Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 11, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at May 17, 1986, 3:59 PM CDT for DeWitt County, Texas. It was in force for 61 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 17, 1986, 3:59 PM CDT (20:59 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1986, 5:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County DeWitt County, TX
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 4:15 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | De Witt, TX |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.
The nearest sounding before it
Victoria Regiona, TX (KVCT), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 51 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1627 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -289 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 922 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 171 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 256 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KVCT 172059 TORVCT TXC123-172200- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VICTORIA TX 359 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF TEXAS...DEWITT AT 345 PM CDT A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED BY THE YOAKUM POLICE DEPARTMENT 5 MILES WEST OF YOAKUM NEAR HIWAY 77A AND HIWAY 95. THIS FUNNEL WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST ABOUT 20 MILES AN HOUR. FREQUENT LIGHTNING..STRONG DAMAGING WIND AND POSSIBLE HAIL MAY ACCOMPANY THIS STORM. . IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..YOU SHOULD GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY AND YOU SHOULD ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO..TV..OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS REGARDING THIS SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 17, 1:14 PM CDT, 2 hours 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX 115 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1986 ...SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SOUTH TEXAS... DUE TO THE NUMEROUS OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TAKING PLACE ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING..SUCH AS THE SWC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT IN COLLEGE STATION..THE SWC TRACK & FIELD MEET IN HOUSTON..AND THE STATE HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD MEET IN AUSTIN..AMONG OTHERS..THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO ALERT ALL WHO PLAN TO ATTEND ANY OF THESE EVENTS THAT THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SEVERE WEATHER. A TORNADO WATCH EXISTS FOR A LARGE PORTION OF SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING..AND MAY BE EXTENDED FURTHER INTO THE NIGHT- TIME HOURS. THE METROPOLITAN AREAS OF AUSTIN..SAN ANTONIO..HOUSTON AND BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION ARE INCLUDED IN THE WATCH. SEVERE WEATHER IN THE FORM OF TORNADOES..LARGE HAIL..FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING WINDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED IN SOME OF THE STORMS NOW APPROACHING AUSTIN AND WACO. THUNDERSTORMS ARE ABOUT AN HOUR AWAY FROM BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION. PERSONS SHOULD LISTEN TO LOCAL RADIO..TV OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATIONS FOR THE LATEST WARNINGS..FORECASTS AND B:ULLETINS CONCERNING THIS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY ON SHORT NOTICE.
Special weather statement, May 17, 3:30 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DEL RIO TX 330 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1986 SOME AREAS HAVE BEEN CLEARED OF THE TORNADO WATCH ISSUED FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS EARLIER..THIS INCLUDES VAL VERDE AND KINNEY COUNTIES OF TEXAS. THE TORNADO WATCH DOES CONTINUE EAST OF A KERRVILLE TO CRYSTAL CITY LINE UNTIL 7 PM..ANOTHER TORNADO WATCH IS ALONG AND 50 STATUE MILES EITHER SIDE O9F A LINE FORM 15 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF LAREDO TEXAS TO 20 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS AND IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM. NO THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE AREA AS OF 330 PM CDT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 8:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Dimmit | 59 min |
| May 16, 8:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | La Salle | 60 min |
| May 17, 9:29 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Lampasas, Mills, San Saba | 61 min |
| May 17, 11:24 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Burnet, Williamson | 66 min |
| May 17, 11:39 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Llano | 66 min |
| May 17, 11:58 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Burnet, Lampasas, San Saba | 62 min |
| May 17, 11:58 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Llano | 62 min |
| May 17, 12:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Blanco, Burnet, Llano | 69 min |
| May 17, 12:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Comal | 56 min |
| May 17, 12:52 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Travis | 68 min |
| May 17, 1:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Williamson | 66 min |
| May 17, 1:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Hays | 67 min |
| May 17, 1:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Bastrop, Lee | 66 min |
| May 17, 1:59 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EWX | Blanco, Hays | 3 hr |
| May 17, 1:59 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EWX | Burnet | 3 hr |
| May 17, 1:59 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EWX | Bastrop, Lee, Travis, Williamson | 3 hr |
| May 17, 3:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Lavaca | 55 min |
| May 17, 3:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Guadalupe | 59 min |
| May 17, 3:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Lavaca | 56 min |
| May 17, 3:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Bastrop | 65 min |
| May 17, 3:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Bastrop | 32 min |
| May 17, 3:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | DeWitt | 64 min |
| May 17, 3:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Gonzales | 72 min |
| May 17, 3:53 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Lavaca | 67 min |
| May 17, 4:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Webb | 68 min |
| May 17, 4:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Lavaca | 55 min |
| May 17, 4:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Victoria | 80 min |
| May 17, 4:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Jackson, Victoria | 61 min |
| May 17, 5:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Goliad | 43 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes in 1986
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.