Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 50

February 20, 199749 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 20, 1997, 3:30 PM CST for 49 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 20, 1997, 3:30 PM CST (21:30 UTC)
Expired
Feb 20, 1997, 9:00 PM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 49 counties

Anderson County, TX, Angelina County, TX, Bowie County, TX, Brazoria County, TX, Camp County, TX, Cass County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Delta County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Franklin County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Gregg County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Harrison County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hopkins County, TX, Houston County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Leon County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Madison County, TX, Marion County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Morris County, TX, Nacogdoches County, TX, Orange County, TX, Panola County, TX, Polk County, TX, Rains County, TX, Red River County, TX, Rusk County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Smith County, TX, Titus County, TX, Trinity County, TX, Tyler County, TX, Upshur County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX, Walker County, TX, Wood County, TX

The radar

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:31 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 20, 3:59 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXMadison2 hr
Feb 20, 4:15 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDHopkins, Rains4 hr
Feb 20, 4:15 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDDelta4 hr
Feb 20, 4:25 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXMontgomery, Walker3 hr
Feb 20, 4:25 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXHouston3 hr
Feb 20, 4:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXFort Bend, Harris58 min
Feb 20, 5:00 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVCamp, Smith, Upshur, Wood4 hr
Feb 20, 5:00 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVFranklin, Red River, Titus4 hr
Feb 20, 5:00 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVCherokee4 hr
Feb 20, 5:05 PM CSTTornado WarningSHVCass40 min
Feb 20, 5:52 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCamp, Morris, Upshur38 min
Feb 20, 5:52 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVTitus38 min
Feb 20, 6:04 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVCass, Harrison, Marion4 hr
Feb 20, 6:04 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVGregg, Rusk4 hr
Feb 20, 6:04 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVBowie4 hr
Feb 20, 6:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCass, Harrison, Marion60 min
Feb 20, 6:27 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDLamar4 hr
Feb 20, 6:35 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHGXLiberty, Polk115 min
Feb 20, 6:43 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVMorris3 hr
Feb 20, 6:51 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBowie54 min
Feb 20, 7:00 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDHenderson, Van Zandt5 hr
Feb 20, 7:30 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVAngelina, Nacogdoches3 hr
Feb 20, 7:56 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDHopkins, Rains5 hr
Feb 20, 7:56 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDDelta5 hr
Feb 20, 7:58 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDHopkins, Rains5 hr
Feb 20, 7:58 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDDelta5 hr
Feb 20, 7:59 PM CSTTornado WarningSHVShelby31 min
Feb 20, 8:48 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDLamar4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 128 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 1997-02-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 271 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 1997-02-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 164 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
271 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
501 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
209 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 19, 9:45 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAtascosa, Bandera, Bee, Bexar, Crockett, Dimmit and 18 more5 hr
Feb 20, 5:00 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAtascosa, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque and 56 more6 hr
Feb 20, 11:00 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAnderson, Bell, Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet and 34 more6 hr
Feb 20, 11:00 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAtascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bexar, Blanco and 32 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 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.