Pueblo, CO

Weather Forecast Office

Severe Wind, Large Hail, and Tornado Episode in Baca County

Overview

Updated by WCM, midday, June 28th, 2017: This page will be updated when additional details are gathered.

Summary of the storm that occurred Sunday afternoon, June 25th:

Shortly after the episode occurred, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Pueblo traveled to Walsh, Colorado to conduct a damage survey.

A supercell thunderstorm produced a fairly weak mesocyclone tornado across open fields from 3:25 p.m. to around 3:45 p.m.. The path was approximately 3 miles northwest, to 3 miles southwest of Walsh, crossing Highway 160. From images and video, the tornado was likely around 200 yards wide. At this time, this tornado has a preliminary rating of EF0.

All of the damage in Walsh was due to intense rainfall, hail from golfball to baseball size, and straight-line winds around 70 to 80 mph. An intense microburst occurred 1.25 to 1.75 miles west of Walsh, snapping power poles in a three-quarter mile long stretch, and causing damage to a barn, and crop irrigation system in a half-mile long stretch. Straight-line winds in that area were estimated around 100 mph. The lead time, time of severe thunderstorm warning issuance and severe winds and giant hail in Walsh, was around 35 minutes.

Mesocyclone Tornado Lofting Dirt Northwest of Walsh, Colorado
Photo Courtesy of Taylor Pruitt

Tornado
Hail & Local Storm Reports
Photos & Video
Radar & Satellite
Environment

Tornadoes:

Tornado - West of Walsh
Baca County

Date	June 25th, 2017
Time (Local)	3:25 pm - 3:45 pm
EF Rating	EF 0
Est. Peak Winds	84 mph
Path Length	4.3 miles
Max Width	200 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: The tornado moved south across open fields around 3 miles west of Walsh (indicated by blue-green line). For a time, south of Highway 160, it took on a multi-vortex mode across open fields, where there were no man-made structures to damage.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Hail & Local Storm Reports

Hail Imagery:


Courtesy Taylor Pruitt	Courtesy Taylor Pruitt	Courtesy Billy Korte	Courtesy Billy Korte

Local Storm Reports:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
759 AM MDT MON JUN 26 2017

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0400 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 W WALSH               37.39N 102.30W
06/25/2017                   BACA               CO   PUBLIC

            TREES DOWN IN THE TOWN OF WALSH.

0400 PM     HAIL             1 W WALSH               37.39N 102.30W
06/25/2017 M2.50 INCH       BACA               CO   PUBLIC



0355 PM     HAIL             WALSH                   37.39N 102.28W
06/25/2017 E4.25 INCH       BACA               CO   PUBLIC



0353 PM     HAIL             WALSH                   37.38N 102.29W
06/25/2017 E2.75 INCH       BACA               CO   TRAINED SPOTTER



0349 PM     HAIL             WALSH                   37.38N 102.29W
06/25/2017 E1.75 INCH       BACA               CO   TRAINED SPOTTER



0328 PM     HAIL             9 N SUGAR CITY          38.35N 103.69W
06/25/2017 M1.75 INCH       CROWLEY            CO   NWS EMPLOYEE



0325 PM     TORNADO          2 NE WALSH              37.41N 102.25W
06/25/2017                   BACA               CO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            BRIEF TORNADO REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

0240 PM     HEAVY RAIN       19 S HOLLY              37.79N 102.19W
06/25/2017 M1.50 INCH       PROWERS            CO   PUBLIC

            1.5" RAINFALL IN ~10 MINUTES. ALSO 0.5"
            HAIL.

0130 PM     HAIL             7 WSW BRISTOL           38.09N 102.43W
06/25/2017 M1.00 INCH       PROWERS            CO   PUBLIC

            LOTS OF LITTLE HAIL WITH A FEW LARGER
            STONES.

