Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 31, 1990Ochiltree County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1990, 9:59 PM CDT for Ochiltree County, Texas. It was in force for 61 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 31, 1990, 9:59 PM CDT (02:59 UTC)
Expired: May 31, 1990, 11:00 PM CDT
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Amarillo, TX
Area: Whole counties

County Ochiltree 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 31, 10:45 PM CDT	Tornado F2	Ochiltree, 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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 141 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 49 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 3540 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 54 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 KAMA 010301
TORAMA
TXC357-010400-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
959 PM CDT THU MAY 31 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
          ...SOUTHERN OCHILTREE
 
AT 958 PM CDT AMARILLO RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO JUST WEST OF
HIGHWAY 70 ON THE OCHILTREE AND ROBERTS COUNTY LINE. THIS STORM WAS
MOVING TO THE EAST AT 15 MPH.
 
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 POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN 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.
WPR

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

Local storm report, May 31, 5:13 PM CDT, 4 hours 46 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO, TX
511 PM CDT THU MAY 31 1990

STORM REPORT FOR AFTERNOON OF MAY 31 1990

TORNADO REPORTED AT 1709 CDT AT HIWAY 281 AND 70 IN SOUTHERN OCHILTREE
CNTY..APPROX. 21 MILES SOUTH OF PERRYTON..RPTD BY SO

OTHER FUNNEL CLOUDS REPORTED IN EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN OCHILTREE..RPTD
BY HANSFORD CNTY SO

SC
     NO REPORTS RECEIVED

6) 1420-1515 CST...SVR TSTM WRNG FOR MOORE COUNTY
     1445 CST..ALMOST GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL 11 MILES NE OF CHANNING
       (IN MOORE CO.)--RPT BY COOP OBSERVER.

7) 1549-1745 CST...SVR TSTM WRNG FOR SRN HALL COUNTY TX
     NO REPORTS RECEIVED.

8) 1638-1745 CST...SVR TSTM WRNG FOR CHILDRESS COUNTY TX
     1655 CST...PEA TO HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL WEST OF CHILDRESS--
       RPT BY K96 RADIO IN CHILDRESS.

OTHER REPORTS
 1815 CST...PUBLIC REPORT OF TORNADO 25 MILES EAST OF FOLSOM NEW
   MEXICO (UNION COUNTY).  WAS ON GROUND ABOUT 10 MINUTES.  TIME
   APPROXIMATE.

 1857 CST...PUBLIC REPORT OF TORNADO JUST NORTHEAST OF TURPIN
   OKLAHOMA.  EYEWITNESSES REPORTED THAT TOUCHDOWN WAS VERY
   BRIEF AND THE BASE WAS ONLY 10 TO 20 YARDS WIDE.  SMALL
   GARAGE WAS BLOWN OVER ONTO A CAR...WINDOW SUCKED OUT OF A
   HOME...AND A PICNIC TABLE OVERTURNED.

Local storm report, May 31, 5:16 PM CDT, 4 hours 43 minutes before

STORM REPORT CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO, TX
516 PM CDT THU MAY 31 1990

STORM REPORT FOR AFTERNOON OF MAY 31 1990

TORNADO REPORTED AT 1709 CDT AT HIWAY 281 AND 70 IN SOUTHERN OCHILTREE
CNTY..APPROX. 21 MILES SOUTH OF PERRYTON..RPTD BY SO

OTHER FUNNEL CLOUDS REPORTED IN EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN OCHILTREE..RPTD
BY HANSFORD CNTY SO

SC

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 31, 7:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Collingsworth	56 min
May 31, 7:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Ochiltree	62 min
May 31, 7:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Briscoe	67 min
May 31, 8:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Lipscomb	68 min
May 31, 8:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Hansford, Ochiltree	44 min
May 31, 8:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Collingsworth, Wheeler	56 min
May 31, 8:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Hutchinson, Roberts	44 min
May 31, 9:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Hansford, Ochiltree	60 min
May 31, 9:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Childress	26 min
May 31, 9:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Roberts	66 min
May 31, 10:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Hemphill	66 min
May 31, 11:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Hemphill	63 min
Jun 1, 12:35 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Wheeler	40 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1990 Every tornado warning in 1990 Tornadoes in 1990

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.