Tornadoes · United States · Colorado · 2002

F0 tornado, Cedar Pt, Colorado, June 3, 2002

This F0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Elbert County on June 3, 2002, touching down at 2:05 PM MDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
June 3, 2002
Touchdown
2:05 PM MDT (20:05 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Elbert County
Touchdown point
39.350, -103.930
Lift-off point
39.350, -103.930
Record number
751

The warnings

37 minutes of warning. NWS BOU issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:28 UTC, 37 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:15 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:28 UTC20:15 UTCTornado WarningBOU
20:13 UTC21:00 UTCTornado WarningBOU
20:57 UTC21:45 UTCTornado WarningBOU
01:10 UTC02:00 UTCTornado WarningBOU

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:51 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at Jun 3, 3:15 AM MDT, 10 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 3, 3:15 AM MDT, 10 hours 50 minutes before
NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO
315 AM MDT MON JUN 03 2002

SHORT TERM DISCUSSION: QUITE AN ACTIVE NIGHT WITH NEAR SEVERE STORMS
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE NERN PLAINS. WATER VAPOR SHOWED A WAVE MOVING
NORTH THRU E-CENTRAL CO WHICH INTERACTED WITH A STRONG COLD FRONT
AND DEVELOPING LOW PRESS ACROSS SERN CO. THE STRONGEST CONVECTION
HAS DIED OUT...BUT STILL SOME ISOLD -TSRA ACROSS THE FAR NERN
PLAINS.  SAT PICS SHOWING STRATUS ADVECTING SWRD ACROSS NERN CO. ONE
BATCH FROM AKO SOUTHWARD TO AROUND LIC AND ANOTHER JUST MOVING INTO
WELD COUNTY FREOM THE WY BORDER. OUTFLOW FROM PLAINS STORMS MOVING
INTO URBAN COORIDOR ATTM AND SHOULD BRING SURFACE DEWPOINTS UP INTO
THE 50S BEFORE DAWN. LOW LVL MSTR WILL BE RATHER SHALLOW/PATCHY IN
PLACES...ESP URBAN COORIDOR AND SOUNDINGS NOT SHOWING MUCH OF A LOW
LVL INVERSON. SHOULD BE ABLE TO BREAK OUT LATER THIS MORNING WITH
AMPLE HEATING FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTN. MESOETA SOUNDINGS
INDICATE CAPES AROUND 1500J/KG WITH PRETTY DECENT SHEAR PROFILE.
FURTHER EAST...STRATUS A LITTLE THICKER AND GIVEN STRENGTH OF LOW
LVL INVERSIONS FURTHER EAST...WILL NOT BREAK OUT UNTIL LATER IN THE
DAY. AMS GETS SATURATED THIS EVENING WITH SECONDARY SURGE AND
ENHANCED UPSLOPE FLOW. WITH THE UPPER TROF MOVING IN FROM THE
WEST...MOST PLACES IN CWA WILL BE GETTING WET TNT/TUE. SNOW LEVEL
FOR THE MTNS STILL LOOKS AROUND 9000 FEET BY EARLY TUE AM AS 700MB
TEMPS DESCEND TO NEAR 0C. SOME ACCUMLATIONS IN THE HIR MTNS(3-6 A
GOOD PLACE TO START) NO HILITES AT THIS POINT...BUT SOMETHING THAT
BEARS WATCHING FOR THE HIGHER PASSES. MOST OF THE FOOTHILL LOCATIONS
WILL BE RAIN...EXCEPT FOR A MIX/LIGHT SNOW ACCUM IN THE HIGHER
AREAS.  CLEARING AND DRYING TUE NIGHT AS TROF AXIS MOVES EAST.

LONG TERM: HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN STRONG WED-FRI WITH A VERY DRY
AMS WITH A GENERAL DOWNSLOPE FLOW. TEMPTED TO YANK THE ISOLD TS FROM
THU/FRI BUT THIS IS JUNE. BY THE WEEKEND...A STRONGER NW FLOW
PATTERN SETS UP WITH A LITTLE BETTER CHANCE FOR STORMS. ENTREKIN

.DEN...NONE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 3, 10:00 AM MDT, 4 hours 5 minutes before
COZ030>051-032000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO
1000 AM MDT MON JUN 3 2002

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

ADAMS     ARAPAHOE  BOULDER     BROOMFIELD  CLEAR CREEK  DENVER
DOUGLAS   ELBERT    GILPIN      GRAND       JACKSON      JEFFERSON
LARIMER   LINCOLN   LOGAN       MORGAN      PARK         PHILLIPS
SEDGWICK  SUMMIT    WASHINGTON  WELD

SYNOPSIS:  A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY HAD MOVED BACK INTO NORTHEASTERN
COLORADO THIS MORNING WITH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASING IN ITS
WAKE.  IN ADDITION AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE...LOCATED OVER
NORTHWESTERN COLORADO THIS MORNING...WILL SLIP INTO NORTHEASTERN
COLORADO LATE THIS AFTERNOON.

