Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Brownsville, TX
NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 4, 1997, 4:08 AM CST for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 37 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
- Apr 4, 1997, 4:08 AM CST (10:08 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 4, 1997, 4:45 AM CST
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Brownsville, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cameron County, TX
The radar
The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:08 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 4:30 AM CST | Tornado F0 | Bayview, TX | Off duty commercial pilot reported tornado on ground. |
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, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 29 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
- 1531 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -122 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 749 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 47 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 18 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
357 WFUS1 KBRO 041009 RRA TORBRO TXC061-041045- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 408 AM CST FRI APR 4 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 445 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...... IN SOUTH TEXAS ...EASTERN CAMERON COUNTY AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS OF THE LOWER TEXAS COAST THE BAY WATERS OF THE LAGUNA MADRE BROWNSVILLE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR THE BAYVIEW AREA MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. THIS TORNADO OR FUNNEL CLOUD WILL LIKELY MOVE OVER THE LAGUNA MADRE AND ISLAND AND COULD BECOME A WATERSPOUT AS IT DEPARTS THE LAND AREAS. STRAIGHT LINE WINDS OF 50MPH OR MORE CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ALONG WITH TORRENTIAL RAINS AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. &
The office that day
Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 9:27 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Starr | 63 min |
| Apr 3, 10:07 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Hidalgo | 68 min |
| Apr 3, 11:09 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Hidalgo | 66 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.