Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 20, NWS Brownsville, TX

May 15, 1997Jim Hogg County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 1997, 9:38 PM CDT for Jim Hogg County, Texas. It was in force for 62 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, 9:38 PM CDT (02:38 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1997, 10:40 PM CDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Jim Hogg County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 143 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:38 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 15, 8:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 154 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3057 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1997-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -35 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
3057 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
900 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.3
Supercell composite
-1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBRO 160238 RRA
SVRBRO
TXC247-160340-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
938 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE TX HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1040 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHERN TEXAS

   ...NORTHERN JIM HOGG COUNTY
 
AT 935 PM...BROWNSVILLE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
15 MILES WEST OF HEBBRONVILLE.  THIS STORM WAS DRIFTING SLOWLY
SOUTHEAST AND WILL AFFECT THE CITY OF HEBBRONVILLE THROUGH 1040 PM.
THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS
AND LARGE HAIL IN SOUTHERN WEBB COUNTY.
 
AT SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING STORM...TOWERING THUNDERHEADS...DARKENING
SKIES...LIGHTNING AND INCREASING WINDS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.
TUNE IN NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

PHILO/SPEECE

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, 8:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 8:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
830 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997

BUSY WITH STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS ATTM.  STG/SVR CONV CURRENTLY
OVER THE REGION NEARLY STATIONARY.  THE WORD FROM SPC IS THAT SVR
-STORM WATCH WILL BE ISSUED SHORTLY.

SO FOR TXZ248>255...

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM FRIDAY
MORNING...

.REST OF TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS POSSIBLE.  LOWS IN THE LOWER 70S.  EAST TO SOUTHEAST
WIND 5 TO 10 MPH...HIGHER GUSTS IN THE VICINITY OF THE
THUNDERSTORMS.

60

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 15, 6:15 PM CDT, 3 hours 23 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.
Special weather statement, May 15, 9:00 PM CDT, 38 minutes before
TXZ248>255-514-160545-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
900 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF DEEP SOUTH
TEXAS UNTIL 1 AM FRIDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
FOR ALL DEEP SOUTH TEXAS INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
ZAPATA...JIM HOGG...STARR...HIDALGO...BROOKS...WILLACY...KENEDY AND
CAMERON COUNTIES. THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF BROWNSVILLE...MCALLEN
AND HARLINGEN.

LARGE HAIL...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.  PERSONS IN
THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND
LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...YOUR COMMERCIAL TV AND RADIO
STATIONS OR YOUR LOCAL CABLE PROVIDER FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER
STATEMENTS.

60
Special weather statement, May 15, 9:01 PM CDT, 37 minutes before
TXZ248>255-514-160545-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
900 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1997

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF DEEP SOUTH
TEXAS UNTIL 1 AM FRIDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
FOR ALL DEEP SOUTH TEXAS INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
ZAPATA...JIM HOGG...STARR...HIDALGO...BROOKS...WILLACY...KENEDY AND
CAMERON COUNTIES. THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF BROWNSVILLE...MCALLEN
AND HARLINGEN.

LARGE HAIL...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.  PERSONS IN
THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND
LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...YOUR COMMERCIAL TV AND RADIO
STrATIONS OR YOUR LOCAL CABLE PROVIDER FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER
STATEMENTS.

60

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 7:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr66 min
May 15, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks59 min
May 15, 8:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo62 min
May 16, 12:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo, Kenedy, Willacy59 min
May 16, 1:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Willacy61 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.