Alert archive / New Mexico / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 60, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

July 16, 1992Chaves County, New Mexico

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Jul 16, 1992, 8:00 PM MDT for Chaves County, New Mexico. It was in force for 60 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
Jul 16, 1992, 8:00 PM MDT (02:00 UTC)
Expired
Jul 16, 1992, 9:00 PM MDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Chaves County, NM

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 16, 8:39 PM MDTHail 1.75Chaves, NM

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

El Paso Intl Airport, TX (KELP), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 251 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, El Paso Intl Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 1992-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 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, El Paso Intl Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 1992-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 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
3761 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
4 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 KABQ 170201
TORROW
NMC005-170300-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROSWELL NM
ISSUED BY ALBUQUERQUE NM
800 PM MDT THU JUL 16 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE...
 
IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO
 
   ...WESTCENTRAL...CENTRAL...AND SOUTHCENTRAL CHAVES COUNTY
 
AT 750 PM MDT...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC 15 MILES
NORTHWEST OF ROSWELL. THE THUNDERSTORM CONTAINING THE TORNADO
WAS MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 25 MPH.
 
THIS WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED
FOR WESTCENTRAL...CENTRAL...AND SOUTHCENTRAL CHAVES COUNTY
ISSUED AT 745 PM MDT.
 
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 YOUtR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

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, Jul 16, 3:49 PM MDT, 4 hours 11 minutes before
TXZ007-008-010>018-024-034-050>054-NMZ013-162250-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
738 PM CDT THU JUL 16 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WEST TEXAS UNTIL 1100 PM
CDT...

AT 426 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS NEAR
BIG LAKE. THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND RAINSHOWERS
WERE WIDELY SCATTERED OVER THE AREA FROM NORTHWEST OF ABILENE TO WEST
OF SANDERSON. MOVEMENT WAS EAST 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY
WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND FLOODING IN LOW-LYING PLACES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATEST DETAILS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 3:54 PM MDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before
TXZ007-008-010>018-024-034-050>054-NMZ013-162250-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
438 PM CDT THU JUL 16 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WEST TEXAS UNTIL 1100 PM
CDT...

AT 426 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS NEAR
BIG LAKE. THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND RAINSHOWERS
WERE WIDELY SCATTERED OVER THE AREA FROM NORTHWEST OF ABILENE TO WEST
OF SANDERSON. MOVEMENT WAS EAST 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY
WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND FLOODING IN LOW-LYING PLACES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATEST DETAILS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 4:42 PM MDT, 3 hours 18 minutes before
TXZ007-008-010>018-024-034-050>054-NMZ013-162350-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
537 PM CDT THU JUL 16 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WEST TEXAS UNTIL 1100 PM
CDT...

AT 525 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS NEAR
BIG LAKE. THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND RAINSHOWERS
WERE WIDELY SCATTERED OVER THE AREA FROM EAST OF SWEETWATER TO SOUTH-
WEST OF SANDERSON. MOVEMENT WAS EAST 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY
WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND LOCAL FLOODING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATEST
INFORMATION AND* POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 5:46 PM MDT, 2 hours 14 minutes before
TXZ007-008-010>018-024-034-050>054-NMZ013-170050-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
642 PM CDT THU JUL 16 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WEST TEXAS UNTIL 1100 PM
CDT...

AT 629 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN REMAINED
NEAR BIG LAKE. THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND RAINSHOWERS
WERE WIDELY SCATTERED OVER THE AREA FROM SOUTHEAST OF MERKEL TO EAST
OF IRAAN. MOVEMENT WAS EAST 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE SMALL HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG
GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND FLOODING IN LOW PLACES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATEST
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 6:18 PM MDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
TXZ013-014-016-051-053-NMZ013-170100-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
717 PM CDT THU JUL 16 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR GLASSCOCK COUNTY UNTIL 1100 PM
CDT...
...THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR BORDEN AND HOWARD COUNTIES...

AT 710 PM CDT...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO MOVE EAST AND WILL MOVE OUT
OF OUR LISTENING AREA IN ABOUT TWO TO THREE HOURS.

THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED IN REAGAN AND CROCKETT COUTIES. MOVEMENT
OF THESE STORMS WAS EAST 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE SMALL HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG
GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND FLOODING IN LOW PLACES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATEST
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 6:45 PM MDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before
TXZ013-014-016-051-053-NMZ013-170150-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
738 PM CDT THU JUL 16 1992

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR GLASSCOCK COUNTY UNTIL 1100 PM
CDT...

AT 725 PM CDT...THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN...WERE
WIDELY SCATTERED OVER THE AREA FROM NORTHEAST OF WINTERS TO NORTHEAST OF
SANDERSON. MOVEMENT WAS EAST 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE ARE STILL DANGEROUS THUNDERSTORMS AND CAN KPRODUCE STRONG GUSTY
WINDS...SMALL HAIL AND LIGHTNING. THE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL CAN ALSO
PRODUCE LOCAL FLOODING.

STAY TUNED TTO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATEST DETAILS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 16, 7:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFChaves59 min
Jul 16, 9:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFChaves70 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New Mexico, 1992Every tornado warning in 1992Tornadoes in 1992

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.