Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 30, 1987Hansford County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this tornado warning at May 30, 1987, 8:30 PM CDT for Hansford 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 30, 1987, 8:30 PM CDT (01:30 UTC)
Expired
May 30, 1987, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Hansford 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 30, 9:17 PM CDTTornado F1Hansford, 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, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 121 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 1987-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1854 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 1987-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 32 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
1854 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-25 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1251 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAMA 310130
TORAMA
TXC195-310230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
830 PM CDT SAT MAY 30 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
          ...HANSFORD
 
AT 827 PM CDT...RADAR WAS DETECTING A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES
NORTHEAST OF SPEARMAN TEXAS MOVING SOUTH AT 10 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.
 
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 SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR PO=SSIBLE.  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 30, 6:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
558PM CDT SAT MAY 30 1987

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR THE TEXAS PANHANDLE...EXCEPT THE NORTHWEST
CORNER UNTIL MIDNIGHT...

AT 533 PM CDT...AMARILLO RADAR INDICATED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS...WITH
LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAIN IN THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE...FROM GUYMON
EAST TO NEAR ADAMS IN TEXAS COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 10 MILES
AN HOUR. THE  STRONGEST ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED JUST SOUTHEAST OF GUYMON.

A THUNDERSTORM WAS DEVELOPING IN THE NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE AND EXTENDED
INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE...SOUTH OF FELT. OTHER SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED ACROSS NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO.
Special weather statement, May 30, 6:08 PM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY...CORRECTED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
558PM CDT SAT MAY 30 1987

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR THE TEXAS PANHANDLE...EXCEPT FOR DALLUM
COUNTY...UNTIL MIDNIGHT...

AT 533 PM CDT...AMARILLO RADAR INDICATED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS...WITH
LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAIN IN THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE...FROM GUYMON
EAST TO NEAR ADAMS IN TEXAS COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 10 MILES
AN HOUR. THE  STRONGEST ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED JUST SOUTHEAST OF GUYMON.

A THUNDERSTORM WAS DEVELOPING IN THE NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE AND EXTENDED
INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE...SOUTH OF FELT. OTHER SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED ACROSS NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO.
Special weather statement, May 30, 6:47 PM CDT, 1 hour 43 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
645PM CDT SAT MAY 30 1987

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR THE TEXAS PANHANDLE...EXCEPT FOR DALLUM
COUNTY...UNTIL MIDNIGHT...

AT 631 PM CDT...AMARILLO RADAR INDICATED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS...WITH
LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAIN IN THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE...FROM SOUTHEAST
OF GUYMON...TO HARDESTY STATION. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 10 MILES AN
HOUR. THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED 10 MILES SOUTH OF ADAMS...AND WAS
PRODUCING MARBLE SIZE HAIL AS REPORTED BY THE GUYMON OHP AT 644PM.

A THUNDERSTORM WAS WITH HEAVY RAIN WAS IN THE NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE...
20 MILES WEST OF STRATFORD. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR.
OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS WERE DEVELOPING ACROSS EAST NEW MEXICO
AND THE WEST CENTRAL TEXAS PANHANDLE.
Special weather statement, May 30, 7:48 PM CDT, 42 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
745 PM CDT SAT MAY 30 1987

     ..TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR THE TEXAS PANHANDLE TIL MIDNIGHT..

AT 735 PM CDT...A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 8 MILES NORTHEAST
OF GRUVER.  ELSEWHERE..WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED FROM
SOUTHWEST OF GUYMON OKLAHOMA TO SOUTH OF DUMAS AND TO SOUTHEAST OF
TUCUMCARI NEW MEXICO.

MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHEAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR.

KEEP TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO.. T V STATION
FOR LATER STATEMENTS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 8:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHansford75 min
May 30, 9:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHansford55 min

Nearby

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