Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Brownsville, TX

June 19, 1997Starr County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 19, 1997, 6:17 PM CDT for Starr County, Texas. It was in force for 43 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
Jun 19, 1997, 6:17 PM CDT (23:17 UTC)
Expired
Jun 19, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Starr County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 150 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:19 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 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 152 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 12:00Z on 1997-06-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4289 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-06-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -64 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
4289 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
497 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-64 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBRO 192318 RRA
SVRBRO
TXC427-200000-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
617 PM CDT THU JUN 19 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  700 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......
 
IN SOUTH TEXAS
 
   ...SOUTHERN STARR COUNTY
 
AT 615 PM CDT...BROWNSVILLE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED AN ISOLATED SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF RIO GRANDE CITY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
NORTHWEST AT AROUND 10 MPH AND WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE
HAIL...AND BRIEF TORRENTIAL RAINS. THIS STORM WILL AFFECT THE CITIES OF
RIO GRANDE CITY AND ROMA THROUGH 7 PM.
 
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
DON'T DRIdVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
FLATT/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 Jun 19, 2:33 PM CDT, 3 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 19, 2:33 PM CDT, 3 hours 44 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
230 PM CDT THU JUN 19 1997

CURRENT KBRO REFLECTIVITY INDICATES SOME ISOLD TO SCT CONV FIRING IN
THE VERY UNSTABLE ATMS IN PLACE OVER THE FORECAST AREA AND THE
MIDDLE AND UPPER TX COASTLINE.  (12Z SOUNDING FROM BRO SHOWED AN LI
OF -11...A CAPE OF 5212...NO CAP...AND A PWAT OF 2.15 IN).  MODEL
GUIDANCE HAS DECENT VORTICITY AND WEAK TROFFING LINGERING OVER MUCH
OF THE TX COAST...SO ENOUGH LOW AND MID LEVEL LIFT WILL BE PRESENT
TO JUSTIFY AT LEAST 20% POPS THROUGH ALL 4 PDS.

A DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL BEGIN TO
TIGHTEN THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER MUCH OF TX SO HAVE
INCREASE SURFACE WNDS ACCORDINGLY.

FOR TEMPS...SEE LITTLE REASONING TO DEVIATE MUCH FROM THE CURRENT
TEMP TRENDS AS MOS AND FAN GUIDANCE IN GOOD AGREEMENT.

FOR TXZ248>255...

.TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY AND BREEZY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS.  SOUTHEAST WIND AROUND 15 MPH.

.FRIDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY AND WINDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF MAINLY
AFTERNOON SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS.  GUSTY SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS
INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH BY THE AFTERNOON.  CAUTION IS ADVISED ON
AREA LAKES.

.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY AND WINDY WITH A 20
PERCENT CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS OR
THUNDERSTORMS.

WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BEEF UP THE WND WORDING OF THE CWF AS THE
OFFSHORE BOUNDARY LAYER WND PROGS CRANK UP TO 20 TO 25 KTS BY
FRIDAY. SO FOR 1ST PD...SE WND 15 KT...LOCALLY HIGHER GUSTS NEAR
SHORE AND OVER INLAND WATERWAYS AND BAYS.  SEAS 5 FT.  WIDELY SCT
RW/TRW.  FOR THE 2ND AND 3RD PDS...S-SE WNDS 15 TO 25 KTS.  SEAS 6
FT. WIDELY SCT RW/TRW.  SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION.

IN THE EXTENDED PD...MODELS POINT TOWARDS A CONTINUATION OF WEAK
TROFFING OVER THE WESTERN GULF BETWEEN THE CORRESPONDING EAST AND
WEST COAST RIDGES.  SO THIS WILL MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO MORE OR
LESS FOR THE TX COAST.  THE ONLY ALTERATION WOULD BE TO INCLUDE A
MENTION OF BREEZY CONDITIONS AS MSL PROGS SHOW A PRETTY TIGHT
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT PERSISTING.  SO ACCORDINGLY..."MOSTLY
SUNNY DAYS...PARTLY CLOUDY NIGHTS WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF MAINLY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.  BREEZY.  LOWS IN
THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 70S. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S COAST TO NEAR 102
FAR WEST."

BRO UN 079/094 078/094 079 20/20/20/20
MFE UN 079/097 078/097 078 20/20/20/20
RGC UN 078/102 077/102 077 2\0/20/20/20
SPI UN 080/088 080/088 079 20/20/20/20

60

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 19, 6:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks44 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.