Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 49, NWS Fort Worth, TX

May 17, 1995Bell County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at May 17, 1995, 6:50 PM CDT for Bell County, Texas. It was in force for 40 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 1995, 6:50 PM CDT (23:50 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 1995, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Fort Worth, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Bell County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 200 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 1995-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1362 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 1995-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 271 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
1362 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-317 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
579 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
271 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
300 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KFTW 172351
TORFTW
TXC027-180030-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
650 PM CDT WED MAY 17 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...BELL COUNTY
 
WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPINT TORNADO WAS LOCATED
JUST WEST OF YOUNGSPORT MOVING EAST AT 35 TO 40 MPH. YOUNGSPORT AND
SALADO ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO AND PERSONS IN THESE TOWNS SHOULD
TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!
 
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, May 17, 3:04 PM CDT, 3 hours 46 minutes before
TXZ091>167-172045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
303 PM CDT WED MAY 17 1995

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS UNTIL 4 PM...

AT 300 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR THUNDERSTORMS WERE
RAPIDLY DEVELOPING IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS FROM JUST EAST OF DENTON TO
FORT WORTH TO NEAR GLEN ROSE TO HICO. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE...AND ARE BEING
MONITORED CLOSELY.

IN ADDITION...ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS EAST OF LINE FROM GAINESVILLE TO
WEATHERFORD TO STEPHENVILLE TO SAN SABA...REMAIN VERY FAVORABLE FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  THIS
INCLUDES THE CITIES OF DALLAS/FORT WORTH...SHERMAN...WACO...KILLEEN...
AND TYLER.

PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR RAPIDLY DEVELOPING
THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.  THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR VERY
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS...AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF
TORNADOES.
Special weather statement, May 17, 3:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 55 minutes before
TXZ091>095-098>107-113>123-127>135-139>147-154>162-180600-

WIND ADVISORY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
345 PM CDT WED MAY 17 1995

A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH TONIGHT FOR THE WESTERN TWO
THIRDS OF NORTH TEXAS.  THE ADVISORY AREA IS GENERALLY WEST
OF A PARIS TO ATHENS TO CENTERVILLE LINE AND INCLUDES THE CITIES
OF ABILENE...BROWNWOOD...SHERMAN...PARIS...DENTON...WACO...TEMPLE
AND THE DALLAS/FORT WORTH METROPLEX.

LATE THIS AFTERNOOON...A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WAS LOCATED OVER
WESTERN OKLAHOMA WHILE A DRY LINE EXTENDED SOUTH ALONG A MONTAGUE TO
WEATHERFORD TO SAN SABA LINE.  THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN PLAINS TONIGHT...CREATING A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT.  WINDS
WEST OF THE DRY LINE WILL BLOW FROM THE WEST AT 20 TO 30 MPH WHILE
SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED EAST OF THE
LINE.

MOTORISTS...ESPECIALLY PEOPLE DRIVING HIGH-PROFILE VEHICLES...
SUCH AS CAMPERS AND VANS...SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION IF DRIVING
THROUGH THE WIND ADVISORY AREA.  THESE STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO
MAKE OPEN WATERS ON LAKES ROUGH AND VERY HAZARDOUS...SO BOATERS
ARE URGED TO STAY CLOSE TO SHORE.

WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR
THE LATEST WIND INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 8:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDParker31 min
May 17, 8:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDTarrant49 min
May 17, 8:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDenton42 min
May 17, 9:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin52 min
May 17, 4:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDJohnson55 min
May 17, 4:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis69 min
May 17, 4:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDallas68 min
May 17, 6:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBell66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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.