Alert archive / Missouri / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 61, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 17, 1997Washington County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 1997, 10:05 PM CDT for Washington County, Missouri. It was in force for 40 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
May 17, 1997, 10:05 PM CDT (03:05 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 1997, 10:45 PM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:04 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 17, 10:15 PM CDTHail 1.75Mineral Pt, MOSkywarn spotters reported golfball size hail.

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

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 3.1 hours before the alert went out and 284 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1997-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1784 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1997-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1784 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1565 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
180 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
4.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

833 
WUUS1 KSTL 180308 RRA
SVRSTL
MOC221-180345-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1005 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1045 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
 
   ...SOUTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 1005 PM...THE ST LOUIS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE STORM IN THE
SOUTHWEST PORTION OF WASHINGTON COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING TO THE
EAST AT 25 MPH.
THIS STORM WILL HIT THE CITY OF CALADONIA BY 1030 PM.
 
THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF DAMAGING HAIL. STAY INSIDE AND AWAY
FROM WINDOWS.
 
SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
OFTEN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.
VA/ST

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXWashington69 min
May 17, 8:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXSaint Francois57 min
May 17, 9:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXIron42 min
May 17, 9:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCrawford31 min
May 17, 9:49 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXCrawford26 min
May 17, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCrawford47 min
May 18, 12:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXFranklin45 min
May 18, 7:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXKnox49 min
May 18, 7:42 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXClark48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 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.