Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 757

October 23, 19975 parishes in Louisiana; 24 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 23, 1997, 2:15 PM CDT for 5 parishes in Louisiana; 24 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Oct 23, 1997, 2:15 PM CDT (19:15 UTC)
Expired: Oct 23, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 29 counties

Allen Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Austin County, TX, Brazoria County, TX, Brazos County, TX, Burleson County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Colorado County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Grimes County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Tyler County, TX, Walker County, TX, Waller County, TX, Washington County, TX, Wharton County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:17 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 23, 2:19 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Harris	56 min
Oct 23, 2:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HGX	Liberty	60 min
Oct 23, 2:58 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Grimes, Walker	62 min
Oct 23, 3:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Harris	63 min
Oct 23, 3:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Austin	62 min
Oct 23, 3:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Liberty	62 min
Oct 23, 3:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Waller	55 min
Oct 23, 4:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Harris, Montgomery	67 min
Oct 23, 5:01 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Liberty, San Jacinto	59 min
Oct 23, 5:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Montgomery	63 min
Oct 23, 5:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Tyler	45 min
Oct 23, 5:37 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Polk	68 min
Oct 23, 5:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	San Jacinto	65 min
Oct 23, 5:58 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Liberty	47 min
Oct 23, 6:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Tyler	54 min
Oct 23, 6:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HGX	Polk	35 min
Oct 23, 6:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Tyler	54 min
Oct 23, 7:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Jasper	44 min
Oct 23, 7:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Newton	60 min

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 189 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: 4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -174 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 826 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 151 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.

286 
WWUS9 KMKC 231908
SEL7  
MKC WW 231908
TXZ000-LAZ000-240100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 757
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
208 PM CDT THU OCT 23 1997

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

   SOUTHEAST TEXAS                              
   SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA                          
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 215 PM UNTIL 800
PM CDT.

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF
VERY DAMAGING TORNADOES.  ALSO...LARGE 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 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF COLLEGE STATION
TEXAS TO 25 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF LAKE CHARLES 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...  CONTINUE...WW 755...756.

DISCUSSION...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO INCREASE
OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS NEAR HOUSTON.  THESE STORMS WILL
LIKELY TRACK NORTHEASTWARD AND EVENTUALLY INTO SOUTHWESTERN
LOUISIANA DURING THE EVENING.  FAVORABLE SHEAR PROFILES AND
MODERATE INSTABILITY SUGGEST A THREAT OF SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOES
IN STRONGER ACTIVITY.

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 520. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.


...HART

303,0964 310,0924 292,0924 290,0964

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 23, 2:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Caddo	5 hr
Oct 23, 9:15 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Anderson, Bastrop, Bell, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet and 23 more	6 hr

Nearby

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