May 25th, 2010 tornadoes - EF1 in Baca County

Overview

KIOWA COUNTY

Several EF0 tornadoes occurred in eastern Kiowa County during the afternoon of May 25th, 2010, mainly south of Highway 96, near Towner and Sheridan Lake. The investigation continues. The tornadoes were reported in Kiowa County between approximately 3:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m...and then again around 5:20 p.m.

One storm chaser in the vicinity claimed to have seen 12 separate, small, short-lived tornadoes, of the landspout variety. The storm chaser also may have seen a tornado associated with a supercell (rotating) thunderstorm. A copy of the HD video and 2000 still images has been requested by the National Weather Service in Pueblo for documentation purposes.

*** NOTE: This episode was similar to one which occurred in Prowers County on May 29, 2001 when six landspout tornadoes and one supercell tornado (rated F3) occurred in the span of 1 1/2 hours. ***

None of the tornadoes in Kiowa County on May 25th, 2010 did any significant damage to structures, power poles, or trees, thus, they will all be rated EF0.

BACA COUNTY

Meanwhile, in Baca County several funnel clouds were reported during the early evening hours. Between 7:52 p.m. and 8:07 p.m., a supercell (rotating) thunderstorm produced a tornado, in and near Bartlett. Bartlett is comprised of a few houses along US Highway 160, northeast of Walsh, CO.

At the intersection of CR51 and US Highway 160 (Bartlett), a tornado damaged some trees and blew out the windows and partially damaged the roof of a mobile home, consistent with high end EF0 damage. The tornado moved toward the northwest, damaging a road sign on CR51, then intensified. This tornado, northwest of Bartlett, moved north-northwest for around two miles over open country. The tornado did some damage to fencing and uprooted large cottonwood trees in the Bear Creek dry wash, consistent with EF1 damage, before moving over open fields.

Baca County Tornado Track

Photos & Video
Radar
Environment

Photos & Video:

Kiowa County Landspouts


Courtesy of Howard Votruba	Courtesy of Kiowa County Law Enforcement	Courtesy of Kiowa County Law Enforcement

Baca County EF1 Tornado


Supercell that Produced Tornado; Courtesy of Roger Hill	Tornado NW of Bartlett, CO	Weakening Tornado	Further Weakening


"Roping Out" around 8:07 PM MDT	Damage from EF1 Tornado	Damage from EF1 Tornado

Radar:

Kiowa County Landspouts

Base Reflectivity and Base Velocity Volume Scans of the Landspout Event in Kiowa County

Baca County EF1 Tornado

Base Reflectivity and Base Velocity Volume Scans of the EF1 Tornado Event in Baca County

Environment

A ridge of high pressure, located over the eastern United States, blocked the progression of the occluding cyclone that spun over the Dakotas/ SE Montana/ NE Wyoming. The occluding cyclone was the main synoptic components for this tornadic event. There was a boundary set up over SE Colorado, which can be seen by the SE surface winds in front of the boundary and the SW winds behind the boundary. The temperature gradient isn't convincing enough to call it a cold front, but the difference between dew point temperatures observed in the front of the boundary and in back of the boundary imply that the boundary is a weak dry line. The boundary, though, is the main lifting mechanism for thunderstorm initiation. The sounding from DDC has 1257 J/kg*K of Cape analyzed, with a small amount a wind shear. The DNR sounding, though, illustrates that further north, there is plenty of directional shear. Interpolating between the two sounding sites implies that the environment was sheared and unstable enough to produce rotating updrafts.


Surface Analysis	850-hPa Analysis	700-hPa Analysis


500-hPa Analysis	250-hPa Analysis

Thermodynamic Profile of the Atmosphere (Skew-T Log P Diagrams)


KDNR Sounding on May 25th, 2010 at 6:00PM	KDDC Sounding on May 25th, 2010 at 6:00PM

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