WARMING AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES...INCREASED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...AND
LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISTURBANCE WILL ALLOW FOR SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

THE STORMS WILL DEVELOP IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS AROUND
NOON AND ALONG A BOUNDARY JUST TO THE EAST OF DENVER THAT EXTENDED
NORTH TOWARDS FORT MORGAN...AND SOUTHWEST TOWARDS CASTLE ROCK. THIS
BOUNDARY WILL PUSH FURTHER WEST...AGAINST THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS
BY MID AFTERNOON.

THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INITIALLY FORM ALONG THE SOUTHERN END OF
THE AFOREMENTIONED BOUNDARY...FROM JUST EAST OF DENVER TO NEAR
CASTLE ROCK...THEN DEVELOP ALONG THE REMAINDER OF THE BOUNDARY AS IT
MOVES TOWARDS THE FOOTHILLS. SUFFICIENT SHEAR AND INSTABILITY WILL
BE PRESENT FOR A FEW STORMS TO BECOME SEVERE.  DAMAGING WINDS AND
LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS...ALTHOUGH A WEAK TORNADO OR TWO
IS ALSO POSSIBLE ALONG THE BOUNDARY.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY AFTER 12 PM.

THE AIRMASS IS EXPECTED TO STABILIZE OVERNIGHT WITH WIDESPREAD
RAINFALL DEVELOPING ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...WITH SNOW IN THE HIGH
COUNTRY ABOVE 9500 FEET.

OUTLOOK FOR TUESDAY...CLOUDY AND COOL WITH LIGHT RAIN LIKELY IN THE
MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS.

COOPER
Special weather statement, Jun 3, 12:30 PM MDT, 1 hour 35 minutes before
COZ030>051-032100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER COLORADO
1230 PM MDT MON JUN 3 2002

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COLORADO COUNTIES

ADAMS     ARAPAHOE  BOULDER     BROOMFIELD  CLEAR CREEK  DENVER
DOUGLAS   ELBERT    GILPIN      GRAND       JACKSON      JEFFERSON
LARIMER   LINCOLN   LOGAN       MORGAN      PARK         PHILLIPS
SEDGWICK  SUMMIT    WASHINGTON  WELD

SYNOPSIS:  A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE...LOCATED OVER
NORTHWESTERN COLORADO THIS MORNING...WILL SLIP INTO NORTHEASTERN
COLORADO LATE THIS AFTERNOON.  WARMING AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES
...INCREASED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...AND LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE
DISTURBANCE WILL ALLOW FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

AT 12 PM...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING IN THE
FOOTHILLS OF LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES...WITH ISOLATED STORMS
FORMING ALONG MONUMENT RIDGE SOUTH OF DENVER.  A BOUNDARY THAT WAS
LOCATED JUST EAST OF DENVER...HAS BEEN SHIFTING SLOWLY TO THE WEST
AND IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE URBAN CORRIDOR THROUGH 4 PM.

AS THIS BOUNDARY MOVES TOWARDS THE FOOTHILLS...SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP FROM AROUND CASTLE ROCK NORTH TO FORT
COLLINS.  A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE.  THE STORMS WILL
THEN MOVE NORTHEAST...SPREADING INTO THE ADJACENT PLAINS.

DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS...ALTHOUGH A
WEAK TORNADO OR TWO IS POSSIBLE ALONG THE BOUNDARY.  SPOTTER
ACTIVATION IS LIKELY ALONG THE URBAN CORRIDOR AFTER 2 PM.

THE AIRMASS IS EXPECTED TO STABILIZE OVERNIGHT WITH WIDESPREAD
RAINFALL DEVELOPING ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...WITH SNOW IN THE HIGH
COUNTRY ABOVE 9500 FEET.

OUTLOOK FOR TUESDAY...CLOUDY AND COOL WITH LIGHT RAIN LIKELY IN THE
MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS.

COOPER

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Denver, CO (KDNR), 12:00Z

8.1 hours before the tornado, 83 km from the path. June 3, 2002.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2002-06-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 7 joules per kilogram, CIN -206, lifted condensation level 1224 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2002-06-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -47 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 40 knots.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. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-206 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1224 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
263 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Denver, CO (KDNR), 00:00Z

3.9 hours after it, 83 km from the path. June 4, 2002.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 2002-06-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1002 joules per kilogram, CIN -32, lifted condensation level 1152 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 2002-06-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 55 knots.19395878Sfc1 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. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1002 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-32 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1602 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1152 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
265 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
7.9
0-3 km lapse rate
7.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Limon Municipal (LIC), 24 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
18:55 UTC775010° 8 kt191012.9
19:55 UTC7748130° 11 kt161011.9
20:55 UTC7450 5 kt1011.9
21:19 UTC57.255.430° 20 kt1012.5-RA
21:55 UTC6555110° 7 kt181012.2

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:04 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2002 tornado in ColoradoEvery tornado in Colorado since 1950Warnings in force in Colorado nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 3, 2002

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 34:30 PM MDTF0Mesa, CO0.530
June 34:45 PM MDTF0Weld, CO0.150

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.