Alert archive / New Mexico / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 140, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 28, 1997, 5:03 PM MDT for Lea County, New Mexico. It was in force for 47 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 28, 1997, 5:03 PM MDT (23:03 UTC)
- Expired
- May 28, 1997, 5:50 PM MDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lea County, NM
The radar
The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 149 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:04 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 5:08 PM MDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Eunice, NM | The storm that hit Hobbs continued to the southeast with other cells developing on its western flank. One of these cells had downbursting winds that knocked down 3 utility poles along State Highway 18 north of Eunice. The poles were blown from east to west. |
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 28, 4:15 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 147 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
- 927 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -81 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 734 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 53 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 156 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 6.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMAF 282304 RRA SVRMAF NMC025-282350- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX 603 PM CDT (503 PM MDT) WED MAY 28 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND TX HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 550 PM MDT (650 PM CDT) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO ...NORTHERN AND SOUTHEASTERN LEA COUNTY AT 501 PM MDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY MIDLAND DOPPLER RADAR 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF TATUM MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE... TATUM... GLADIOLA AND MCDONALD. ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF EUNICE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. TAH/RRF
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.
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 28, 1:37 PM MDT, 3 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 28, 1:37 PM MDT, 3 hours 26 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX 236 PM CDT WED MAY 28 1997 KMAF 88D SHOWS WDLY SCT TSRA FIRING OVER DAVIS MTNS ATTM. NEARLY BKN CU FIELD OVER NRN PERMIAN BASIN INDICATES CAP LONG GONE. WITH SUCH WIDESPREAD OVERTURNING AND A LACK OF ANY CLEAR SFC BNDY...EXPECT WEAK...WDLY SCT TSRA (AT BEST) OVER PERMIAN BASIN TNGT. BETTER CHC OF ORGANIZED CONVECTION OMTNS. THIS TSRA SHOULD PROPAGATE SE WITH NW FLOW ALOFT. GOOD DIRECTIONAL SHEAR WITH E-SE SFC FLOW...AND CAPES APPROACHING 2000 J/KG ATTM SUGGEST SVR WX PSBL WITH TSRA THAT PUSH OFF MTNS INTO HIER DWPTS THIS EVE (SEE SWODY1). BIG QUESTION IS HOW FAR STORMS WILL PROPAGATE FROM MTNS. APPEARS SUSTAINED CONVECTION MORE LIKELY N OF FA AHEAD OF SPEED MAX DIVING SE OVER SRN CO/NRN NM. CLOSER TO HOME...15Z RUC INDICATES THETA-E AXIS HUGGING DAVIS/GDP MOUNTAINS THIS EVE...WHICH SUGGESTS STORMS WOULD NOT LIKELY LAST LONG AFTER PUSHING OFF MTNS THIS FAR S. WILL KEEP CHC POPS INVOF MTNS AND SLGT CHC ELSEWHERE. WENT CLOSE TO WARMER FWC LOWS AS MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW WILL KEEP DWPTS UP OVERNIGHT. COULD SEE SOME PATCHY MRNG LOW CLDS ERN ZONES. COORDINATED WITH LBB. MAF 62/88 2/1 CNM 62/91 3/1 MRF 57/85 3/1 P07 064/92 -/1 TJT
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 28, 4:25 PM MDT, 38 minutes before
TXZ045>054-059>073-290300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX 524 PM CDT (424 PM MDT) WED MAY 28 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT FOR THE PERMIAN BASIN OF TEXAS AND LEA COUNTY IN NEW MEXICO THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 10 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WEST TEXAS...GAINES-DAWSON-BORDEN- ANDREWS-MARTIN-HOWARD-LOVING-WINKLER-ECTOR-MIDLAND-GLASSCOCK... AND FOR LEA COUNTY IN NEW MEXICO. SOME CITIES AND COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE MIDLAND...ODESSA...HOBBS...LOVINGTON...LAMESA...SEMINOLE...ANDREWS BIG SPRING...WINK...AND KERMIT. 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 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 CA BLE TELEVISION FOR THE LASTEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, May 28, 4:25 PM MDT, 38 minutes before
TXZ045>054-059>073-290300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX 524 PM CDT (424 PM MDT) WED MAY 28 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT FOR THE PERMIAN BASIN OF TEXAS AND LEA COUNTY IN NEW MEXICO THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 10 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WEST TEXAS...GAINES-DAWSON-BORDEN- ANDREWS-MARTIN-HOWARD-LOVING-WINKLER-ECTOR-MIDLAND-GLASSCOCK... AND FOR LEA COUNTY IN NEW MEXICO. SOME CITIES AND COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE MIDLAND...ODESSA...HOBBS...LOVINGTON...LAMESA...SEMINOLE...ANDREWS BIG SPRING...WINK...AND KERMIT. 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 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.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 3:37 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Lea | 43 min |
| May 28, 3:54 PM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | MAF | Lea | 61 min |
| May 28, 4:17 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Lea | 48 min |
| May 28, 5:50 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Lea | 45 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New Mexico, 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.