Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 44, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 20, 1997, 8:57 PM CDT for 4 counties in Texas. It was in force for 63 min. 4 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
- Apr 20, 1997, 8:57 PM CDT (01:57 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 20, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 63 min
- Issued by
- NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Blanco County, TX, Comal County, TX, Hays County, TX, Kendall County, TX
The radar
The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:58 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 20, 9:30 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Twin Sisters, TX | |
| Apr 20, 9:30 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Kendalia, TX | |
| Apr 20, 9:35 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Spring Branch, TX | |
| Apr 20, 9:55 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | San Marcos, 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Del Rio, TX (KDRT), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 251 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
- 844 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -121 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2820 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 37 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 102 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
128 WUUS1 KSAT 210159 RRA SVRSAT TXC031-091-209-259-210300- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 857 PM CDT SUN APR 20 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS ...BLANCO COUNTY...COMAL COUNTY...HAYS COUNTY...KENDALL COUNTY AT 857 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WIND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH ACROSS SOUTHERN BLANCO AND NORTHERN KENDALL COUNTY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS CAN REACH SPEEDS OVER 60 MPH. THESE WINDS BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND SEVERELY DAMAGE MOBILE HOMES... SOMETIMES BUILDINGS. VERY LARGE HAIL CAN INJURE ANYONE CAUGHT OUTSIDE. RESIDENTS SHOULD TAKE COVER NOW. REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICES.
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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 20, 5:35 PM CDT, 3 hours 22 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-211200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 535 PM CDT SUN APR 20 1997 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY AND ADJOINING PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGINGS WINDS. THE WATCH IS ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM DEL RIO TO UVALDE... HONDO... SAN ANTONIO... NEW BRAUNFELS... SAN MARCOS... AUSTIN... AND GEORGETOWN. THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE WITH INCREASING HUMIDITY AND WARM TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG THE DISTURBANCE. THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL NORMALLY BE UPDATED BY MEANS OF THE ZONE FORECAST...SHORT TERM FORECASTS...WATCHES....WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES. THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ITSELF WILL BE UPDATED ONLY IF UNFORECAST HAZARDOUS WEATHER DEVELOPS OR IF FORECAST HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NO LONGER EXPECTED.
Special weather statement, Apr 20, 5:44 PM CDT, 3 hours 13 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-211200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 535 PM CDT SUN APR 20 1997 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY AND ADJOINING PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGINGS WINDS. THE WATCH IS ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM DEL RIO TO UVALDE... HONDO... SAN ANTONIO... NEW BRAUNFELS... SAN MARCOS... AUSTIN... AND GEORGETOWN. THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE WITH INCREASING HUMIDITY AND WARM TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG THE DISTURBANCE. THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL NORMALLY BE UPDATED BY MEANS OF THE ZONE FORECAbST...SHORT TERM FORECASTS...WATCHES....WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES. THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ITSELF WILL BE UPDATED ONLY IF UNFORECAST HAZARDOUS WEATHER DEVELOPS OR IF FORECAST HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NO LONGER EXPECTED.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 8:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Burnet, Llano | 53 min |
| Apr 20, 9:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Travis | 58 min |
| Apr 20, 9:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Williamson | 44 min |
| Apr 20, 10:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Guadalupe | 46 min |
| Apr 20, 11:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Lavaca | 43 min |
| Apr 21, 3:47 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Bastrop, Travis, Williamson | 58 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.