Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 27, NWS Fort Worth, TX
NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at May 27, 1997, 1:21 PM CDT for McLennan County, Texas. It was in force for 39 min. 11 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 27, 1997, 1:21 PM CDT (18:21 UTC)
- Expired
- May 27, 1997, 2:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 39 min
- Issued by
- NWS Fort Worth, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County McLennan County, TX
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1:21 PM CDT | Tornado F2 | Lorena, TX | A tornado developed just west of Box Ranch Road and moved west-southwest to just west of Mackey Ranch Road where a mobile home was destroyed. The tornado also uprooted numerous large trees along its path. |
| May 27, 1:44 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Eddy, TX | A sheriff's deputy reported a tornado near I-35 and Highway 7. |
| May 27, 1:46 PM CDT | Tornado F3 | Moody, TX | The third tornado developed about 1.5 miles east-southeast of Moody in open country just south of Farm-to-Market Road 107. The tornado moved south-southwest and destroyed a house and a barn. Another house was damaged and numerous trees were uprooted. Two ve |
| May 27, 1:48 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Lorena, TX | |
| May 27, 1:55 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Lorena, TX | |
| May 27, 1:56 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Moody, TX | |
| May 27, 2:00 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Eddy, TX | |
| May 27, 2:00 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Bruceville, TX | |
| May 27, 2:05 PM CDT | Hail 2.75 | Bruceville, TX | |
| May 27, 2:06 PM CDT | Hail 2.75 | Eddy, TX | |
| May 27, 2:09 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Bruceville, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 142 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
- 4281 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -43 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 590 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 15 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 58 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 3.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
949 WFUS1 KFTW 271820 RRA TORFTW TXC309-271900- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 121 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 200 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS ...MCLENNAN COUNTY AT 121 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO NEAR HEWITT. THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST 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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 27, 12:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 1 minute before
TXZ091>095-098>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-280000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1220 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHEASTERN THIRD OF NORTH TEXAS... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS GENERALLY SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM PARIS TO TERRELL TO GOLDTHWAITE. SOME CITIES IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA INCLUDE...PARIS...WACO...TEMPLE...KILLEEN...SULPHUR SPRINGS...CENTERVILLE AND CORSICANA. VERY STEEP LAPSE RATES ALOFT ARE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING ABUNDANT LIFTING ENERGY. IN ADDITION...STABILITY INDICES ARE STRONG. LATE THIS MORNING...A COOL FRONT STRETCHED ALONG A PARIS TO DALLAS TO SAN ANGELO LINE. AS DAYTIME HEATING MAXIMIZED AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE MAIN FACTOR SUPPRESSING THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS A STRONG CAPPING INVERSION ABOUT 4000 FEET ABOVE THE SURFACE. THIS CAP WOULD REQUIRE A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN THE UPPER 90S TO BREAK ON DAYTIME HEATING ALONE. THE ADDED LIFT OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND A WEAK UPPER LEVEL WAVE MAY BE ENOUGH TO HELP TO OVERCOME THE CAP... BUT...ONLY IN ISOLATED AREAS. HIGH INSTABILITIES ALOFT MEAN THAT THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO FORM IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA SHOULD RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. STRONG VERTICAL MOTIONS IN THESE STORMS...DUE TO STRONG CAPES...SUGGEST A MAIN THREAT OF LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. WEAK WIND SHEAR PROFILES SUGGESTS THAT THE TORNADO POTENTIAL IS LOW. STORM SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN NORTHEAST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL TEXAS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION BY 3PM WHILE ACTIVATION ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS MAY OCCUR AFTER 6 PM. 77
Special weather statement, May 27, 12:21 PM CDT, 1 hour before
TXZ091>095-098>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-280000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1220 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHEASTERN THIRD OF NORTH TEXAS... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS GENERALLY SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM PARIS TO TERRELL TO GOLDTHWAITE. SOME CITIES IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA INCLUDE...PARIS...WACO...TEMPLE...KILLEEN...SULPHUR SPRINGS...CENTERVILLE AND CORSICANA. VERY STEEP LAPSE RATES ALOFT ARE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING ABUNDANT LIFTING ENERGY. IN ADDITION...STABILITY INDICES ARE STRONG. LATE THIS MORNING...A COOL FRONT STRETCHED ALONG A PARIS TO DALLAS TO SAN ANGELO LINE. AS DAYTIME HEATING MAXIMIZED AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE MAIN FACTOR SUPPRESSING THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS A STRONG CAPPING INVERSION ABOUT 4000 FEET ABOVE THE SURFACE. THIS CAP WOULD REQUIRE A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN THE UPPER 90S TO BREAK ON DAYTIME HEATING ALONE. THE ADDED LIFT OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND A WEAK UPPER LEVEL WAVE MAY BE ENOUGH TO HELP TO OVERCOME THE CAP... BUT...ONLY IN ISOLATED AREAS. HIGH INSTABILITIES ALOFT MEAN THAT THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO FORM IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA SHOULD RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. STRONG VERTICAL MOTIONS IN THESE STORMS...DUE TO STRONG CAPES...SUGGEST A MAIN THREAT OF LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. WEAK WIND SHEAR PROFILES SUGGESTS THAT THE TORNADO POTENTIAL IS LOW. STORM SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN NORTHEAST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL TEXAS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION BY 3PM WHILE ACTIVATION ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS MAY OCCUR AFTER 6 PM.j 77
The office that day
Everything else NWS Fort Worth, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 10:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Grayson | 58 min |
| May 26, 11:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Grayson | 46 min |
| May 26, 11:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Cooke | 69 min |
| May 26, 11:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Grayson | 62 min |
| May 27, 12:02 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FWD | Grayson | 3 hr |
| May 27, 12:27 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Lamar | 63 min |
| May 27, 12:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Cooke | 60 min |
| May 27, 1:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Grayson | 60 min |
| May 27, 1:30 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Lamar | 60 min |
| May 27, 1:52 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Fannin | 68 min |
| May 27, 3:07 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Hopkins | 68 min |
| May 27, 12:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | McLennan | 55 min |
| May 27, 1:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Falls | 43 min |
| May 27, 1:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Falls | 33 min |
| May 27, 1:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Bell | 42 min |
| May 27, 2:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Hill, Navarro | 60 min |
| May 27, 2:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Bell | 45 min |
| May 27, 3:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Navarro | 45 min |
| May 27, 3:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Bell | 45 min |
| May 27, 3:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Hill | 47 min |
| May 27, 3:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Hill, Limestone | 54 min |
| May 27, 3:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Freestone, Navarro | 47 min |
| May 27, 4:28 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Limestone | 47 min |
| May 27, 5:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Freestone | 55 min |
| May 27, 5:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Limestone, McLennan | 61 min |
| May 27, 5:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Falls, Leon, Robertson | 69 min |
| May 27, 6:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Limestone | 30 min |
| May 27, 6:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Robertson | 51 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.