Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 381

June 2, 19976 counties in New Mexico; 13 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 2, 1997, 5:30 PM MDT for 6 counties in New Mexico; 13 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jun 2, 1997, 5:30 PM MDT (23:30 UTC)
Expired: Jun 2, 1997, 11:00 PM MDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Colfax County, NM, Harding County, NM, Mora County, NM, Quay County, NM, San Miguel County, NM, Union County, NM, Armstrong County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Carson County, TX, Dallam County, TX, Deaf Smith County, TX, Hartley County, TX, Hutchinson County, TX, Moore County, TX, Oldham County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Roberts County, TX, Sherman County, TX

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 2, 6:16 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Colfax	44 min
Jun 2, 6:59 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Colfax	31 min

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 177 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 673 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -438 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1416 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 242 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 268 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

893 
WWUS9 KMKC 022256
SEL1  
MKC WW 022256
NMZ000-TXZ000-030500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 381
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
556 PM CDT MON JUN 2 1997

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

   NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO                         
   TEXAS PANHANDLE                              

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 630 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 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 60 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF RATON NEW MEXICO TO 50
MILES EAST OF AMARILLO 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 378...WW 379...WW 380...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE INCREASING OVER NE NM IN MOIST
SOUTHEASTERLY UPSLOPE FLOW. OUTFLOW BOUNDARY EXTENDS EASTWARD INTO
THE TEXAS PANHANDLE AND EXPECT STORMS TO MOVE ESE ALONG AND NORTH
OF THE BOUNDARY ON THE N EDGE OF THE CAP. VEERING WINDS WITH HEIGHT
ALONG WITH INCREASING MID LVL FLOW INDICATE A THREAT FOR
SUPERCELLS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28025.


...VESCIO

370,1050 360,1004 342,1004 352,1050

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 1997 Tornado Watches in New Mexico, 1997 Every 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.