Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Fort Worth, TX

April 17, 1995Taylor County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 17, 1995, 6:33 PM CDT for Taylor County, Texas. It was in force for 57 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 17, 1995, 6:33 PM CDT (23:33 UTC)
Expired
Apr 17, 1995, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Fort Worth, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Taylor County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 221 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1995-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1891 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1995-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 145 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1891 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-72 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
903 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
145 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
7.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABI 172332
TORABI
TXC441-180030-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABILENE TX
633 PM CDT MON APR 17 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABILENE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...TAYLOR COUNTY
 
AT 6:25 PM CDT...AN ABILENE POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL REPORTED A FUNNEL
CLOUD SOUTH OF MORO...BETWEEN BRADSHAW AND TUSCOLA...MOVING TOWARD THE
TUSCOLA/ABILENE AREA.
 
 
MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 40 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.
 
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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, Apr 17, 1:01 PM CDT, 5 hours 32 minutes before
TXZ092-103-117-118-171845-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
100 PM CDT MON APR 17 1995

AT 100 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHERN COOKE COUNTY BETWEEN ERA AND
GAINESVILLE.  THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR
AND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE PEA TO MARBLE SIZED HAIL.

ELSEWHERE...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED FROM SANGER TO
ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF FORT WORTH. THESE STORMS WERE ALSO MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES.
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 1:29 PM CDT, 5 hours 4 minutes before
TXZ092-093-103-104-118-119-171915-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
125 PM CDT MON APR 17 1995

AT 125 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT A
SHORT LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF SHERMAN
TO HASLET. THE INDIVIDUAL STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN
HOUR WHILE THE LINE WAS MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

ADDITION THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED TO8 THE WEST OF THE REGION
THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL
BE WITH THESE STORMS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES.
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 2:57 PM CDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before
TXZ091>167-180300-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
255 PM CDT MON APR 17 1995

THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHWESTERN HALF OF NORTH TEXAS...GENERALLY ALONG
AND NORTH OF A COLEMAN...PARIS LINE.  INCLUDED IN THE HIGH RISK AREA
ARE THE CITIES OF ABILENE...GRAHAM...JACKSBORO...SHERMAN...PARIS AND
THE DALLAS/FORT WORTH METROPLEX.

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT TO THE
SOUTHEAST OF THE HIGH RISK AREA AND TO THE NORTH OF A CENTERVILLE...
MARSHALL LINE.  THE CITIES OF WACO...TEMPLE...KILLEEN...ATHENS...
TYLER AND LONGVIEW ARE IN THE MODERATE RISK AREA.  THERE IS A SLIGHT
RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE TONIGHT OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN PART
OF NORTH TEXAS.

AT MID AFTERNOON...A DRY LINE EXTENDED FROM A SURFACE LOW NEAR LUBBOCK
TO JUST WEST OF SAN ANGELO.  A COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM THE SURFACE
LOW INTO NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA.  AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
OVER NEW MEXICO THIS AFTERNOON CONTINUES TO MOVE TOWARDS TEXAS...THE
DRY LINE WILL PROGRESS EAST INTO NORTH TEXAS.

SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP JUST AHEAD OF THE DRYLINE.  WIND
PROFILERS INDICATE A FAVORABLE VERTICAL WIND PROFILE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT COULD PRODUCE TORNADOES.  A
LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE DRYLINE BY 6
PM. THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL PUSH EAST THROUGH NORTH TEXAS
TONIGHT.  THE GREATEST THREAT OF TORNADOES WILL BE LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.  LATER TONIGHT...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM
WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL STILL BE
POSSIBLE.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SPOTTER GROUPS OVER WESTERN HALF OF NORTH
TEXAS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING.  ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TONIGHT ACROSS THE REST OF
NORTH TEXAS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO...FOR
LATER STATEMENTS CONCERNING THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER
EVENT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 8:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMontague54 min
Apr 17, 3:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDScurry60 min
Apr 17, 3:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDStonewall60 min
Apr 17, 4:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDStonewall59 min
Apr 17, 5:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFisher, Scurry68 min
Apr 17, 6:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDJones, Stonewall67 min
Apr 17, 6:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFisher37 min
Apr 17, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDTaylor67 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.