Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 338

May 27, 199712 parishes in Louisiana; 39 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 27, 1997, 1:15 PM CDT for 12 parishes in Louisiana; 39 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 27, 1997, 1:15 PM CDT (18:15 UTC)
Expired
May 27, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 51 counties

Bienville Parish, LA, Bossier Parish, LA, Caddo Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Webster Parish, LA, Anderson County, TX, Angelina County, TX, Bell County, TX, Brazos County, TX, Camp County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Falls County, TX, Freestone County, TX, Gregg County, TX, Harrison County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Houston County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Leon County, TX, Limestone County, TX, Madison County, TX, Marion County, TX, McLennan County, TX, Milam County, TX, Nacogdoches County, TX, Navarro County, TX, Newton County, TX, Panola County, TX, Polk County, TX, Rains County, TX, Robertson County, TX, Rusk County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Smith County, TX, Trinity County, TX, Tyler County, TX, Upshur County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX, Walker County, TX, Williamson County, TX, Wood County, TX

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 27, 1:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVHarrison44 min
May 27, 1:21 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDMcLennan39 min
May 27, 1:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFalls43 min
May 27, 1:42 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDFalls33 min
May 27, 1:48 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDBell42 min
May 27, 2:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHill, Navarro60 min
May 27, 2:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVRusk45 min
May 27, 2:30 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDBell45 min
May 27, 2:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVHarrison62 min
May 27, 3:00 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDNavarro45 min
May 27, 3:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVMarion52 min
May 27, 3:15 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDBell45 min
May 27, 3:30 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXWilliamson60 min
May 27, 3:36 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDHill, Limestone54 min
May 27, 3:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVHarrison48 min
May 27, 3:43 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDFreestone, Navarro47 min
May 27, 4:08 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningSHVHarrison3 hr
May 27, 4:28 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDLimestone47 min
May 27, 4:32 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXTravis, Williamson118 min
May 27, 4:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXWilliamson68 min
May 27, 4:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVHarrison53 min
May 27, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVPanola59 min
May 27, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCaddo45 min
May 27, 5:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFreestone55 min
May 27, 5:14 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDLimestone, McLennan61 min
May 27, 5:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFalls, Leon, Robertson69 min
May 27, 5:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVDe Soto61 min
May 27, 5:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBossier48 min
May 27, 6:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVHarrison54 min
May 27, 6:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVWebster50 min
May 27, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDLimestone30 min
May 27, 6:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBienville67 min
May 27, 6:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDRobertson51 min
May 27, 6:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVShelby54 min

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 205 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-05-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1358 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-05-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 137 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1358 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-154 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
824 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

797 
WWUS9 KMKC 271754
SEL8  
MKC WW 271754
TXZ000-LAZ000-280000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 338
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1254 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EAST TEXAS                              
   WESTERN LOUISIANA                          

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 115 PM UNTIL 700
PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 1/2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 125 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES EAST OF COLLEGE STATION TEXAS TO 40 MILES
NORTH NORTHWEST OF SHREVEPORT LOUISIANA.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 336...WW 337...

DISCUSSION...VERY LARGE HAIL/LOCALLY DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED
TORNADOES POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON IN VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS /CAPE
TO 5000 J/KG/ OVER REGION.  ANY TORNADOES WILL LIKELY BE CONFINED
TO BOUNDARY INTERSECTIONS GIVEN COMPARATIVELY WEAK VERTICAL SHEAR. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 1/2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27020.


...CORFIDI

303,0980 325,0961 325,0915 303,0935

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 26, 8:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCCollin, Cooke, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Fannin and 13 more5 hr
May 27, 1:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBowie, Camp, Cass, Collin, Dallas, Delta and 15 more5 hr
May 27, 2:45 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCCass5 hr
May 27, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBowie, Cass, Morris6 hr
May 27, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAtascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Brazos and 31 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 1997Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 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.