307
TIME...MOT...LOC 0054Z 309DEG 17KT 3984 10306
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...2.50 IN
$$
63545 WWUS55 KBOU 250125 SVSBOU Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Denver CO 725 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026 COC121-250135- /O.EXP.KBOU.TO.W.0026.000000T0000Z-260625T0130Z/ Washington CO- 725 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026 ...TORNADO WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 730 PM MDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY... The tornado threat has diminished and the Tornado Warning has been cancelled. However, large hail and damaging winds remain likely and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in effect for the area. A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1100 PM MDT Wednesday for a portion of northeast Colorado. && LAT...LON 3983 10320 3997 10300 3979 10282 3966 10307 TIME...MOT...LOC 0108Z 309DEG 17KT 3979 10299 $$ 63
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Jun 24, 6:06 PM MDT, 48 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Numerous strong to severe thunderstorms expected today for the lower elevations, particularly late afternoon through tonight. Strongest storms may produce very large hail exceeding 2-3" in diameter.
- Additional round of strong to severe thunderstorms possible Thursday. Localized flash flood concerns will exist both Wednesday and Thursday.
- Critical fire weather conditions this afternoon in the mountains given warm, dry and breezy weather and the potential for isolated dry thunderstorms. Notably higher fire danger will develop this weekend as hotter and windier weather returns.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 24, 6:06 PM MDT, 48 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 606 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Numerous strong to severe thunderstorms expected today for the lower elevations, particularly late afternoon through tonight. Strongest storms may produce very large hail exceeding 2-3" in diameter. - Additional round of strong to severe thunderstorms possible Thursday. Localized flash flood concerns will exist both Wednesday and Thursday. - Critical fire weather conditions this afternoon in the mountains given warm, dry and breezy weather and the potential for isolated dry thunderstorms. Notably higher fire danger will develop this weekend as hotter and windier weather returns. && .DISCUSSION /Through Wednesday/... Issued at 147 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026 A rather conditional severe weather threat still exists across most of the I-25 corridor and eastern plains this afternoon. A broad belt of westerly/west-northwesterly flow aloft is evident via GOES water vapor imagery and recent RAP analysis data. Meanwhile, a well-defined surface boundary stretching from KAPA through KDEN and into southeastern Weld County. While this boundary has produced more of a shear zone than a true convergence zone, there's been plenty of differential heating along the boundary. With the DEN ASOS on the "warm" side of the boundary, we've seen T/Td reach 89/55F, with temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s across the western Denver metro. At this point, it appears likely that we'll see a first attempt at convective initiation somewhere along the surface boundary in the next couple of hours, with better probabilities of sustained convection closer to Fort Morgan/Sterling. A recent ACARS sounding, modified to the latest DEN observation suggest only meager capping at 700-600mb remains, with ACARS and RAP Mesoanalysis showing a fairly broad area of >3000 MLCAPE stretching along and south of I-76. Combined with impressive deep layer shear, any thunderstorms that can develop this afternoon should quickly become strong to severe, with primarily a large hail threat. Hodographs have slowly become more curved as the low-level flow has increased, though overall hodographs are still relatively straight-line and would favor splitting supercells with the initial round of convection today. Still, there would be at least a brief tornado threat, especially closer to any boundary where sfc vorticity and effective SRH would be maximized. A second round of thunderstorms is expected to develop in Wyoming and move into our forecast area sometime between about 6-10 PM. This should primarily be north and east of the metro (where SPC's enhanced risk is). I would expect this to be the more significant of the two waves of convection given a weakening cap and rather impressive skew-t/hodograph combinations advertised by the WoFS. While again this threat appears to be mainly north/east of the I-25 corridor, we can't completely rule out strong to severe storms this far west. Any sort of additional push of moist outflow may be enough to break the remaining cap here, which has been shown on and off by various high resolution models. We'll see if any more meaningful trends emerge this afternoon but the threat in the Denver metro is highly conditional. A more organized round of sub-severe showers and thunderstorms is likely overnight tonight as a shortwave moves across the region. There could still be a strong storm or two left depending on how much instability lingers overnight, but the severe threat should diminish quickly after midnight. A combination of some showers, stratus, fog/mist, and haze from wildfire smoke will likely develop overnight and linger into Thursday morning. The shortwave should move across the area through Thursday, with a cooler/more stable airmass behind it. There should still be widely scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, though any severe potential will be determined by how quickly things can destabilize following the morning stratus/fog. Drier southwesterly flow aloft should develop by Friday, leading to less convection across the region. The warming/drying trend is likely to continue into the weekend as a strong upper trough advances into the Pacific Northwest region during the weekend. Strengthening mid/upper level flow is expected to bring gusty winds to most of the forecast area, with the strongest winds over the higher elevations. The combination of above normal temperatures, a dry airmass, and gusty winds will likely lead to critical fire weather conditions across a large portion of the forecast area... and Fire Weather Watches may be necessary soon. Little change is expected in the longer term forecast period as dry southwesterly flow aloft continues. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday/... Issued at 552 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026 The DCVZ has been setup near KDEN for the entire afternoon and has now sloshed back to the east and northeast of KDEN bringing northwest winds for the time being. Some northeast winds could start to make it into KDEN in the next hour or so given the cyclone's movement. Short-term models remain in pretty good agreement that precipitation will likely occur at least near all three sites this evening. The latest WoFS runs and CAMs show rapid thunderstorm development between now and 2z just to the north of KDEN and moving to the south. Thus, we have now added a tempo group between 1z and 4z at KDEN and KAPA (with slightly later timing) to show the increasing confidence of thunderstorms during this time period. Thunderstorms could linger and/or redevelop through at least 8z. Gusty outflow winds of at least 30 kts will continue to remain possible with any storms near KDEN and KAPA especially. Low ceilings/fog/haze/light rain are likely to develop overnight and could last well into tomorrow morning. Ceilings could drop to as low as about 005 generally after 10z. By tomorrow afternoon, showers and thunderstorms should return to the area, but questions remain on how unstable the atmosphere will be given the low clouds likely keeping temperatures at bay at least in the morning. Have added in a prob30 for -tsra the early afternoon for now at all three sites. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 6 PM MDT this evening for COZ211>214-217- 218. && DISCUSSION...Hiris AVIATION...MV
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 24, 5:57 PM MDT, 57 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
557 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0538 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 W Akron 40.16N 103.23W
06/24/2026 M81 MPH Washington CO Public
&&
AALocal storm report, Jun 24, 6:17 PM MDT, 37 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
617 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0535 PM Hail 7 ENE Woodrow 40.00N 103.44W
06/24/2026 E1.75 Inch Washington CO Storm Chaser
Time estimated from radar.
