Hail and Damaging Winds in Colorado, August 31, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Colorado, August 31, 2002
Start: 2002-08-31T16:00
End: 2002-08-31T20:12
Location: Colorado

August 31, 2002 · NWS GLD · 12 events in 1 county or zone

9 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 31, 1:15 PM MST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 1:15 PM MST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
215 PM MDT SAT AUG 31 2002

FORECAST CONCERNS ARE HIGH TEMPS THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND CHANCES OF
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.

12Z UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWING RIDGING FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
EXTENDING NORTHWARD OVER THE WESTERN HIGH PLAINS. WEAK WESTERLY FLOW
IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS WITH SOME DRY AIR ADVECTING WESTWARD AT
THE 700 MB LEVEL. THE PERSISTENT LEE TROUGH OVER THE CO/KS BORDER
THIS AFTERNOON...WILL BEGIN TO DRIFT EAST ON SUNDAY/MONDAY AS A WEAK MID
LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. DRY AIR AT 700 MB AND WEAK
SUBSIDENCE WILL SUPPRESS THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT TONIGHT. ANY
ACTIVITY WILL BE VERY ISOLATED.

AS A WEAK MID LEVEL TROUGH MOVES THROUGH THE AREA ON
SUNDAY...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE CENTRAL
AND EASTERN COUNTIES BY AFTERNOON WITH FAVORABLE LOW/MID LEVEL
MOISTURE COMBINED WITH STEEPENING LAPSE RATES. DRIER AIR IN THE MID
LEVELS WILL INHIBIT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER FAR EASTERN
COLORADO AND EXTREME WESTERN KANSAS. WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OVER
THE CENTRAL COUNTIES AND ADD A SLIGHT CHANCE TO THE EASTERN COUNTIES
FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BEFORE LOSS OF HEATING AND DRIER
MID LEVEL AIR SUPPRESS ACTIVITY SHORTLY AFTER DARK. MESO ETA 850 MB
TEMPS SUPPORT HIGHS IN THE LOW TO MID 90S...WHICH IS SLIGHTLY WARMER
COMPARED TO LATEST MOS GUIDANCE.

AS THE WEAK MID LEVEL TROUGH PASSES THROUGH ON MONDAY...THE SURFACE
BOUNDARY/LEE TROUGH WILL SHIFT EAST...ALLOWING WINDS TO BECOME NORTH
OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. RETURN FLOW WILL OCCUR OVERNIGHT.
THICKNESS VALUES REMAIN NEARLY STEADY...SO WILL ONLY ADJUST TEMPS
DOWN A FEW DEGREES FOR MONDAY. AT THE SAME TIME...ETA/AVN AMPLIFY THE
RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHWEST STATES AND BRING IT INTO THE WESTERN HIGH
PLAINS ON TUESDAY. THIS RIDGE WILL PROVIDE A SUBSIDENT AIRMASS
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIODS. MAY ADJUST TEMPS UP
SLIGHTLY AS MID/UPPER RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE AREA. LATEST MRF BEGINS
TO BREAK THE RIDGE DOWN BY NEXT WEEKEND AS A TROUGH LIFTS OUT OF THE
NORTHWEST STATES. WILL KEEP SAT DRY FOR NOW AND WAIT FOR RUN TO RUN
CONSISTENCY BEFORE ADDING POPS.

.GLD...NONE.

MCGUIRE

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 8 mi SSE of Yuma
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.017, -102.667

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 4:15 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 8 mi SW of Yuma
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.033, -102.817

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 4:39 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 5 mi S of Eckley
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.050, -102.483

Thunderstorm Wind, Yuma

When: August 31, 4:44 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 5 mi W of Vernon
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.933, -102.383

Thunderstorm Wind, Yuma

When: August 31, 4:45 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, Vernon
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.933, -102.283

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 5:35 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 7 mi SSW of Vernon
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.833, -102.333

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 5:45 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 7 mi SSW of Vernon
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.833, -102.333

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 6:35 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 2 mi ESE of Idalia
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.683, -102.267

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 6:52 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 5 mi WNW of Wray
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.117, -102.317

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 7:03 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 3 mi W of Wray
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.083, -102.283

Thunderstorm Wind, Yuma

When: August 31, 7:17 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, 3 mi S of Idalia
Measured: 69 kt (79 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 39.650, -102.300

Empty cattle truck blown over.

Hail, Yuma

When: August 31, 8:12 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, Wray
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.083, -102.233

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Colorado in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, August 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5313730, 5312335, 5312336, 5312337, 5312338, 5312339, 5312340, 5312341, 5312342, 5312343, 5312344, 5312345.