Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Corpus Christi, TX

May 9, 1997Jim Wells County, Texas

NWS Corpus Christi, TX issued this tornado warning at May 9, 1997, 12:23 PM CDT for Jim Wells County, Texas. It was in force for 37 min. 3 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: May 9, 1997, 12:23 PM CDT (17:23 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 1997, 1:00 PM CDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Corpus Christi, TX
Area: Whole counties

County Jim Wells County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:23 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 9, 12:23 PM CDT	Tornado F0	Alice, TX	Sheriff report of a tornado near highways 359 and 44.
May 9, 12:30 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Alice, TX	Sheriff report of several large uprooted trees with numerous power lines downed.
May 9, 12:35 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Orange Grove, TX	Public report of several large trees downed resulting in damage to homes.

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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 74 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1825 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 476 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 119 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCRP 091723 RRA
TORCRP
TXC249-091800-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
1223 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CORPUS CHRISTI HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  100 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY......
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...JIM WELLS COUNTY
 
THE CORPUS CHRISTI DPS HAS REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND
ALONG HIGHWAY 359 AND HIGHWAY 44 TO THE NORTHEAST OF ALICE.
THERE ARE ALSO REPORTS OF OTHER FUNNEL CLOUDS NEAR THIS AREA.
MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 15 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
 
 
&

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 9, 10:52 AM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 10:52 AM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before

COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR SEA CONDITIONS...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
1050 AM CDT WED MAY 7 1997

SOLID LINE OF WEAKENING TSRA/SHRA MOVING SOUTHEAST ESPECIALLY ON
WESTERN END NEAR LRD. THE LINE TO MOVE THORUGH MOST OF AREA TODAY.
NEED TO INCREASE POPS/INSERT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS ALL AREAS.

12Z CRP SOUNDING SHOWS PW OF 1.75...K OF 30...LI OF -7 AND A GOOD
STEADY FLOW OF MOISTURE OF THE GULF. THIS TYPE OF MOIST...UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE WILL PROVIDE THE FUEL FOR SCT TSRA GOING THRU THE DAY.

ATMOSPHERE RIPE FOR MORE TSRA/SHRA TONIGHT...OUTFLOW/FRONT POSITION
AND WHERE DISTURBANCES WILL TRACK CRITICAL WHERE HEAVIEST RAINS WILL
FALL.  MORE ON THIS ON AFTERNOON PACKAGE.

...CHANGES TO ZONES...
VCT...60 POPS LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN.
CRP...60 POPS LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. HIGH...LOW 80S INLAND UPPER 70S COAST.
LRD...HIGH...UPPER 70S.

MARINE DATA...2-3 FEET WAVES AND EAST WINDS OF 10 KNOTS.

LUNA...0074

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 12:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CRP	Nueces, San Patricio	53 min
May 9, 1:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CRP	Kleberg, Nueces	65 min
May 9, 1:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CRP	San Patricio	65 min
May 9, 1:40 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	CRP	Victoria	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1997 Every tornado warning in 1997 Tornadoes 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.