Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 25, 1994Oldham County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this tornado warning at May 25, 1994, 3:02 PM CDT for Oldham County, Texas. It was in force for 28 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 25, 1994, 3:02 PM CDT (20:02 UTC)
Expired
May 25, 1994, 3:30 PM CDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Oldham County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 84 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 1994-05-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 1994-05-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -26 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1647 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
38 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 252003
TORAMA
TXC359-252030-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
302 PM CDT WED MAY 25 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM CDT
FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
 
   ...NORTHERN OLDHAM COUNTY
 
AT 300 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
POSSIBLE TORNADO DEVELOPING TEN MILES NORTHWEST OF ADRIAN. THIS STORM
IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.  AT THIS TIME THE STORM IS
OVER OPEN COUNTRY.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
IF YOU LIVE IN A HOME OR APARTMENT...SEEK SHELTER IN THE INNERMOST
PORTION OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOORl. GET TO A BASEMENT IF
ONE IS AVAILABLE. AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING
DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS...BLANKETS OR PILLOWS. IF SIRENS GO OFF...DO
NOT RUN OUTSIDE. THE SIRENS MEAN YOU ARE IN DANGER. SEEK SHELTER.

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, May 25, 12:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>026-260500-

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
100 PM CDT WED MAY 25 1994

THERE IS A SLIGHT TO MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS ALL OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS
PANHANDLES.

THE MODERATE RISK AREA COVERS MUCH OF THE SOUTH HALF OF THE TEXAS
PANHANDLE...AND IS GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CLOVIS
NEW MEXICO TO HEREFORD...AMARILLO...PAMPA AND WHEELER TEXAS. THE
REMAINDER OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE AND THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE ARE
INCLUDED IN A SLIGHT RISK AREA.

THE AIRMASS OVER THE PANHANDLES IS VERY MOIST AND BECOMING VERY
UNSTABLE AS TEMPERATURES WARM INTO THE 70S AND 80S. UPSLOPE LOW
LEVEL EASTERLY WINDS AND AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM
WILL PROVIDE STRONG LIFT TO AID THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. NO
CLEARLY DEFINED SURFACE BOUNDARIES WERE NOTED TO HELP FOCUS INITIAL
STORM DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER...THUNDERSTORMS ALREADY DEVELOPING
ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO BEFORE NOON WILL SPREAD
NORTHEAST AND EAST INTO WESTERN PARTS OF THE PANHANDLES.

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND
STRONG DAMAGING WINDS OF UP TO 60 MPH OR GREATER. VERTICAL WIND
PROFILES ARE NOT STRONGLY FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT...BUT
ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. MOST STORMS WILL BE
MOVING NORTHEAST OR EAST AT SPEEDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH.

SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ~ACROSS ALL OF THE
OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR LIKELY
ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT.

TG
Special weather statement, May 25, 1:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>026-260500-

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
100 PM CDT WED MAY 25 1994

THERE IS A SLIGHT TO MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS ALL OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS
PANHANDLES.

THE MODERATE RISK AREA COVERS MUCH OF THE SOUTH HALF OF THE TEXAS
PANHANDLE...AND IS GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CLOVIS
NEW MEXICO TO HEREFORD...AMARILLO...PAMPA AND WHEELER TEXAS. THE
REMAINDER OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE AND THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE ARE
INCLUDED IN A SLIGHT RISK AREA.

THE AIRMASS OVER THE PANHANDLES IS VERY MOIST AND BECOMING VERY
UNSTABLE AS TEMPERATURES WARM INTO THE 70S AND 80S. UPSLOPE LOW
LEVEL EASTERLY WINDS AND AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM
WILL PROVIDE STRONG LIFT TO AID THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. NO
CLEARLY DEFINED SURFACE BOUNDARIES WERE NOTED TO HELP FOCUS INITIAL
STORM DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER...THUNDERSTORMS ALREADY DEVELOPING
ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO BEFORE NOON WILL SPREAD
NORTHEAST AND EAST INTO WESTERN PARTS OF THE PANHANDLES.

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND
STRONG DAMAGING WINDS OF UP TO 60 MPH OR GREATER. VERTICAL WIND
PROFILES ARE NOT STRONGLY FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT...BUT
ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. MOST STORMS WILL BE
MOVING NORTHEAST OR EAST AT SPEEDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH.

SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ACROSS ALL OF THE
OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR LIKELY
ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT.

TG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 7:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMABriscoe63 min
May 24, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHall64 min
May 25, 2:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACastro52 min
May 25, 2:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAOchiltree52 min
May 25, 3:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMASwisher50 min
May 25, 3:31 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAOldham29 min
May 25, 3:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAMoore, Potter65 min
May 25, 4:06 PM CDTTornado WarningAMABriscoe39 min
May 25, 4:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACastro62 min
May 25, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHall43 min
May 25, 5:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMASwisher43 min
May 25, 5:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMABriscoe54 min
May 25, 5:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHall47 min
May 25, 5:43 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAChildress62 min
May 25, 5:59 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAHall61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994

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.