Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Springfield, MO

April 20, 1997Barton County, Dade County, Missouri

NWS Springfield, MO issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 1997, 6:40 PM CDT for Barton County, Dade County, Missouri. It was in force for 50 min. 5 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: Apr 20, 1997, 6:40 PM CDT (23:40 UTC)
Expired: Apr 20, 1997, 7:30 PM CDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Springfield, MO
Area: Whole counties

Counties Barton County, MO, Dade County, MO

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:44 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
Apr 20, 6:40 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Lockwood, MO
Apr 20, 6:45 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Golden City, MO
Apr 20, 7:00 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Greenfield, MO
Apr 20, 7:20 PM CDT	Hail 1	Golden City, MO
Apr 20, 7:30 PM CDT	Hail 1	Everton, MO

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
Apr 20, 3:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 68 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: 2121 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 215 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

372 
WFUS1 KSGF 202341 RRA
TORSGF
MOC011-057-210030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
640 PM CDT SUN APR 20 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  EASTERN BARTON COUNTY - SOUTHWEST MISSOURI
  DADE COUNTY - SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT
 
* SOME AREAS AFFECTED
  KENOMA THROUGH 650 PM
  GOLDEN CITY BY 650 PM
  LOCKWOOD BY 700 PM

* AT 638 PM SPRINGFIELD DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO
  7 SOUTHEAST OF LAMAR.  THIS STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.
 
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.

&
JDG/GJ

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 20, 4:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	St. Clair	48 min
Apr 20, 5:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SGF	St. Clair	34 min
Apr 20, 5:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Benton	66 min
Apr 20, 5:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SGF	Benton	51 min
Apr 20, 5:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Hickory, St. Clair	48 min
Apr 20, 5:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Barton, Dade	64 min
Apr 20, 6:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SGF	Hickory	47 min
Apr 20, 6:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Newton	48 min
Apr 20, 6:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SGF	Camden	47 min
Apr 20, 6:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Benton, St. Clair	35 min
Apr 20, 6:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Dallas, Hickory, Polk	47 min
Apr 20, 6:58 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SGF	Pulaski	47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.