Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

September 17, 1988Bandera County, Bexar County, Medina County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at Sep 17, 1988, 7:34 AM CDT for Bandera County, Bexar County, Medina County, Texas. It was in force for 41 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 17, 1988, 7:34 AM CDT (12:34 UTC)
Expired
Sep 17, 1988, 8:15 AM CDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bandera County, TX, Bexar County, TX, Medina 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

Del Rio, TX (KDRT), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 183 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 1988-09-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 453 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 1988-09-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 279 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
453 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
612 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
279 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSAT 171235
TORSAT
TXC019-029-255-325-493-171315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO TX
734 AM CDT SAT SEP 17 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTH TEXAS
          ...BANDERA...BEXAR...KARNES...MEDINA...WILSON
 
SEVERAL TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN SOUTH BEXAR COUNTY WITH A LINE
OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS. A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR I-37 AND
LOOP 410. MOVMENT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH EXTEND SOUTHEAST TO THE
COAST WAS TO THE NORTHWEST AT 30 MPH.
 
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.
 
YOU SHOULD ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO RELAY YOUR
SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 17, 5:51 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXBexar69 min
Sep 17, 6:03 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXKarnes, Wilson57 min
Sep 17, 7:34 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXKarnes, Wilson41 min
Sep 17, 8:08 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXAtascosa, Medina67 min
Sep 17, 8:44 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXComal46 min
Sep 17, 8:57 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXBexar48 min
Sep 17, 9:42 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXBexar63 min
Sep 17, 10:16 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXKendall, Kerr59 min
Sep 17, 10:23 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXUvalde67 min
Sep 17, 11:01 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXEdwards59 min
Sep 17, 11:09 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXBandera, Medina, Uvalde3 hr
Sep 17, 11:15 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXVal Verde60 min
Sep 17, 12:20 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXKinney55 min
Sep 17, 12:40 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXVal Verde80 min
Sep 17, 1:44 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXKendall46 min
Sep 17, 2:20 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXVal Verde55 min
Sep 17, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXVal Verde60 min
Sep 17, 4:10 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXVal Verde50 min
Sep 17, 5:14 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXBexar31 min
Sep 17, 5:40 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXVal Verde60 min
Sep 17, 6:40 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXVal Verde60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988

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.