Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 19, NWS Brownsville, TX
NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 1997, 8:28 PM CDT for Hidalgo County, Texas. It was in force for 62 min. 1 report 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 15, 1997, 8:28 PM CDT (01:28 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1997, 9:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 62 min
- Issued by
- NWS Brownsville, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Hidalgo County, TX
The radar
The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:32 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 8:50 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Mc Cook, TX |
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 nearest sounding before it
Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 96 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2862 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 589 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -3 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 1.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBRO 160128 RRA SVRBRO TXC215-160230- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 828 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE TX HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 930 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHERN TEXAS ...HIDALGO COUNTY AT 826 PM CDT...BROWNSVILLE RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES WEST OF MCCOOK. THIS THUNDERSTORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 MPH. LARGE HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING... PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONNES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
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 15, 1:52 PM CDT, 6 hours 36 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 15, 1:52 PM CDT, 6 hours 36 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
145 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997
HUMID AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS TO REMAIN OVER AREA THRU FRI. NGM AND
ETA DEPICT WK SHORTWAVE NR DRT TO MEANDER ABOUT REGION...WITH IT
GRDLY REACHING COAST NR BRO BY SAT. THIS COMBINED WITH A WK CAP
AND SMALL SCALE BNDRYS SHLD PRODUCE A FEW SH/TSTRMS OVR AREA THRU
FRI...MAINLY IN THE LT AFTNS AND EVNGS. WL CONT WITH SCTD CATGRY
POPS THRU SAT.
WK GRADIENT WL KEEP WINDS IN THE 10-15 MPH RANGE AT DAY AND 5-10
AT NIGHT...MAINLY FRM THE E OR SE. GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK REASONABLE
AND WILL STAY CLOSE TO THEM. SKIES SHLD AVG PTC THRU SAT...WITH
MOCLDY MRNGS.
FOR TNGT: PTC WITH 30% CHANCE FOR TS. LOWS ARND 70.
SE WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.
FRI: PTC WITH 20% CHNC FOR LATE AFTN TS. HIGHS M80S E TO
L90S W. SE WIND 10-15 MPH.
FRI NGT: MOCLDY WITH 30% CHNC FOR TS. LOWS NEAR 70.
SAT: PTC. 20% CHNC FOR LATE AFTN TS. HIGHS M80S E-L90S W.
XTND PROGS BRING INCRSD SW FLOW BACK OVR AREA EARLY NEXT WEEK AS
W RIDGE COLLAPSES AND TROF BEGINS DVLPG OVR W U.S. DO NOT SEE ANY
FRONTS DOWN THIS WAY FOR AWHILE...BUT TROF WL DEVLP OVR W TX...SO
ISLTD TSTRMS SHLD OCCUR. CONTD PTC AND WARM WITH ISOLTD MAINLY
AFTN AND NIGHTTIME SHWRS AND TSTRMS.
SPECIFIC NUMBERS
BRO 70/84/71/85 30/20 LATE/30/20
MFE 70/85/71/87 30/20 LATE/30/20
RGC 69/90/70/92 30/20 LATE/30/20
SPI 72/82/72/82 30/10/30/20
54
*In the hours before
Local storm report, May 15, 6:15 PM CDT, 2 hours 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...DELAYED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
615 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
TIME UNKN 4 MILES SOUTH AND TX MCCOOK CO-OP OBSERVER
05/15/97 2 MILES WEST OF MCCOOK REPORTED LIGHTLY SHREDDED
HIDALGO CORN PLANTS. OBSERVER
SAID THAT PATH OF SHREDDED
PLANTS EXTENDED ABOUT A MILE
IN LENGTH.The office that day
Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 7:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Starr | 66 min |
| May 15, 8:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Brooks | 59 min |
| May 15, 9:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Jim Hogg | 62 min |
| May 16, 12:11 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Hidalgo, Kenedy, Willacy | 59 min |
| May 16, 1:09 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Cameron, Willacy | 61 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.