Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Sacramento, CA

March 14, 1987Butte County, Glenn County, Tehama County, California

NWS Sacramento, CA issued this tornado warning at Mar 14, 1987, 3:15 PM PST for Butte County, Glenn County, Tehama County, California. It was in force for 105 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 14, 1987, 3:15 PM PST (23:15 UTC)
Expired
Mar 14, 1987, 5:00 PM PST
In force
105 min
Issued by
NWS Sacramento, CA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Butte County, CA, Glenn County, CA, Tehama County, CA

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

Oakland, CA (KOAK), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 230 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, Oakland, CA at 12:00Z on 1987-03-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 5 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, Oakland, CA at 12:00Z on 1987-03-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 41 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
5 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
687 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Mar 14, 9:20 AM PST, 5 hours 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
9.20 AM PST SAT MAR 14 1987

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN THE SIERRA NEVADA NORTH OF YOSEMITE
   PARK TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT...
...TRAVELERS ADVISORY IN THE SIERRA NEVADA TODAY AND TONIGHT FROM
   YOSEMITE PARK SOUTHWARD FOR LOWERING SNOW LEVEL...
...TRAVELERS ADVISORY FOR SNOW TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT IN THE
   NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHEAST PLATEAU...

A FAST MOVING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM HAD SPREAD SHOWERS SOUTH TO
SAN FRANCISCO AND MERCED AT 9 AM. THESE SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE
RAPIDLY SOUTHEASTWARD OVER THE REMAINDER OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
TODAY. SOME THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY LATER TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT
WITH POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WILL DIMINISH FROM THE NORTH TONIGHT AND SUNDAY.

THE SNOW LEVEL AT THE OREGON BORDER IS NEAR 2000 FEET. THE SNOW
LEVEL IN THE SIERRA NEVADA WILL LOWER TO NEAR 3000 IN THE NORTH
TODAY AND TO NEAR 4000 FEET IN THE SOUTH TONIGHT. TRAVELERS
SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS. PLEASE CHECK THE
LATEST ROAD AND WEATHER INFORMATION BEFORE DEPARTING.

FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL ISSUED AS NEEDED.

EWING
LEAD FORECASTER
Special weather statement, Mar 14, 9:46 AM PST, 5 hours 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO, CA
946 AM PST SAT MAR 14 1987

...THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE BAY AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT...

A FAST MOVING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM HAS SPREAD SHOWERS INTO
THE BAY AREA AND SACRAMENTO RADAR HAS PICKED UP SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS IMBEDDED IN THE SYSTEM. HIGH GUSTY WINDS MAY
BE EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF THUNDERSTORMS AND MAY BE
ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY RAINSHOWERS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...
AND POSS@IBLE HAIL.

IF THUNDERSTORMS ARE OBSERVED PERSONS SHOULD TAKE COVER
INDOORS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH
THIS EVENING WITH A CLEARING TREND AFTER MIDNIGHT.

BOWMAN
Special weather statement, Mar 14, 12:09 PM PST, 3 hours 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE REDDING, CA
1200 NOON PST SAT MAR 14 1987

...THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY TODAY AND TONIGHT...

A FAST MOVING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM HAS SPREAD SHOWERS INTO
THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY AND SACRAMENTO RADAR HAS PICKED UP
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IMBEDDED IN THE SYSTEM. HIGH GUSTY WINDS
MAY BE EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF THUNDERSTORMS AND MAY BE
ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY RAINSHOWERS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...
AND POSSIBLE HAIL.

IF THUNDERSTORMS ARE OBSERVED PERSONS SHOULD TAKE COVER
INDOORS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH
THIS EVENING WITH A CLEARING TREND AFTER MIDNIGHT.

TYSON
Special weather statement, Mar 14, 1:34 PM PST, 1 hour 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STOCKTON CALIFORNIA
120 PM PST SAT MAR 14 1987

...ISOLATED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE STOCKTON AREA...

AT 110 PM PST RADAR DETECTED A HEAVY THUNDERSTORM MOVING INTO THE
STOCKTON AREA FROM THE WEST AT 30 MPH. HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE HAIL CAN ACCOMPANY
THE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AS THEY MOVE IN THE AREA. THESE THUNDER-
STORMS AREA ASSOCIATED WITH A FAST MOVING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WHICH
IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THIS
AFTERNOON.

PERSONS IN THE AREA OF THESE STORMS SHOULD TAKE COVER INDOORS UNTIL
THE STORM HAS PASSED.

FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS &NECESSARY.

MAKER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sacramento, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 14, 2:25 PM PSTTornado WarningSTOButte65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in California, 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.