Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Lubbock, TX
NWS Lubbock, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 1997, 10:27 PM CDT for Briscoe County, Texas. It was in force for 48 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 1, 1997, 10:27 PM CDT (03:27 UTC)
- Expired
- May 1, 1997, 11:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lubbock, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Briscoe County, TX
The radar
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:28 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 1, 10:59 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Quitaque, 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 1, 10:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 90 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
- 34 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3674 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 34 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 80 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
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, May 1, 6:16 PM CDT, 4 hours 11 minutes before
TXZ024>026-030>032-036>038-020215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 616 PM CDT THU MAY 1 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR HALL-CHILDRESS-MOTLEY- COTTLE-DICKENS AND KING COUNTIES UNTIL 10 PM CDT... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR BRISCOE-FLOYD AND CROSBY COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED... A DRYLINE LOCATED APPROXIMATELY FROM A FLOYDADA TO RALLS TO SLATON LINE AT 6 PM HAS BECOME NEARLY STATIONARY. THUNDERSTORMS WHICH HAVE DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THE DRYLINE HAVE BEEN LOCATED WELL EAST OF BRISCOE-HALL AND CROSBY COUNTIES AND HAVE MOVED INTO OKLAHOMA. AS A RESULT...THE TORNADO WATCH FOR BRISCOE-FLOYD AND CROSBY COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED. DAYTIME HEATING FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS MAY STILL GENERATE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE LOW ROLLING PLAINS EARLY THIS EVENING. ANY THUNDERSTORMS WHICH DEVELOP IN THIS WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS COULD BECOME SEVERE. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR HALL- CHILDRESS-MOTLEY-COTTLE-DICKENS AND KING COUNTIES UNTIL 10 PM CDT. THE DRYLINE WILL LIKELY DRIFT SLOWLY WESTWARD EARLY TONIGHT AHEAD OFA COLD FRONT SET TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT. RESIDENTS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER BE SPOTTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED. EOS
Special weather statement, May 1, 6:17 PM CDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
TXZ024>026-030>032-036>038-020215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 616 PM CDT THU MAY 1 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR HALL-CHILDRESS-MOTLEY- COTTLE-DICKENS AND KING COUNTIES UNTIL 10 PM CDT... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR BRISCOE-FLOYD AND CROSBY COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED... A DRYLINE LOCATED APPROXIMATELY FROM A FLOYDADA TO RALLS TO SLATON LINE AT 6 PM HAS BECOME NEARLY STATIONARY. THUNDERSTORMS WHICH HAVE DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THE DRYLINE HAVE BEEN LOCATED WELL EAST OF BRISCOE-HALL AND CROSBY COUNTIES AND HAVE MOVED INTO OKLAHOMA. AS A RESULT...THE TORNADO WATCH FOR BRISCOE-FLOYD AND CROSBY COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED. DAYTIME HEATING FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS MAY STILL GENERATE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE LOW ROLLING PLAINS EARLY THIS EVENING. ANY THUNDERSTORMS WHICH DEVELOP IN THIS WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS COULD BECOME SEVERE. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR HALL- CHILDRESS-MOTLEY-COTTLE-DICKENS AND KING COUNTIES UNTIL 10 PM CDT. THE DRYLINE WILL LIKELY DRIFT SLOWLY WESTWARD EARLY TONIGHT AHEAD OFA COLD FRONT SET TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT. RESIDENTS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER BE SPOTTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED. EOS
Special weather statement, May 1, 10:14 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
TXZ024>026-030>032-037-038-020600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1014 PM CDT THU MAY 1 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS- FLOYD-MOTLEY AND COTTLE COUNTIES UNTIL 4 AM CDT FRIDAY MORNING... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR DICKENS AND KING COUNTY HAS EXPIRED AS OF 10 PM CDT... THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITIES...CHILDRESS... FLOYDADA...MATADOR...SILVERTON...AND TURKEY UNTIL 4 AM CDT. A DRYLINE NEAR A PLAINVIEW-LITTLEFIELD-BROWNFIELD LINE AT 10 PM IS NEARLY STATIONARY...BUT SHOULD BEGIN TO MOVE EAST AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT...NOW MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS AND SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. THE COMBINATION OF THESE TWO SURFACE BOUNDARIES WILL HELP TO GENERATE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS EVENING AND EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA AND PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER THE COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE REGION. A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO OCCUR...INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY FOR TORNADOES. IT DOES NOT MEAN SEVERE WEATHER IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT. RESIDENTS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE WEATHER AND BE READY TO SEEK A PLACE OF SAFETY WHEN THREATENING WEATHER IS SPOTTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED. THE TORNADO WATCH HAS EXPIRED FOR DICKENS AND KING COUNTIES HAS EXPIRED AS OF 10 PM CDT. ALTHOUGH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE OVER THESE COUNTIES TONIGHT...THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER HAS DIMINISHED AND IS NO LONGER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. EOS
Special weather statement, May 1, 10:15 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
TXZ024>026-030>032-037-038-020600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1014 PM CDT THU MAY 1 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS- FLOYD-MOTLEY AND COTTLE COUNTIES UNTIL 4 AM CDT FRIDAY MORNING... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR DICKENS AND KING COUNTY HAS EXPIRED AS OF 10 PM CDT... THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITIES...CHILDRESS... FLOYDADA...MATADOR...SILVERTON...AND TURKEY UNTIL 4 AM CDT. A DRYLINE NEAR A PLAINVIEW-LITTLEFIELD-BROWNFIELD LINE AT 10 PM IS NEARLY STATIONARY...BUT SHOULD BEGIN TO MOVE EAST AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT...NOW MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS AND SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. THE COMBINATION OF THESE TWO SURFACE BOUNDARIES WILL HELP TO GENERATE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS EVENING AND EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA AND PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER THE COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE REGION. A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO OCCUR...INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY FOR TORNADOES. IT DOES NOT MEAN SEVERE WEATHER IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT. RESIDENTS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE WEATHER AND BE READY TO SEEK A PLACE OF SAFETY WHEN THREATENING WEATHER IS SPOTTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED. THE TORNADO WATCH HAS EXPIRED FOR DICKENS AND KING COUNTIES HAS EXPIRED AS OF 10 PM CDT. ALTHOUGH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE OVER THESE COUNTIES TONIGHT...THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER HAS DIMINISHED AND IS NO LONGER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. EOS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Lubbock, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 10:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Hall | 63 min |
| May 1, 10:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Briscoe, Floyd | 66 min |
| May 1, 11:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Crosby | 48 min |
| May 1, 11:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Hall | 21 min |
| May 1, 11:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Childress | 64 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.