Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Fort Worth, TX

March 13, 1990Throckmorton County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at Mar 13, 1990, 5:34 PM CST for Throckmorton County, Texas. It was in force for 56 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 13, 1990, 5:34 PM CST (23:34 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 1990, 6:30 PM CST
In force
56 min
Issued by
NWS Fort Worth, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Throckmorton 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

Stephenville/Cla, TX (KSEP), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 149 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, Stephenville/Cla, TX at 12:00Z on 1990-03-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 321 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, Stephenville/Cla, TX at 12:00Z on 1990-03-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -113 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
321 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-238 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
592 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-28 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 KABI 132334
TORABI
TXC447-140030-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABILENE TX
534 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 630 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE NORTH PART OF TEXAS
      EASTERN THROCKMORTON

AT (530 PM CST THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTED A TORNADO
ON THE GROUND 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THROCKMORTON.

THIS STORM MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.

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 13, 12:05 PM CST, 5 hours 29 minutes before
TXZ019>023-024>28-29>31-141200-
SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1200 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON
OVER THAT PART OF NORTH TEXAS GENERALLY WEST OF A MONTAGUE...PALO
PINTO...ABILENE LINE.  FOR TONIGHT...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALL OF NORTH TEXAS GENERALLY WEST OF A
TEXARKANA...LONGVIEW...TEMPLE LINE.  THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING HAIL...WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND POSSIBLY
TORNADOES.

THE AIR MASS OVER NORTH TEXAS HAS CONTINUED TO DESTABILIZE OVER THE
PAST 24 HOURS WITH THE INFLOW OF WARM MOIST AIR AT LOWER LEVELS.
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THAT MID AND UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE HAS ALSO
BEGUN TO FLOW IN THE THE AREA AND WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY TONIGHT.
A STRONG AND VERY COLD UPPER AIR LOW...LOCATED OVER THE GREAT BASIN
THIS AFTERNOON...WILL MOVE INTO NEW MEXICO TONIGHT.  AS THE UPPER AIR
LOW APPROACHES THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF NORTH TEXAS THE UPPER LEVEL
WIND FLOW  WILL BECOME MORE DIVERGENT...WHICH PROMOTES UPLIFT OF THE
AIR COLUMN AND HENCE STRENGTHENING OF THUNDERSTORMS.  AS THE LOW AND
ITS ASSOCIATED TROUGH SWINGS NORTHEASTWARD TOWARDS NORTH TEXAS LATE
TONIGHT UPPER AIR DISTURBANCES WILL FLOW FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST
...ADDING ADDITIONAL DYNAMICS TO THE WEATHER SITUATION AND FURTHER
INTENSIFYING THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

THE SURFACE DRYLINE...SEPARATING DRY AIR TO THE WEST FROM MOIST
...UNSTABLE AIR TO THE EAST...WAS LOCATED AT NOON IN WEST TEXAS.
THE DRY LINE WILL SERVE AS A FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM INITIATION LATER
THIS AFTERNOON.  AS THE UPPER AIR LOW MOVES INTO NEW MEXICO...THE
THUNDERSTORMS ACTIVITY SHOULD INCREASE ALONG THE DRY LINE IN COVERAGE
AND SPREAD EASTWARD INTO NORTH TEXAS TONIGHT.

SPOTTER ACTIVATIONS MAY BE REQUIRED IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF
NORTH TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON...AND OVER MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE
AREA TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, Mar 13, 3:48 PM CST, 1 hour 46 minutes before
TXZ019>033-132300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
345 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING IN NORTHWEST TEXAS...
...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR WISE AND COOKE COUNTIES
   UNTIL 9 PM CST...

THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING IN THE MOIST AND VERY UNSTABLE
AIR IN NORTHWEST TEXAS JUST AHEAD OF A DRY LINE...WHICH WAS LOCATED
FROM 20 MILES WEST OF WICHITA FALLS TO 40 MILES WEST OF SAN ANGELO.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE FORMING FROM JUST SOUTHWEST OF WICHITA FALLS
TO NEAR ABILENE.  THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY UNSTABLE IN NORTHWEST AND
NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS...AND THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO INCREASE
IN INTENSITY...POSSIBLY BECOMING SEVERE.

A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PART OF NORTHWEST TEXAS UNTIL
9 PM...AND INCLUDES THE COUNTIES WISE AND COOKE.

RESIDENTS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST TEXAS SHOULD STAY ALERT
FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.
Special weather statement, Mar 13, 5:09 PM CST, 25 minutes before
TXZ019>033-140000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
515 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR WISE AND COOKE COUNTIES
   UNTIL 9 PM CST...

AT 5 PM CST WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR
WICHITA FALLS SOUTHWEST TO NEAR THROCKMORTON. THE STRONGEST STORMS
WERE LOCATED NEAR WICHITA FALLS.

THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY UNSTABLE IN NORTHWEST AND  NORTH CENTRAL
TEXAS...THEREFORE SOME INCREASE INTENSITY IS POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS
AS THEY TRACK NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 35 MILES AN HOUR.

RESIDENTS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST TEXAS SHOULD STAY ALERT
FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
STAY TUNED} TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 3:27 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDArcher63 min
Mar 13, 4:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDWichita61 min
Mar 13, 4:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDClay58 min
Mar 13, 5:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDArcher, Young57 min
Mar 13, 5:45 PM CSTTornado WarningFWDYoung45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.