Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

May 19, 1987Guadalupe County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at May 19, 1987, 5:03 PM CDT for Guadalupe County, Texas. It was in force for 57 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 19, 1987, 5:03 PM CDT (22:03 UTC)
Expired
May 19, 1987, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Guadalupe 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

Victoria Regiona, TX (KVCT), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 130 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, Victoria Regiona, TX at 12:00Z on 1987-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1597 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Victoria Regiona, TX at 12:00Z on 1987-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 61 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1597 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-47 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
594 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
44 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 
TTAA00 KSAT 192203
TORSAT
TXC187-192300-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX
503 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTH TEXAS
          ...GUADALUPE
 
A DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY PATROLMAN REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD ABOUT
6 MILES SOUTH OF SEGUIN TEXAS MOVING NORTH.  THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
JUST SOUTH OF SEGUIN CONTAINS LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.  PERSONS
IN SEGUIN SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THIS DANGEROUS STORM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER OR A
CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUILDING.
ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.
 
LARGE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY
ACCOMPANY THIS STORM.
 
PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR LOCAL RADI}O...TV OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATION
LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS REGARDING THIS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT.

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 19, 1:25 PM CDT, 3 hours 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DEL RIO TX
128 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 1987

AT 125 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS 5 MILES WEST OF DEL RIO
MOVING SLOWLY TOWARD LAKE AMISTAD.

HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND FREQUENT
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

BOATERS ON LAKE AMISTAD SHOULD KEEP A LOOKOUT AND BE PREPARED TO
SEEK SAFE HARBOR.
Special weather statement, May 19, 2:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
158 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 1987

...HAIL AND TORNADOES NORTHWEST AND NORTH OF AUSTIN...

AT 128 PM THE D.P.S. UNIT AT LAMPASAS RELAYED A REPORT OF A SMALL
TORNADO WHICH PASSED THROUGH THE EAST SIDE OF THE CITY OF SAN SABA.
SOME DAMAGE TO HOUSES AND TREES DOWN, BUT NO INJURIES REPORTED AT
THIS TIME.

AT 150 PM...MARBLE SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED ON THE WEST AND NORTH
SIDE OF CEDAR PARK, MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARDS THE NORTH.  ALSO A BRIEF
HEAVY DOWNPOUR WITH THE HAIL.

JUST BEFORE 2 PM...THE WACO OFFICE ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING FOR THAT
CITY.

NEWLY DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED EAST OF SAN ANTONIO NEAR
SEGUIN AND LULING WERE ALSO MOVING NORTHWARD TOWARDS AUSTIN.
Special weather statement, May 19, 2:33 PM CDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
232 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM WITH SMALL HAIL LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF SAN
MARCOS...

WIDELY SCATTERED BUT VERY SHORT-LIVED> INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE
TO RAPIDLY FORM AND MOVE NORTHWARD AT 20 MPH OVER CENTRAL TEXAS.  THE
HEAVIEST RAINS WERE NORTH OF GEORGETOWN...NEAR JARRELL AND ABOUT HALF
WAY BETWEEN SAN MARCOS AND SEGUIN.
Special weather statement, May 19, 3:17 PM CDT, 1 hour 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DEL RIO TX
315 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 1987

AT 310 PM CDT A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS  HAD DEVELOPED SOUTH OF
COMSTOCK AND EXTENDED TO THE NORTHERN VAL VERDE COUNTY LINE.
OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN NORTHEASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY. THE
LARGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS NEAR COMSTOCK. THE STORMS WERE MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.

HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND STRONG
GUSTY WIND|S ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE STORMS.
Special weather statement, May 19, 3:23 PM CDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
320 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH SMALL HAIL SCATTERED AROUND CENTRAL TEXAS...

NUMEROUS SMALL... BUT QUITE INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP AND MOVE NORTHWARD AT 20 MPH OVER CENTRAL TEXAS.  THE
HEAVIEST RAINS WERE ALONG A 30 MILE WIDE BAND FROM CENTRAL BELL
COUNTY TO LAKE TRAVIS... NEW BRAUNFELS AND ON SOUTH OF SAN ANTONIO.
Special weather statement, May 19, 4:20 PM CDT, 43 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
420 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 1987

AT 415 PM CDT LOCAL WEATHER RADAR SHOWED WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS
OVER NEARLY ALL OF THE CENTRAL TEXAS AREA. VERY INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
WERE LOCATED IN SOUTHWEST HAYS COUNTY AND IN EASTERN HAYS COUNTY. THESE
INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING NORTH AT 20 TO 30 MPH AND WILL BE
MOVING ACROSS HAYS COUNTY AND INTO TRAVIS COUNTY BY 5 PM.

OTHER INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF BURNET AND NEAR
JOHNSON CITY.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF CENTRAL
UNTIL 9 PM THIS TUESDAY EVENING.

RUSH HOUR MOTORISTS IN AUSTIN SHOULD ANTICIPATE SOME HEAVY RAIN AND
POSSIBLE SMAALL HAIL ALONG WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS WHILE DRIVING HOME.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 7:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXMaverick56 min
May 18, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXVal Verde60 min
May 18, 9:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXReal62 min
May 19, 10:58 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXKendall2 hr
May 19, 3:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBexar60 min
May 19, 4:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBexar61 min
May 19, 4:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXHays, Travis67 min
May 19, 6:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBexar, Wilson54 min
May 19, 6:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXTravis61 min
May 19, 6:39 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXWilson66 min
May 19, 6:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBexar61 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.