Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 45, NWS Brownsville, TX
NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 23, 1997, 7:40 PM CDT for Cameron County, Kenedy County, Willacy County, Texas. It was in force for 2 hr. 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
- Sep 23, 1997, 7:40 PM CDT (00:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 23, 1997, 9:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Brownsville, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Cameron County, TX, Kenedy County, TX, Willacy County, TX
The radar
The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:47 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 9:15 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 54 | Lyford, TX | Wind casued extensive tree damage. |
| Sep 23, 9:35 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 54 | Sarita, 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, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 71 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
- 1486 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -92 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1208 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 49 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 108 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 3.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
317 WUUS1 KBRO 240041 RRA SVRBRO TXC061-261-489-240245- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 740 PM CDT TUE SEP 23 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S... IN SOUTH TEXAS ...CAMERON COUNTY...KENEDY COUNTY...WILLACY COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS OF THE LOWER TEXAS COAST THE BAY WATERS OF THE LAGUNA MADRE A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS FROM NORTHERN KENEDY COUNTY TO EASTERN HIDALGO COUNTY OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. THIS LINE IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...HAIL AND HEAVY RAINS COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DONT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A STRONG BUILDING. DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
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 Sep 23, 2:49 PM CDT, 4 hours 51 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 23, 2:49 PM CDT, 4 hours 51 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTION FOR TEXT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 245 PM CDT TUE SEP 23 1997 CURRENT KBRO REFLECTIVITY SHOWS WIDELY SCT CELLS PERSISTING OVER THE COASTAL BEND AND EXTENDING SOUTHWARDS INTO BROOKS AND KENEDY COUNTIES. THESE CELLS ARE MOVING EASTERLY AT 5 TO 10 MPH AND WILL LIKELY DISSIPATE WITH THE SETTING SUN AND LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. ALTHOUGH THE CURRENT SOUNDING REMAINS VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AROUND THE REGION...SIGNIFICANT FORCING MECHANISMS ARE PRESENT WITH THE SURFACE FRONTAL BOUNDARY JUST TO OUR NORTH AND SEVERAL 5H VORT MAXES MOVING OVER THE REGION. THE VORTS PERSIST THROUGH EARLY WED WITH THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY PUSHING THROUGH DEEP SOUTH TX LATE WED/EARLY THUR. WILL GO BELOW MOS POP GUIDANCE AND FAN GUIDANCE AS FEEL THAT THIS MAY BE A BIT OVERDONE. SO FOR TXZ248>255... .TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A LESS THAN 20% CHC OF EARLY EVENING RW/TRW. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH. .WED...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 % CHC OF RW/TRW. SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. .WED NIGHT AND THUR...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30% CHC OF RW/TRW. IN THE 3 TO 5 DAY RANGE (FRI-SUN)...THE 5H CLOSED LOW GRADUALLY SHIFTS NORTHEAST AND ALLOWS SURFACE RIDGING AND DRIER CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL OVER THE FORECAST AREA. ACCORDINGLY...WOULD LIKE TO MAINTAIN WORDING OF "PARTLY CLOUDY" FOR ALL THREE DAYS. TEMPS SHOULD SLOWLY WARM AS CURRENT AIRMASS MODERATES AND EAST TO SOUTHEAST SURFACE FLOW RETURNS. SO WOULD LIKE TO WORD TEMPS AS..."LOWS IN THE 60S INLAND...70S COAST. HIGHS IN THE 80S NEAR THE COAST TO THE 90S INLAND WEST." THE ONLY POSSIBLE FLY IN THE OINTMENT IS THE POTENTIAL MOISTURE ADVECTION FROM "NORA" OFF OF BAJA CAL. MODEL GUIDANCE AND PMDEPD KEEPS MOISTURE ADVECTION LIMITED TO SOUTHWESTERN STATES. SO FOR NOW A DRY FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK. IN THE CWF...SURFACE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH OFFSHORE ON THURSDAY BRINGING ABOUT A WIND SHIFT. SO FOR WORDING...WOULD LIKE "TONIGHT...SOUTHEAST WND 15 KT. SEAS 5 FT. ISOLD RW/TRW. SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION. WED...SOUTHEAST WND 15 KT. SEAS 5 FT. ISOLD RW/TRW. SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION. WED NIGHT...SOUTHEAST WND 15 KT...SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST LATE. SEAS 5 FT. SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION." BRO BB 077/093 074/089 070 05/30/30/30 ` MFE BB 077/095 074/091 068 10/30/30/30 RGC BB 077/097 073/092 068 10/30/30/30 SPI BB 079/089 077/087 073 10/30/30/30 60
The office that day
Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 7:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Hidalgo | 56 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.