Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 18, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 25, 1987Randall County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this tornado warning at May 25, 1987, 9:45 PM CDT for Randall County, Texas. It was in force for 60 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 25, 1987, 9:45 PM CDT (02:45 UTC)
Expired: May 25, 1987, 10:45 PM CDT
In force: 60 min
Issued by: NWS Amarillo, TX
Area: Whole counties

County Randall 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 25, 10:00 PM CDT	Tornado F2	Randall, 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

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 34 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 962 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -47 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1465 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 75 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 178 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAMA 260245
TORAMA
TXC381-260345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
945 PM CDT MON MAY 25 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1045 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
          ...RANDALL
 
AT 945PM A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EMPLOYEE CHASING THE THUNDERSTORMS
SIGHTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND IN SOUTHERN RANDALL COUNTY...9 MILES
NORTH OF THE TOWN OF HAPPY.
 
 
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.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A eSMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

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 25, 5:39 PM CDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
535PM CDT MON MAY 25 1987

AT 532 PM CDT...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN REMAINED IN THE
NORTHCENTRAL TEXAS PANHANDLE...FROM JUST NORTH OF STINETT TO 5 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF PERYTON. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AROUND
20 MPH.  AT 510PM AMARILLO RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO ASSOCIATED WITH THIS
THUNDERSTORM.

LARGE HAIL...STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL MAY ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS.

PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR POSSIBLE
ASSOCIATED SEVERE WEATHER...AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION' OR RADIO STAIONS FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 25, 7:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Castro, Swisher	60 min
May 25, 7:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Randall	57 min
May 25, 7:32 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Armstrong	58 min
May 25, 7:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Hansford	61 min
May 25, 7:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Ochiltree	58 min
May 25, 7:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Randall	68 min
May 25, 8:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Swisher	67 min
May 25, 8:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Ochiltree	65 min
May 25, 8:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Hansford	55 min
May 25, 9:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Randall	59 min
May 25, 10:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Armstrong	60 min
May 25, 10:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Potter	54 min
May 26, 12:06 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	AMA	Randall	4 hr
May 26, 12:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Deaf Smith	67 min
May 26, 4:10 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	AMA	Randall	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1987 Every tornado warning in 1987 Tornadoes in 1987

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.