Alert archive / Washington / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Seattle, WA

July 4, 1992Douglas County, Okanogan County, Washington

NWS Seattle, WA issued this tornado warning at Jul 4, 1992, 3:40 PM PDT for Douglas County, Okanogan County, Washington. It was in force for 35 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 4, 1992, 3:40 PM PDT (22:40 UTC)
Expired
Jul 4, 1992, 4:15 PM PDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Seattle, WA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Douglas County, WA, Okanogan County, WA

The nearest sounding before it

Spokane Intl Airport, WA (KGEG), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 175 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, Spokane Intl Airport, WA at 12:00Z on 1992-07-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 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, Spokane Intl Airport, WA at 12:00Z on 1992-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-157 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1358 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
63 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 KSEA 042243
TORSEA
WAC017-047-042315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
340 PM PDT SAT JUL 4 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 PM PDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL WASHINGTON
 
   ...DOUGLAS COUNTY
 
IN NORTH WASHINGTON
 
   ...SOUTHERN OKANOGAN COUNTY
 
AN OBSERVER AT WENATCHEE HAS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 8 MILES NORTH OF
PANGBORN FIELD AT 3:38 PM PDT. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS MOVING NORTH
AND IS APPROACHING THE TOWNS OF WATERVILLE...DOUGLAS...AND ENTIAT.
RESIDENTS IN THESE COMMUNITIES SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE
ACTION AS THIS LIFE THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
 
 
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.

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 4, 11:06 AM PDT, 4 hours 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND WASHINGTON STATE WEATHER SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
11 AM PDT SAT JUL 4 1992

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
   ACROSS EASTERN WASHINGTON...

AN UPPER LEVEL LOW JUST OFF THE WASHINGTON COAST IS BRINGING A
SOUTHERLY FETCH OF MOIST UNSTABLE AIR OVER THE STATE.  SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS BEGAN EARLIER IN OREGON AND HAVE MOVED INTO
SOUTHERN WASHINGTON.

RAINSHOWERS TURNED TO THUNDERSHOWERS AS THE STORMS MOVED FROM OREGON
INTO EXTREME SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. FROM 530 AM TO 730 AM WALLA WALLA
REPORTED A THUNDERSHOWER. OTHER AREAS OF THE EAST CONTINUE TO REPORT
INCREASING CLOUD COVER.

IN THE WEST AREAS OF RAIN AND PATCHY FOG HAD DEVELOPED BY 1030 AM
OVER PUGET SOUND...WITH LOCAL REPORTS OF OVER ONE QUARTER INCH OF
RAIN RECORDED IN NORTH SEATTLE. NORTH OF EVERETT AND ALSO THE COAST
REMAIN UNDER MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES.  UNSETTLED WET WEATHER WILL CONTINUE
TODAY IN THE WEST WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AS WELL.

TEMPERATURES STATEWIDE ARE IN THE LOW TO MID 60S WITH A FEW
READINGS IN COLUMBIA BASIN REACHING THE MID TO UPPER 70S.

THE AIR IN EASTERN WASHINGTON IS EXPECTED TO BECOME INCREASINGLY
UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON ALLOWING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP...
ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHEAST SECTION.  THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE BRIEF
HEAVY RAIN...HAIL AND STRONG WINDS THAT REDUCE VISIBLITY IN BLOWING DUST.

PEOPLE PLANNING TRAVEL OR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES THIS FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND
SHOULD KEEP INFORMED OF THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND FORECASTS.

MH/WDB

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Washington, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.