Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 31, NWS Lubbock, TX
NWS Lubbock, TX issued this tornado warning at May 29, 1997, 10:01 PM CDT for Swisher County, Texas. It was in force for 64 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
- May 29, 1997, 10:01 PM CDT (03:01 UTC)
- Expired
- May 29, 1997, 11:05 PM CDT
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lubbock, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Swisher County, TX
The radar
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:00 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 29, 10:17 PM CDT | Hail 1.5 | Happy, TX | |
| May 29, 11:00 PM CDT | Hail 0.88 | Tulia, TX | |
| May 29, 11:03 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Kaffir, TX | |
| May 29, 11:14 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Tulia, 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 29, 8:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 78 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
- 1786 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1541 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 42 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 177 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 5.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KLBB 300301 RRA TORLBB TXC437-300405- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1001 PM CDT THU MAY 29 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LUBBOCK TX HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1105 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE ...SWISHER COUNTY AT 1000 PM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY LUBBOCK DOPPLER RADAR 19 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF TULIA OR 4 MILES NORTH OF HAPPY MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THE FOLLOWING LOCATION IS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO... HAPPY. 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 BAS@EMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SAFETY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. VALDEZ &
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 29, 7:52 PM CDT, 2 hours 9 minutes before
TXZ021>025-027>031-033>037-039>043-300255- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 752 PM CDT THU MAY 29 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM FOR ALL OF THE SOUTH PLAINS...PORTIONS OF THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE AND PORTIONS OF THE LOW ROLLING PLAINS... THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 2 AM FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WEST TEXAS PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER- BRISCOE-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE-FLOYD-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-HALL-MOTLEY-DICKENS AND KENT. SOME CITIES AND COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE LUBBOCK...PLAINVIEW...FRIONA...DIMMITT...TULIA...SILVERTON... MULESHOE...LITTLEFIELD...FLOYDADA...MORTON...LEVELLAND...CROSBYTON... DENVER CITY...BROWNFIELD...TAHOKA...POST...JAYTON...DICKENS... MATADOR AND ESTELLINE. AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS IS IN PLACE OVER THE AREA. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WIND AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA THROUGH THIS EVENING. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SEVERE WEATHER OR TORNADOES ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. RESIDENTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND REMAIN INFORMED THIS EVENING BY LISTENING TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO...COMMERCIAL OR CABLE TELEVISION FOR THE LASTEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. EOS
Local storm report, May 29, 8:26 PM CDT, 1 hour 35 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX
826 PM CDT THU MAY 29 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0821 PM ODONNELL TX .75 INCH HAIL
05/29/97 LYNN PUBLIC REPORTED MARBLE TO
DIME SIZE HAIL COVERING
GROUNDSpecial weather statement, May 29, 9:47 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
TXZ021>044-300450- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 947 PM CDT THU MAY 29 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM FOR ALL OF THE SOUTH PLAINS...PORTIONS OF THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE AND PORTIONS OF THE LOW ROLLING PLAINS... ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM FOR THE EASTERN LOW ROLLING PLAINS... A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WEST TEXAS PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-BAILEY-LAMB- HALE-FLOYD-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA- HALL-MOTLEY-DICKENS AND KENT. SOME CITIES AND COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE LUBBOCK...PLAINVIEW...FRIONA...DIMMITT...TULIA...SILVERTON... MULESHOE...LITTLEFIELD...FLOYDADA...MORTON...LEVELLAND...CROSBYTON... DENVER CITY...BROWNFIELD...TAHOKA...POST...JAYTON...DICKENS... MATADOR AND ESTELLINE. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED FOR CHILDRESS- COTTLE-KING-AND STONEWALL COUNTIES UNTIL 4 AM CDT. COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDE CHILDRESS... PADUCAH...GUTHRIE...AND ASPERMONT. REMEMBER...A WATCH MEANS THAT SEVERE WEATHER IS FAVORABLE AND POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SEVERE WEATHER IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. RESIDENTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND REMAIN INFORMED THIS EVENING BY LISTENING TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO... LOCAL RADIO...COMMERCIAL OR CABLE TELEVISION FOR THE LASTEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. EOS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Lubbock, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 7:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Lynn | 51 min |
| May 29, 8:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Garza, Lynn | 46 min |
| May 29, 10:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Parmer | 64 min |
| May 29, 10:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Briscoe, Hall | 65 min |
| May 29, 10:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Swisher | 46 min |
| May 29, 11:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Castro | 64 min |
| May 29, 11:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Lamb | 64 min |
| May 29, 11:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Swisher | 31 min |
| May 30, 12:40 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Lamb | 30 min |
| May 30, 1:40 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Swisher | 35 min |
| May 30, 2:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Swisher | 34 min |
| May 30, 2:34 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Hale | 61 min |
| May 30, 3:40 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Floyd | 35 min |
| May 30, 3:45 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | LUB | Hale | 30 min |
| May 30, 3:49 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | LUB | Floyd | 31 min |
| May 30, 3:54 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | LUB | Crosby | 31 min |
| May 30, 4:23 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Crosby | 47 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.