A slow-moving upper air low pressure system moved across Colorado and western Kansas during the day, resulting in numerous thunderstorms during the afternoon hours. one just north of Stratton, Colorado and the other northwest of Tribune, Kansas.
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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.
The episode as NWS GLD wrote it up.
A slow-moving upper air low pressure system moved across Colorado and western Kansas during the day, resulting in numerous thunderstorms during the afternoon hours. Two tornadoes developed during the early afternoon...one just north of Stratton, Colorado and the other northwest of Tribune, Kansas. No damage or injuries were reported from either tornado.
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 May 25, 10:58 AM MST, 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1158 AM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 .DISCUSSION... 200 AM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 UPPER TROUGH AND NARROW NORTH TO SOUTH ORIENTED MOISTURE AXIS CURRENTLY OVER FAR EASTERN COLORADO WILL SLOWLY SHIFT EAST TODAY AND OUT OF THE AREA TUESDAY AFTERNOON. COMBINATION OF THE MOISTURE/WEAK INSTABILITY AND SOME UPPER JET DIVERGENCE WILL FAVOR HIGH POPS (AS PREVIOUSLY FORECAST) ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING BEFORE SHIFTING SLOWLY EAST WITH DECREASING POPS LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY AS 0-6KM WINDS SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST AND DRIER AIR (ESPECIALLY MID LEVELS) MOVES IN CUTTING OFF PRECIPITATION. FOR TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY FORECAST AREA IN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT BUT MOISTURE IS LIMITED AND NO PRECIPITATION EXPECTED. TEMPERATURES TODAY IN THE LOW 70S WEST WITH NEAR 80 EAST. COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH TONIGHT BRINGING MID 60S TO NEAR 70 TUESDAY ALONG WITH BREEZY TO WINDY NORTH WINDS. LOWER DEWPOINTS MOVE IN BEHIND THE FRONT ALLOWING MIN TEMPS TUESDAY NIGHT TO FALL INTO THE MID AND UPPER 40S. FOR WEDNESDAY TEMPERATURES REBOUND INTO THE MID 70S UNDER A MOSTLY SUNNY SKY. MIN TEMPS WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIGHT NEAR NORMAL. ON THURSDAY UPPER RIDGE SLOWLY MOVES TOWARD THE AREA. PREVIOUS FORECAST HAS THE RIGHT IDEA ON SLOWLY WARMING TEMPERATURES AND LATEST GFS/ECMWF CONTINUE WITH THAT TREND. TWEAKED HIGHS UP JUST A FEW DEGREES BASED ON LATEST 850 TEMPS. LITTLE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH SO WILL KEEP THINGS DRY. FOR FRIDAY WILL CONTINUE TO BUMP AFTERNOON TEMPS UP JUST A FEW MORE DEGREES WITH LOW TO MID 80S EXPECTED AS 850 THERMAL RIDGE PUSHES EAST INTO THE FORECAST AREA. SATURDAY...GOOD AGREEMENT AND FURTHER UPWARD ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED IN HIGH TEMPERATURES AS 850 TEMPS FROM THE ECMWF AND GFS AVERAGE IN THE MID/MAYBE UPPER 20C RANGE. THIS WOULD SUPPORT READINGS CLOSE TO 90 ACROSS THE AREA. HAVE UPPED TEMPS INTO THE UPPER 80S FOR NOW. SUNDAY...NO CHANGES MADE. 07 && .AVIATION... 1136 AM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 FOR THE 18Z TAF...COMPLEX AVIATION FORECAST AS SCATTERED CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. TIMING AND IMPACT ON BOTH TERMINALS WILL BE DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN UNTIL CONVECTION BECOMES MORE WIDESPREAD. HAVE GENERALLY GONE WITH VCTS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KMCK WHERE...BASED ON RADAR TRENDS...CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY SHOULD IMPACT THE TERMINAL PERIODICALLY THROUGH THE NEXT FEW HOURS CAUSING OCCASIONAL DROPS TO MVFR VIS. PRECIP SHOULD TRANSITION TO STRATIFORM VARIETY AFTER AROUND 07Z WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR FOG/LOW STRATUS DEVELOPING...ESPECIALLY AT KGLD...AFTER AROUND 11Z TUESDAY. PRECIP SHOULD CONTINUE LONGER AT KMCK WHICH WILL LIKELY LIMIT THE FOG/LOW STRATUS CONCERN THERE. FOLTZ && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. NE...NONE. CO...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1045 AM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-261215- YUMA-KIT CARSON-CHEYENNE CO-CHEYENNE KS-RAWLINS-DECATUR-NORTON- SHERMAN-THOMAS-SHERIDAN-GRAHAM-WALLACE-LOGAN-GOVE-GREELEY-WICHITA- DUNDY-HITCHCOCK-RED WILLOW- 1045 AM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 /1145 AM CDT MON MAY 25 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...NORTHWEST KANSAS AND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE TRI-STATE REGION AND BECOME WIDESPREAD THIS AFTERNOON. WHILE SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED...STRONGER STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1154 AM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 COZ090-251815- YUMA COUNTY- 1154 AM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR YUMA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO... AT 1150 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING NEAR CLARKVILLE...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 MPH. PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL...MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN AND WINDS TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT THESE STORMS INTENSIFY AND BECOME SEVERE. FOLTZ
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1215 PM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 COZ091-092-251845- CHEYENNE COUNTY-KIT CARSON COUNTY- 1215 PM MDT MON MAY 25 2009 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CHEYENNE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO AND KIT CARSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO... AT 1212 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 8 MILES NORTH OF STRATTON TO 8 MILES SOUTH OF VONA TO 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF WILD HORSE...AND MOVING EAST AT 5 MPH. LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED BRIEF FUNNEL CLOUDS WITH THIS LINE OF STORMS. BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT THESE STORMS INTENSIFY AND BECOME SEVERE. FOLTZ
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:18 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement reported a tornado north of Stratton. No damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Colorado, 2009Warnings in Colorado, May 2009
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: 164058.