Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 404

June 11, 19977 counties in Oklahoma; 27 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 11, 1997, 4:00 PM CDT for 7 counties in Oklahoma; 27 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 11, 1997, 4:00 PM CDT (21:00 UTC)
Expired
Jun 11, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 34 counties

Beckham County, OK, Custer County, OK, Greer County, OK, Harmon County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Washita County, OK, Armstrong County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Childress County, TX, Cochran County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Cottle County, TX, Crosby County, TX, Dickens County, TX, Donley County, TX, Floyd County, TX, Foard County, TX, Garza County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hardeman County, TX, Hockley County, TX, Kent County, TX, King County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Lubbock County, TX, Lynn County, TX, Motley County, TX, Swisher County, TX, Terry County, TX, Wheeler County, TX, Yoakum County, TX

The radar

The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:04 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 11, 4:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBHockley51 min
Jun 11, 5:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBHale63 min
Jun 11, 5:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBLubbock63 min
Jun 11, 5:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHemphill, Wheeler57 min
Jun 11, 5:56 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAWheeler34 min
Jun 11, 6:32 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAWheeler28 min
Jun 11, 6:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLUBHale2 hr
Jun 11, 7:00 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningAMAWheeler4 hr
Jun 11, 7:04 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAWheeler56 min
Jun 11, 7:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBHockley, Lubbock63 min
Jun 11, 7:21 PM CDTTornado WarningAMACollingsworth69 min
Jun 11, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBLynn, Terry64 min
Jun 11, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCrosby, Garza62 min
Jun 11, 7:59 PM CDTTornado WarningAMACollingsworth, Wheeler61 min
Jun 11, 8:42 PM CDTTornado WarningLUBChildress63 min
Jun 11, 8:44 PM CDTTornado WarningAMADonley, Gray61 min
Jun 11, 9:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACollingsworth, Wheeler58 min
Jun 11, 9:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningAMACollingsworth, Wheeler4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 143 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-06-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1323 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-06-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 295 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
1323 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-121 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
625 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
295 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
363 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
9.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

698 
WWUS9 KMKC 112017
SEL4  
MKC WW 112017
OKZ000-TXZ000-120300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 404
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
317 PM CDT WED JUN 11 1997

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

   SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA                           
   NORTHWEST TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 400 PM UNTIL
1000 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 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF LUBBOCK TEXAS TO 35
MILES NORTHWEST OF CLINTON OKLAHOMA.

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 402...WW 403...

DISCUSSION...DRY LINE ACROSS WESTERN TX PANHANDLE WITH VERY
UNSTABLE AIRMASS EWD.  EXPECT RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG/E OF DRY LINE NEXT HOUR OR TWO WITH WIND
PROFILES FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS AND ISOLD TORNADOS.


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
600.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030.


...HALES

324,1033 354,1010 354,0981 324,1005

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 11, 3:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBeaver, Dewey, Ellis, Harper, Roger Mills, Woods and 1 more6 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.