Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Springfield, MO

April 20, 1997Greene County, Lawrence County, Missouri

NWS Springfield, MO issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 1997, 7:21 PM CDT for Greene County, Lawrence County, Missouri. It was in force for 49 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
Apr 20, 1997, 7:21 PM CDT (00:21 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 1997, 8:10 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Springfield, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Greene County, MO, Lawrence County, MO

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 18 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:24 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
Apr 20, 7:45 PM CDTHail 0.75Ash Grove, MO
Apr 20, 8:07 PM CDTHail 1.75Mt Vernon, MO
Apr 20, 8:15 PM CDTHail 0.75Lawrenceburg, MO
Apr 20, 8:15 PM CDTHail 0.75Ash Grove, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 20, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 37 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 1997-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 320 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1997-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 224 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
320 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1699 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
224 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
390 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
4.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSGF 210021 RRA
TORSGF
MOC077-109-210110-

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

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  WESTERN GREENE COUNTY - SOUTHWEST MISSOURI
  NORTHERN LAWRENCE COUNTY - SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

* UNTIL 810 PM CDT
 
* SOME AREAS AFFECTED
  LAWRENCEBURG BY 730
  HALLTOWN BY 730
  I-44 NORTH OF REPUBLIC BY 740 PM.

* AT 720 PM SPRINGFIELD DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING
  TORNADO ALONG THE DADE AND LAWRENCE COUNTY BORDER NORTHWEST
  OF HALLTOWN..  THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

AT THE PRESENT TIME THIS TORNADIC STORM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN WEST
OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR
BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID
WINDOWS.

RUNNELS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 20, 7:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFCedar36 min
Apr 20, 7:26 PM CDTTornado WarningSGFDallas49 min
Apr 20, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFJasper34 min
Apr 20, 7:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFPolk50 min
Apr 20, 7:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFMcDonald63 min
Apr 20, 7:45 PM CDTTornado WarningSGFPhelps, Texas50 min
Apr 20, 7:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFLaclede65 min
Apr 20, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFBarry, Lawrence49 min
Apr 20, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFGreene49 min
Apr 20, 8:20 PM CDTTornado WarningSGFDent50 min
Apr 20, 8:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFChristian, Stone50 min
Apr 20, 8:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFWebster49 min
Apr 20, 8:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFBarry34 min
Apr 20, 9:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFDouglas, Taney61 min
Apr 20, 9:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFChristian65 min
Apr 20, 9:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFWright65 min
Apr 20, 9:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFHowell, Texas45 min
Apr 20, 9:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFOzark47 min
Apr 20, 10:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFHowell46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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.