&&
AALocal storm report, Jun 24, 6:19 PM MDT, 35 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
619 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0530 PM Hail 7 ENE Woodrow 40.00N 103.46W
06/24/2026 E1.50 Inch Washington CO Storm Chaser
Time estimated from radar.
&&
AALocal storm report, Jun 24, 6:22 PM MDT, 32 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
622 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0616 PM Hail 3 S Elba 39.90N 103.22W
06/24/2026 E1.50 Inch Washington CO Storm Chaser
&&
AALocal storm report, Jun 24, 6:28 PM MDT, 26 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
628 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0625 PM Tornado 2 NNW Fleming 40.70N 102.86W
06/24/2026 Logan CO Fire Dept/Rescue
Tornado confirmed by the fire department.
&&
AALocal storm report, Jun 24, 6:32 PM MDT, 22 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
632 PM MDT Wed Jun 24 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0612 PM Hail 3 W Elba 39.94N 103.28W
06/24/2026 M1.00 Inch Washington CO Public
Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.) Time
estimated from radar.
&&
AAThe office that day
Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 6:00 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 30 min |
| Jun 24, 6:13 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Logan | 32 min |
| Jun 24, 6:17 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 43 min |
| Jun 24, 6:35 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Weld | 40 min |
| Jun 24, 6:37 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Logan, Phillips | 38 min |
| Jun 24, 6:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 31 min |
| Jun 24, 7:06 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan, Phillips | 17 min |
| Jun 24, 7:24 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 36 min |
| Jun 24, 7:27 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Weld | 33 min |
| Jun 24, 7:44 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BOU | Weld | 31 min |
| Jun 24, 7:47 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Boulder, Larimer, Weld | 32 min |
| Jun 24, 7:48 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Sedgwick | 21 min |
| Jun 24, 8:07 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Weld | 38 min |
| Jun 24, 8:26 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan | 34 min |
| Jun 24, 8:35 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Douglas | 29 min |
| Jun 24, 8:51 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Phillips, Sedgwick | 39 min |
| Jun 24, 8:54 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan | 51 min |
| Jun 24, 8:59 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Washington | 33 min |
| Jun 24, 9:06 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 39 min |
| Jun 24, 9:07 PM MDT | Areal Flood Advisory | BOU | Logan, Morgan, Washington | 2 hr |
| Jun 24, 9:18 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams, Arapahoe | 42 min |
| Jun 24, 9:26 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Clear Creek, Jefferson | 49 min |
| Jun 24, 9:26 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Phillips | 34 min |
| Jun 24, 9:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe | 45 min |
| Jun 24, 9:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Adams | 24 min |
| Jun 24, 9:36 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Morgan, Washington | 39 min |
| Jun 24, 9:59 PM MDT | Areal Flood Advisory | BOU | Morgan, Washington | 3 hr |
| Jun 24, 10:01 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson | 29 min |
| Jun 24, 10:03 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Lincoln, Washington | 42 min |
| Jun 24, 10:08 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe, Elbert | 35 min |
| Jun 24, 10:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 33 min |
| Jun 24, 11:01 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Arapahoe | 21 min |
| Jun 25, 12:18 AM MDT | Fire Weather Watch | BOU | Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Larimer and 2 more | 24 hr |
| Jun 25, 2:15 AM MDT | Areal Flood Advisory | BOU | Jefferson | 65 min |
| Jun 25, 2:54 AM MDT | Areal Flood Warning | BOU | Jefferson | 3 hr |
| Jun 25, 1:35 PM MDT | Special Weather Statement | BOU | Douglas | 40 min |
| Jun 25, 2:16 PM MDT | Special Weather Statement | BOU | Elbert | 44 min |
| Jun 25, 5:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Larimer, Weld | 50 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 2026Every tornado warning in 2026Tornadoes in 2026
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.