Alert archive / New Mexico / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Albuquerque, NM

May 8, 1997Chaves County, Roosevelt County, New Mexico

NWS Albuquerque, NM issued this tornado warning at May 8, 1997, 6:06 PM MDT for Chaves County, Roosevelt County, New Mexico. It was in force for 34 min. 2 reports 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
May 8, 1997, 6:06 PM MDT (00:06 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 1997, 6:40 PM MDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Albuquerque, NM
Area
Whole counties

Counties Chaves County, NM, Roosevelt County, NM

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 8, 6:25 PM MDTTornado F0Elida, NMRope tornado and 2 inch hail observed by spotters near Elida.
May 8, 6:25 PM MDTHail 2Elida, 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 8, 2:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 255 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 00:00Z on 1997-05-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2593 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1997-05-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 5 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
2593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1718 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABQ 090006 RRA
TORABQ
NMC005-041-090040-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
606 PM MDT THU MAY 8 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 640 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO

   ...NORTHEASTERN CHAVES COUNTY

IN EAST CENTRAL NEW MEXICO

   ...SOUTHERN ROOSEVELT COUNTY
 
AT 606 PM MDT...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIALS NEAR THE COMMUNITY OF KENNA MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH. THIS
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS ALSO CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
OUTFLOW WINDS.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A
REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 

&

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New Mexico, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.