Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 756

October 23, 1997Caddo Parish, Louisiana; 33 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 23, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT for Caddo Parish, Louisiana; 33 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 23, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired
Oct 23, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 34 counties

Caddo Parish, LA, Anderson County, TX, Angelina County, TX, Bell County, TX, Bosque County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Coryell County, TX, Ellis County, TX, Falls County, TX, Freestone County, TX, Gregg County, TX, Hamilton County, TX, Harrison County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hill County, TX, Houston County, TX, Johnson County, TX, Leon County, TX, Limestone County, TX, Madison County, TX, McLennan County, TX, Milam County, TX, Nacogdoches County, TX, Navarro County, TX, Panola County, TX, Robertson County, TX, Rusk County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Smith County, TX, Somervell County, TX, Trinity County, TX, Williamson County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:48 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 23, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDHill45 min
Oct 23, 3:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis57 min
Oct 23, 3:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBosque, Hill61 min
Oct 23, 3:51 PM CDTTornado WarningHGXTrinity69 min
Oct 23, 4:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDNavarro67 min
Oct 23, 4:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBosque, Hill60 min
Oct 23, 4:49 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFWDHill, Navarro116 min
Oct 23, 4:49 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFWDBosque116 min
Oct 23, 4:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVSmith55 min
Oct 23, 5:12 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDAnderson33 min
Oct 23, 5:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHenderson26 min
Oct 23, 5:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCherokee67 min
Oct 23, 5:46 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVCherokee59 min
Oct 23, 5:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDNavarro53 min
Oct 23, 6:10 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVShelby35 min
Oct 23, 6:17 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVAngelina43 min
Oct 23, 6:36 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFWDNavarro84 min
Oct 23, 6:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFreestone62 min
Oct 23, 6:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDNavarro29 min
Oct 23, 6:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVSmith43 min
Oct 23, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDAnderson68 min
Oct 23, 7:50 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVShelby40 min
Oct 23, 7:50 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVSabine40 min
Oct 23, 8:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston60 min
Oct 23, 8:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCherokee45 min

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 141 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 1997-10-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-10-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 219 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
739 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
269 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.

208 
WWUS9 KMKC 231901
SEL6  
MKC WW 231901
TXZ000-240100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 756
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
201 PM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

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

   CENTRAL AND EASTERN TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 245 PM UNTIL 800
PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 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 60 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF TEMPLE TEXAS TO 40
MILES SOUTH OF SHREVEPORT LOUISIANA.

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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 755.  WATCH NUMBER 755 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 245 PM
CDT.

DISCUSSION...SEVERAL AREAS OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACRS
CENTRAL/EASTERN TEXAS AT THIS TIME.  APPROACHING MID/UPPER LEVEL
JET MAX SHOULD FURTHER INCREASE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND
TORNADOES DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25040.


...HART

321,0981 324,0934 310,0934 303,0981

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 23, 2:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis6 hr
Oct 23, 9:15 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAnderson, Bastrop, Bell, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet and 23 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 1997Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 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.