Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 338
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Harrison | 44 min |
| May 27, 1:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | McLennan | 39 min |
| May 27, 1:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Falls | 43 min |
| May 27, 1:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Falls | 33 min |
| May 27, 1:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Bell | 42 min |
| May 27, 2:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Hill, Navarro | 60 min |
| May 27, 2:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Rusk | 45 min |
| May 27, 2:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Bell | 45 min |
| May 27, 2:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Harrison | 62 min |
| May 27, 3:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Navarro | 45 min |
| May 27, 3:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Marion | 52 min |
| May 27, 3:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Bell | 45 min |
| May 27, 3:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Williamson | 60 min |
| May 27, 3:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Hill, Limestone | 54 min |
| May 27, 3:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Harrison | 48 min |
| May 27, 3:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Freestone, Navarro | 47 min |
| May 27, 4:08 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SHV | Harrison | 3 hr |
| May 27, 4:28 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Limestone | 47 min |
| May 27, 4:32 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EWX | Travis, Williamson | 118 min |
| May 27, 4:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Williamson | 68 min |
| May 27, 4:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Harrison | 53 min |
| May 27, 4:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Panola | 59 min |
| May 27, 5:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Caddo | 45 min |
| May 27, 5:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Freestone | 55 min |
| May 27, 5:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Limestone, McLennan | 61 min |
| May 27, 5:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Falls, Leon, Robertson | 69 min |
| May 27, 5:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | De Soto | 61 min |
| May 27, 5:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Bossier | 48 min |
| May 27, 6:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Harrison | 54 min |
| May 27, 6:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Webster | 50 min |
| May 27, 6:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Limestone | 30 min |
| May 27, 6:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Bienville | 67 min |
| May 27, 6:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Robertson | 51 min |
| May 27, 6:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Shelby | 54 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.
- 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
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 8:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Fannin and 13 more | 5 hr |
| May 27, 1:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bowie, Camp, Cass, Collin, Dallas, Delta and 15 more | 5 hr |
| May 27, 2:45 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cass | 5 hr |
| May 27, 3:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bowie, Cass, Morris | 6 hr |
| May 27, 3:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Brazos and 31 more | 6 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.