Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

August 31, 1986Dawson County, Gaines County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Aug 31, 1986, 5:39 PM CDT for Dawson County, Gaines County, Texas. It was in force for 66 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 31, 1986, 5:39 PM CDT (22:39 UTC)
Expired
Aug 31, 1986, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Dawson County, TX, Gaines County, TX

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 88 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1986-08-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 670 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1986-08-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 112 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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.
Mixed-layer CAPE
670 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
744 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
191 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAAOO KMAF 312239
TORMAF
TXC115-165-312345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
539 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 1986
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:
 
IN NORTHWEST TEXAS
          ..DAWSON..GAINES

AT 539 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 20 MILES WEST OF LAMESA
MOVING SOUTH 12 MILES AN HOUR.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO, THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE, SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS, PILLOWS, OR
CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE, SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT, SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT, DITCH OR
LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 31, 6:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFEctor57 min
Aug 31, 6:47 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFDawson, Gaines, Martin58 min
Aug 31, 6:47 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFAndrews58 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.