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.
F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:28 UTC | 20:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | BOU |
| 20:13 UTC | 21:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | BOU |
| 20:57 UTC | 21:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | BOU |
| 01:10 UTC | 02:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | BOU |
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.
- 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
Denver, CO (KDNR), 00:00Z
3.9 hours after it, 83 km from the path. June 4, 2002.
- 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
The surface observations
Limon Municipal (LIC), 24 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:55 UTC | 77 | 50 | 10° 8 kt | 19 | 1012.9 | |
| 19:55 UTC | 77 | 48 | 130° 11 kt | 16 | 1011.9 | |
| 20:55 UTC | 74 | 50 | 5 kt | 1011.9 | ||
| 21:19 UTC | 57.2 | 55.4 | 30° 20 kt | 1012.5 | -RA | |
| 21:55 UTC | 65 | 55 | 110° 7 kt | 18 | 1012.2 |
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.
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.