Alert archive / New Mexico / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 401

June 10, 199712 counties in New Mexico

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 10, 1997, 4:30 PM MDT for 12 counties in New Mexico. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jun 10, 1997, 4:30 PM MDT (22:30 UTC)
Expired: Jun 10, 1997, 11:00 PM MDT
In force: 7 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Chaves County, NM, Colfax County, NM, Curry County, NM, De Baca County, NM, Guadalupe County, NM, Harding County, NM, Lincoln County, NM, Mora County, NM, Quay County, NM, Roosevelt County, NM, San Miguel County, NM, Union County, NM

The radar

The Cannon AFB radar (KFDX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:30 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 10, 4:45 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	De Baca, Guadalupe	60 min
Jun 10, 5:30 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Colfax	60 min
Jun 10, 5:44 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	De Baca	61 min
Jun 10, 6:11 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Chaves	59 min
Jun 10, 6:34 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Colfax, Harding, Union	61 min
Jun 10, 7:12 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Chaves	58 min
Jun 10, 7:35 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Harding, Union	55 min

The nearest sounding before it

Albuquerq/Krtlnd, NM (KABQ), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 194 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: 21 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -208 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1544 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 68 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

284 
WWUS9 KMKC 102216
SEL1  
MKC WW 102216
NMZ000-110500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 401
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
416 PM MDT TUE JUN 10 1997

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

   EASTERN NEW MEXICO                         

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 430 PM UNTIL 1100
PM MDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ROSWELL NEW MEXICO TO 25 MILES
NORTHEAST OF RATON NEW MEXICO.

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 400...

DISCUSSION...WIDELY SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS
EASTERN NEW MEXICO THIS EVENING AS MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW CONTINUES
BENEATH MODERATE /25 KT/ WNW FLOW ALOFT.  SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE
LOW 60S AND SIGNIFICANT LOW LEVEL VEERING SUGGEST POSSIBILITY OF A
FEW TORNADOES IN ADDITION TO VERY LARGE HAIL. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 30020.


...CORFIDI

330,1053 365,1052 365,1025 330,1030

Nearby

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.