Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 150

April 10, 199741 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 10, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT for 41 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 10, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired
Apr 10, 1997, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 41 counties

Andrews County, TX, Bailey County, TX, Borden County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Castro County, TX, Cochran County, TX, Coke County, TX, Crane County, TX, Crosby County, TX, Dawson County, TX, Dickens County, TX, Ector County, TX, Fisher County, TX, Floyd County, TX, Gaines County, TX, Garza County, TX, Glasscock County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hockley County, TX, Howard County, TX, Irion County, TX, Kent County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Lubbock County, TX, Lynn County, TX, Martin County, TX, Midland County, TX, Mitchell County, TX, Motley County, TX, Nolan County, TX, Parmer County, TX, Reagan County, TX, Scurry County, TX, Sterling County, TX, Stonewall County, TX, Swisher County, TX, Terry County, TX, Tom Green County, TX, Upton County, TX, Yoakum County, TX

The radar

The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:46 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.

Warnings issued inside it

27 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 10, 3:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCastro34 min
Apr 10, 4:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFGaines65 min
Apr 10, 4:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCastro, Lamb49 min
Apr 10, 4:54 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBCastro, Swisher66 min
Apr 10, 5:14 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFGaines36 min
Apr 10, 5:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFAndrews57 min
Apr 10, 5:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBHale63 min
Apr 10, 5:50 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFDawson60 min
Apr 10, 6:03 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBHale, Swisher32 min
Apr 10, 6:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBTerry66 min
Apr 10, 6:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBLynn48 min
Apr 10, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCastro65 min
Apr 10, 6:38 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBSwisher62 min
Apr 10, 6:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBLamb65 min
Apr 10, 6:50 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBLynn65 min
Apr 10, 7:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBTerry32 min
Apr 10, 7:38 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBSwisher62 min
Apr 10, 7:47 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBHale, Lamb48 min
Apr 10, 7:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBHockley, Lubbock36 min
Apr 10, 7:52 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLUBSwisher3 hr
Apr 10, 7:55 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBLynn50 min
Apr 10, 8:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBLubbock62 min
Apr 10, 8:26 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBGarza64 min
Apr 10, 8:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBLamb60 min
Apr 10, 8:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBSwisher61 min
Apr 10, 8:55 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBHale20 min
Apr 10, 8:59 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBLubbock36 min

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 165 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-04-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 265 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-04-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 157 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
265 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-245 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
579 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

493 
WWUS9 KMKC 101908
SEL0  
MKC WW 101908
TXZ000-110200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 150
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
208 PM CDT THU APR 10 1997

A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR

   LARGE PART OF WEST TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL 900 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH OF PLAINVIEW TEXAS TO 65 MILES WEST
SOUTHWEST OF SAN ANGELO TEXAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
$$

C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 3
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 65 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 520.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 23030.

D...CAP HAS ERODED SUFLY TO ALLOW INITIATION OF STG/SVR TSTMS NEXT
HR ALG NM/TX BORDER WHERE AMS IS QUITE UNSTBL.  CAPES AOA 2000 J/KG
AVBL THIS AREA.  INITIAL DVLPMNT APPEARS TO LCTD BTWN MAF-INK WITH
ADDITIONAL DVLPMNT NWD TO COLD FRONT DROPPING SWD ACRS NERN NM/TX
PNHDL.  WIND PROFILES FAVOR SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOS ALG WITH LRG
HAIL.

...HALES

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 1997Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.