Hail in Colorado, June 15, 2002

Name: Hail in Colorado, June 15, 2002
Start: 2002-06-15T15:20
End: 2002-06-15T17:30
Location: Colorado

June 15, 2002 · NWS BOU · 7 events in 3 counties and zones

7 hail, 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 15, 1:50 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 1:50 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO
250 PM MDT SAT JUN 15 2002

RIDGE AXIS REMAINS ORIENTED OVER WESTERN USA FROM WESTERN MT SOUTH
TO BAJA.  THIS KEEPS THE STATE IN NORTHWEST FLOW WITH A MINOR WAVE
PASSING OVER THE NORTHERN SECTION OF THE STATE AND FIRING OFF SOME
STORMS THIS AFTN. AT THE SURFACE A COLD FRONT HAS MOVED INTO THE
NORTHEAST CORNER AND IS HOLDING DEWPTS IN FROM NE SFC FLOW AND
ENHANCING SFC LIFT. WITH HEALTHY CAPE VALS OVER CWA WILL EXPECT THIS
TSTORM ACTIVITY TO CARRY INTO THE EVENING HOURS IN ACCORD WITH SVR
TSTORM WATCH AND THEN CLEAR OUT OVRNGT. SUN LOOKS SOMEWHAT SIMILAR
TO TODAY WITH NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUING. MDLS SEE LESS SFC BASED
MOISTURE AND AVN HAS DOWNWARD FORCING EAST OF THE AXIS. TEMPS ALOFT
FOR SUN ARE EXPECTED TO COOL A FEW DEGREES WHICH SHD INCREASE
INSTABILITY AND HELP CU DEVELOPMENT OFF THE HIGHER TRRN. WILL KEEP
THE CURRENT FCST GOING FOR SCT POPS FOR SUN AND SUN NIGHT FOOTHLS
AND PLAINS AND ISOLD HIGHER MTNS. THIS LINES UP WITH LATEST FIRE WX
ZNS. MONDAY LOOKS TO BE THE DRYEST AND WARMEST DAY OF THE SHORT TERM
PD. NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TRANSLATES DOWN TO THE SFC WHICH WILL PUSH
OUT FAVORABLE MOISTURE FOR STORMS. A WEAKENING UPPER RIDGE AXIS WILL
PASS OVR AREA MON WITH BEST DOWNWARD FORCING OCCURRING. DESPITE
DRYNESS AND SUBSIDENCE WILL KEEP ISOLD AFTN/EVE COVERAGE AS A FEW
GUSTY STORMS COULD DEVELOP OFF THE MTNS ESP THIS TIME OF YEAR.
NUMEROUS RIPPLES IN NEARLY ZONAL FLOW ARE EXPECTED TO PASS OVER THE
STATE FROM TUESDAY ON. NEXT NOTABLE WX FEATURE BEGINS TO MOVE INTO
THE MT AND WYO ROCKIES EARLY TUESDAY. THIS FAST MOVING TROUGH WHICH
RIDES ALONG THE USA/CANADA BORDER TOSSES DOWN A SOUTHEAST MOVING
PACIFIC COLD FRONT INTO NORTHERN COLO LATE TUES/EARLY WED. WINDS SHD
KICK UP WITH THIS FRONT BUT AVN SHOWS ONLY A BRIEF PD OF WINDS
MAINLY UNDER 30 KTS AT 700-500MB AT FROPA. AS FOR POPS TUE AGREE
WITH THE CURRENT ISOLD CHANCE AS BEST MOISTURE STAYS NORTH OVER WYO
AND MT.

LONGER TERM...WEDNESDAY THRU SATURDAY...TIMING THIS FAR OUT SKETCHY
BUT IF AVN/MRF IS MOSTLY CORRECT THEN THE EARLY DAY COLD FRONT WED
MAY PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR AFTN TSTORM ACTIVITY AS SFC WINDS BECOME
NORTHEASTERLY EAST OF THE DIVIDE FOR A SHORT TIME AND UPPER RIDGE IS
NEARLY DISSOLVED BY THIS TIME. TEMP GUIDANCE FOR WED SHOWING A
SLIGHTLY COOLER DAY AS WELL. LONGTERM MDLS CONT TO HOLD SFC WINDS TO
A EAST TO SOUTHEAST DIRECTION ON THE PLAINS THROUGH FRIDAY AND THEN
GO SOUTHWESTERLY SAT. FLOW ALOFT BY FRIDAY INTO SAT IS FROM THE
SOUTHWEST AND WOULD EXPECT THE USUAL MID LVL WARM CAP TO DEVELOP OVR
AREA TO SUPRESS ANY STORMS. OVERALL...ATMSPHR IN THE EXTENDED
REMAINS DRY WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR STORMS ON WED AND THUR AND THEN
WARMEST FRI AND SAT.  FREDIN

.DEN...NONE.

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:19 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Arapahoe

When: June 15, 3:20 PM MST
Where: Arapahoe County, 12 mi SW of Byers
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.600, -104.383

Hail, Elbert

When: June 15, 3:45 PM MST
Where: Elbert County, 15 mi NE of Kiowa
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.500, -104.267

Hail, Elbert

When: June 15, 3:50 PM MST
Where: Elbert County, 10 mi NE of Kiowa
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.450, -104.333

Hail, Lincoln

When: June 15, 4:30 PM MST
Where: Lincoln County, 7 mi NE of Karval
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.800, -103.433

Hail, Lincoln

When: June 15, 5:11 PM MST
Where: Lincoln County, 7 mi SW of Boyero
Measured: 2 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.867, -103.367

Hail, Lincoln

When: June 15, 5:25 PM MST
Where: Lincoln County, 15 mi NE of Karval
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.883, -103.333

Hail, Lincoln

When: June 15, 5:30 PM MST
Where: Lincoln County, 2 mi S of Boyero
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.900, -103.267

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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, June 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: 5305148, 5305149, 5305150, 5305151, 5305152, 5305153, 5305154.