Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 504

June 22, 199733 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 22, 1997, 2:15 PM CDT for 33 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 22, 1997, 2:15 PM CDT (19:15 UTC)
Expired
Jun 22, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 33 counties

Anderson County, TX, Archer County, TX, Baylor County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Clay County, TX, Collin County, TX, Cooke County, TX, Dallas County, TX, Denton County, TX, Ellis County, TX, Freestone County, TX, Grayson County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hill County, TX, Hood County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Jack County, TX, Johnson County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Montague County, TX, Nacogdoches County, TX, Navarro County, TX, Palo Pinto County, TX, Parker County, TX, Rains County, TX, Rockwall County, TX, Rusk County, TX, Smith County, TX, Somervell County, TX, Tarrant County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX, Wise County, TX, Young County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:14 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 22, 2:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDParker62 min
Jun 22, 3:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDJack, Wise70 min
Jun 22, 3:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDallas, Tarrant55 min
Jun 22, 3:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNArcher, Clay46 min
Jun 22, 3:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMontague55 min
Jun 22, 3:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDenton62 min
Jun 22, 4:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNClay, Wichita40 min
Jun 22, 4:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin49 min
Jun 22, 4:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCooke, Grayson67 min
Jun 22, 4:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDelta, Hunt, Lamar66 min
Jun 22, 4:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin62 min
Jun 22, 5:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDGrayson58 min

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 45 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-06-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 160 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 1997-06-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -56 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
160 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-56 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-89 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.

528 
WWUS9 KMKC 221856
SEL4  
MKC WW 221856
TXZ000-230000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 504
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
156 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 1997

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

   NORTH TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 215 PM UNTIL 700
PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 1/2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES NORTH OF MINERAL WELLS TEXAS TO 55 MILES
SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF TYLER 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 501...WW 502...WW 503...

DISCUSSION...POTENTIAL FOR A FEW BRIEF TORNADOES THIS AFTERNOON IN
NORTHEAST QUADRANT OF EJECTING CENTRAL TEXAS UPPER LOW...WHERE LOW
LEVEL FLOW HAS BACKED TO A SELY COMPONENT AND DEWPOINTS ARE IN THE
MID 70S.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 1/2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 18025.


...CORFIDI

335,0962 313,0941 313,0971 335,0993

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.