&&

$$

Photos & Video:

Various Photos of the Mesocyclone Tornado, and Damage Caused by Severe Straight-line Winds and Hail

Damage Assessment, Courtesy of Tom Magnuson, Warning Coordination Meteorologist


EMs Comms Tower Bent Towards the SW Walsh, CO	Straight-line Wind Damage NW of Walsh, CO	Straight Line Wind Damage 1/2 Mile NW of Downtown Walsh, CO


Straight-line Wind Damage, Destroyed Irrigation System 1.25 Miles West of Walsh; North of US 160	Straight-line Wind Damage, North Section of Barn Roof Ripped Off 1.25 Miles West of Walsh, CO	Power Line Poles Snapped due to Straight Line Winds 1.75 Miles West of Walsh, North of US 160


Crossing Power Lines at County Road DD and County Road 42	Siding Damage in Walsh, Hail Driven by 70-80 MPH Winds Broke Windows and Damaged Homes	Dead and Rotten Trees Blown Over in Walsh

Various Photos from Storm Spotters in the Area:


Courtesy Taylor Pruitt	Courtesy Taylor Pruitt	Courtesy Taylor Pruitt	Courtesy Billy Korte


Courtesy Billy Korte	Courtesy Billy Korte

Radar & Satellite:

Time Lapse of the Storm, via Radar and Satellite


Base Reflectivity (BV) and Base Velocity (BV) Radar Volume Scans (0.9º Tilt)	Differential Reflectivity (ZDR) and Correlation Coefficient (CC) Radar Volume Scans (0.9º Tilt)	GOES-16 Visible Satellite Imagery

Environment

The overall synoptic pattern consisted of an upper ridge across the western U.S. and a wide trough located over the mid-Atlantic U.S. The flow regime over southeastern Colorado was northwesterly in the upper-atmosphere and east-southeasterly at the surface. The surface analysis reveals that there was a 60°F dewpoint in Clayton, NM (the most northeastern point in NM), which was just south of where the supercell occurred, meaning that there was low level-moisture, being advected into southeastern Colorado. At 850-hPa, more evidence of low-level moisture is evident from the 30 knot SE wind from the Amarillo, Texas office with >10° C dew points analyzed, again, inferring that moisture was being advected over SE Colorado. Referring to the Skew-T diagrams now, the KDNR sounding at 6 AM MDT illustrated unfavorable wind shear for supercell thunderstorms and no CAPE analyzed. The 6:00 PM MDT (which was after the storm) analysis does reveal that CAPE was analyzed (DNR had 819 J/kg*K MUCAPE; DDC had 504 J/kg*K) and favorable shear profile for rotating updrafts (see hodograph attached to Skew-T). The calculated storm relative helicity (SRH) also indicated that the environment was sheared with 308 m^2/s^2 of SRH analyzed over DDC at 6:00PM MDT. Several ingredients were also examined in the lower levels from the SPC Mesoanalysis page that indicate the potential for tornadoes over far southeast Colorado. A captured still image of 4:00PM MDT indicated 0-1 km SRH of 200 m^2/s^2 located over Baca County. In addition, surface vorticity and surface convergence are showing increased potential for tornadogenesis over Baca County. As seen in the GOES-16 visible satellite imagery, the storm interacted with a westerly moving boundary (and the supercell merged with a weaker storm to the northwest) which intensified the low-level shear and likely was the main reason for tornadogensis.

SPC Upper-Air Maps:

June 25th, 2017 at 6:00AM MDT


300-hPa Analysis	500-hPa Analysis	700-hPa Analysis


850-hPa Analysis	Surface Analysis

June 25th, 2017 at 6:00PM MDT


300-hPa Analysis	500-hPa Analysis	700-hPa Analysis


850-hPa Analysis	Surface Analysis

Thermodynamic Sounding (Skew-T Log P Diagram):
June 25th, 2017 at 6:00AM MDT


KDDC Skew-T Diagram	KDNR Skew-T Diagram

June 25th, 2017 at 6:00PM MDT


KDDC Skew-T Diagram	KDNR Skew-T Diagram

SPC Mesoanalysis:


0-1 km Storm Relative Helicity at 4:00PM MDT	Surface Vorticity and Convergence/Divergence at 2:00PM MDT

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