Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 35, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

September 14, 1987Martin County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Sep 14, 1987, 2:58 PM CDT for Martin County, Texas. It was in force for 47 min. 2 reports 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
Sep 14, 1987, 2:58 PM CDT (19:58 UTC)
Expired
Sep 14, 1987, 3:45 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Martin 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
Sep 14, 3:00 PM CDTHail 1.75Martin, TX
Sep 14, 3:35 PM CDTHail 1Martin, 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

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 46 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 1987-09-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1987-09-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 183 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1765 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
183 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
216 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 KMAF 141958
TORMAF
TXC317-142045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
258 PM CDT MON SEP 14 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST TEXAS
          ...NORTHEASTERN MARTIN
 
AT 256 PM CDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 8
MILES WEST OF ACKERLY. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30
MILES AN HOUR. THIS STORM PRODUCED 1 INCH HAIL IN NORTHER MARTIN
COUNTY AT 245 PM. ROUTE 349 SOUTH OF LAMESA WAS FLOODED WITH WATER 8
INCHES DEEP.
 
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.
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUVN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

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, Sep 14, 2:12 PM CDT, 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
110 PM CDT MON SEP 14 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM ENTERS DAWSON COUNTY...

AT 100 PM CDT...A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM...WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...
HAD ENTERED DAWSON COUNTY...12 MILES WEST OF LAMESA. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE
EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

THIS THUNDERSTORM MAY PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS
...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...HAIL AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING. THIS IS
A 0DANGEROUS STORM.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL RADIO/TV FOR ADDITIONAL
STATEMENTS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 13, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFDawson43 min
Sep 13, 9:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFBorden54 min
Sep 14, 1:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFGaines62 min
Sep 14, 2:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFMartin59 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.