Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 14, NWS Brownsville, TX

May 15, 1997Jim Hogg County, Starr County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 1997, 1:29 AM CDT for Jim Hogg County, Starr County, Texas. It was in force for 61 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 1997, 1:29 AM CDT (06:29 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1997, 2:30 AM CDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Jim Hogg County, TX, Starr County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 162 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:32 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 165 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2049 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 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
2049 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-137 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
892 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
62 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.

424 
WUUS1 KBRO 150630 RRA
SVRBRO
TXC247-427-150730-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
129 AM CDT THU MAY 15 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  230 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S...
 
IN SOUTH TEXAS
 
   ...JIM-HOGG COUNTY...STARR COUNTY
 
BROWNSVILLE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ENTERING THE
WESTERN PORTIONS OF STARR AND JIM HOGG COUNTIES MOVING TO THE EAST NEAR
20 MPH. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE
HAIL IN ADDITION TO VERY HEAVY RAINS WHICH WILL PRODUCE FLOODING OF LOW
LYING AREAS.
 
 
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 14, 8:31 PM CDT, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 14, 8:31 PM CDT, 4 hours 58 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
830 PM CDT WED MAY 14 1997

CURRENT KBRO REFLECTIVITY LOOP SHOWS WIDELY SCT CONV PERSISTING IN
NORTHEAST MEXICO BETWEEN SAN FERNANDO AND MONCLOVA.  THE CELLS
BETWEEN MONCLOVA AND LAREDO ARE DRIFTING NORTHEAST WHILE THE CELLS
NEAR SAN FERNANDO ARE MUCH STRONGER AND ARE MOVING EAST AT 15 TO 20
MPH.  THE 00Z SOUNDING FROM BRO SHOWS CAPE VALUES AROUND 3900...A
LI OF -11...A CAP STRENGTH OF 1.6 AND A PWAT OF 1.54.  THIS CONV IS
FIRING IN ASSOCIATION WITH 5H VORT MAX THAT IS EVIDENT OVER NORTH
CENTRAL MEX FROM BOTH MODEL GUIDANCE AND CYCLONIC MOTIONS ON THE
VSBL/IR SATL LOOPS. MODEL GUIDANCE DRIFTS THIS FEATURE NORTHWARD
TOWARDS THE BIG BEND AREA AS THE SURFACE FRONT PROGRESSES
SOUTHWARDS TOWARDS CENTRAL TX.

ALTHOUGH CURRENT AIRMASS IS VERY UNSTABLE...WNDS ALOFT REMAIN WEAK.
BEST CHC ATTM APPEARS TO BE ISOLD STG PULSE CONV TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY.  SINCE CURRENT CONV IS NOT AS WIDESPREAD TONIGHT IN
COMPARISON TO LAST NIGHT...WILL NOT ALTER GOING FORECAST OF 20%
POPS FOR TONIGHT.

ONGOING CWF LOOKS GOOD WHEN COMPARED TO THE LATEST MAREP REPORT
RECEIVED AT 515 PM.  THIS MAREP SHOWED SOUTH WNDS AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS
NEARSHORE WITH 5 FT SWELLS 20 MILES OFFSHORE AND 3 FT SWELLS 30
MILES OFFSHORE.

60

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 12:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROZapata55 min
May 15, 2:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks36 min
May 15, 5:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr68 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.