Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 59, NWS Fort Worth, TX

October 23, 1997Hill County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 23, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT for Hill County, Texas. It was in force for 45 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Oct 23, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired: Oct 23, 1997, 3:30 PM CDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Fort Worth, TX
Area: Whole counties

County Hill County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:48 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Oct 23, 2:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 95 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 739 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 269 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

430 
WFUS1 KFTW 231947 RRA
TORFTW
TXC217-232030-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
245 PM CDT THU OCT 23 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...HILL COUNTY
 
AT 244 PM...A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WAS CROSSING THE NORTHERN PORTION OF
LAKE WHITNEY NEAR LAKESIDE VILLAGE MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 35
MPH.
 
HURON...BLANTON...OSCEOLA AND ITASCA ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

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

Local storm report, Oct 23, 9:52 AM CDT, 4 hours 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
952 AM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0930 AM    TEMPLE                    TX   1 INCH HAIL
10/23/97   BELL                           QUARTER HAIL. SPOTTER
                                          REPORT THRU KCEN-TV IN
                                          TEMPLE

Local storm report, Oct 23, 9:54 AM CDT, 4 hours 51 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
952 AM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0930 AM    TEMPLE                    TX   1 INCH HAIL
10/23/97   BELL                           QUARTER HAIL. SPOTTER
                                          REPORT THRU KCEN-TV IN
                                          TEMPLE

Local storm report, Oct 23, 10:29 AM CDT, 4 hours 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1029 AM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1015 AM    CHILTON                   TX   .75 INCH HAIL
10/23/97   FALLS                          DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER

1025 AM    FORT WORTH                TX   FLOODING
10/23/97   TARRANT                        FLOODING BEGINNING TO
                                          OCCUR IN THE 500 BLOCK OF
                                          NORTHWEST 28TH STREET

1027 AM    EULESS                    TX   FLOODING
10/23/97   TARRANT                        FLOODING BEGINNING IN
                                          STREETS

Local storm report, Oct 23, 10:30 AM CDT, 4 hours 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1029 AM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1015 AM    CHILTON                   TX   .75 INCH HAIL
10/23/97   FALLS                          DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER

1025 AM    FORT WORTH                TX   FLOODING
10/23/97   TARRANT                        FLOODING BEGINNING TO
                                          OCCUR IN THE 500 BLOCK OF
                                          NORTHWEST 28TH STREET

1027 AM    EULESS                    TX   FLOODING
10/23/97   TARRANT                        FLOODING BEGINNING IN
                                          STREETS

Special weather statement, Oct 23, 11:08 AM CDT, 3 hours 37 minutes before

TXZ147-148-156>162-174-175-231815-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1108 AM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT SOUTH OF A GOLDTHWAITE TO HILLSBORO TO
TYLER LINE UNTIL 3 PM...

AT 1108 AM...NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS WERE IN EFFECT. THE
STORMS THAT PRODUCED HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS IN BELL AND
FALLS COUNTIES HAS MOVED EAST AND WEAKENED IN HENDERSON AND FREESTONE
COUNTIES.

HOWEVER...ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING TO THE WEST OF THE
AREA...AND THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR THE REGION...INCLUDING
TORNADOES...EXIST THIS AFTERNOON.

REMAIN ALERT AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH.

Special weather statement, Oct 23, 11:14 AM CDT, 3 hours 31 minutes before

TXZ147-148-156>162-174-175-231815-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1108 AM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT SOUTH OF A GOLDTHWAITE TO HILLSBORO TO
TYLER LINE UNTIL 3 PM...

AT 1108 AM...NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS WERE IN EFFECT. THE
STORMS THAT PRODUCED HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS IN BELL AND
FALLS COUNTIES HAS MOVED EAST AND WEAKENED IN HENDERSON AND FREESTONE
COUNTIES.

HOWEVER...ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING TO THE WEST OF THE
AREA...AND THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR THE REGION...INCLUDING
TORNADOES...EXIST THIS AFTERNOON.

REMAIN ALERT AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Fort Worth, TX issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 23, 9:03 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Bell	57 min
Oct 23, 9:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Falls	60 min
Oct 23, 10:22 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FWD	Johnson, Tarrant	98 min
Oct 23, 10:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Limestone	66 min
Oct 23, 10:36 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FWD	Dallas, Ellis	2 hr
Oct 23, 11:42 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FWD	Hill	2 hr
Oct 23, 12:01 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FWD	Bosque, Hamilton	119 min
Oct 23, 2:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Bosque	46 min
Oct 23, 2:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FWD	Bosque	54 min
Oct 23, 3:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Ellis	57 min
Oct 23, 3:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Bosque, Hill	61 min
Oct 23, 4:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Kaufman	60 min
Oct 23, 4:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Jack	59 min
Oct 23, 4:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Navarro	67 min
Oct 23, 4:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Montague, Wise	64 min
Oct 23, 4:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Bosque, Hill	60 min
Oct 23, 4:49 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FWD	Hill, Navarro	116 min
Oct 23, 4:49 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FWD	Bosque	116 min
Oct 23, 5:06 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FWD	Wise	39 min
Oct 23, 5:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FWD	Anderson	33 min
Oct 23, 5:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Henderson	26 min
Oct 23, 5:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Denton	67 min
Oct 23, 5:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Navarro	53 min
Oct 23, 6:36 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FWD	Navarro	84 min
Oct 23, 6:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Freestone	62 min
Oct 23, 6:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Navarro	29 min

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.