Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 259
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 6, 1997, 8:45 PM CDT for Beaver County, Harmon County, Oklahoma; 35 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 6, 1997, 8:45 PM CDT (01:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 7, 1997, 3:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 37 counties
Beaver County, OK, Harmon County, OK, Armstrong County, TX, Bailey County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Carson County, TX, Castro County, TX, Childress County, TX, Cochran County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Cottle County, TX, Deaf Smith County, TX, Donley County, TX, Floyd County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hansford County, TX, Hartley County, TX, Hemphill County, TX, Hockley County, TX, Hutchinson County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Lipscomb County, TX, Lubbock County, TX, Moore County, TX, Motley County, TX, Ochiltree County, TX, Oldham County, TX, Parmer County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Roberts County, TX, Sherman County, TX, Swisher County, TX, Wheeler County, TX, Yoakum County, TX
The radar
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 11 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:46 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
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 8:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Moore | 45 min |
| May 6, 9:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Castro | 65 min |
| May 6, 9:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Hansford, Hutchinson, Moore | 60 min |
| May 6, 9:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Gray | 29 min |
| May 6, 9:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Swisher | 64 min |
| May 6, 9:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Hale | 63 min |
| May 6, 10:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Carson, Gray, Roberts | 60 min |
| May 6, 10:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Wheeler | 62 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 11 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
- 1294 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1869 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 55 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 165 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 365 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 14.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
421 WWUS9 KMKC 070121 SEL9 MKC WW 070121 TXZ000-070800- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 259 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 821 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 1997 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR ALL OR PORTIONS OF THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 845 PM UNTIL 300 AM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 105 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF PLAINVIEW TEXAS TO 45 MILES SOUTH OF GAGE OKLAHOMA. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 255...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 257. WATCH NUMBER 255...257 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 845 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 256...WW 258... 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. DISCUSSION...SEVERAL CLUSTERS OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY IN REGION OF VERY UNSTABLE AIR WITH CAPES NEAR 3000 J/KG. ACTIVITY IS AHEAD OF APPROACHING UPPER VORT AXIS WITH WIND SHEAR FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 3/4 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28035. ...ROGASH 360,1025 371,0994 340,0994 330,1025
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 15 more | 5 hr |
| May 7, 4:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Ellis and 13 more | 6 hr |
| May 7, 5:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Cotton, Tillman | 6 hr |
| May 7, 6:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Craig, Kay, Mayes, Noble, Nowata, Osage and 7 more | 6 hr |
| May 6, 8:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Andrews, Borden, Coke, Concho, Crane, Dawson and 27 more | 6 hr |
| May 7, 6:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress and 20 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Texas, 1997Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 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.