Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Las Vegas, NV
NWS Las Vegas, NV issued this tornado warning at Aug 7, 1997, 6:33 PM PDT for San Bernardino County, California. It was in force for 117 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 7, 1997, 6:33 PM PDT (01:33 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 7, 1997, 8:30 PM PDT
- In force
- 117 min
- Issued by
- NWS Las Vegas, NV
- Area
- Whole counties
County San Bernardino County, CA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 6:33 PM PDT | Tornado F0 | Needles, CA | A Mohave County Deputy Sheriff sighted a tornado briefly touching down in open country near I-40. |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The nearest sounding before it
Edwards AFB, CA (KEDW), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 148 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1240 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -36 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3410 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 63 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 183 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KLAS 080135 RRA TORLAS CAC071-080330- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 633 PM PDT THU AUG 7 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAS VEGAS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM PDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...... IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA ...SOUTHEASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AT 630 PM LAS VEGAS DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR WAS SHOWING A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPING 10 TO 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NEEDLES. THIS WAS PART OF A COMPLEX OF VERY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN EXTREME EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. THIS EXTREMELY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTH AT 10 TO 15 MPH. IT HAS POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES...SEVERE FLASH FLOODING...LARGE HAIL...AND HIGH WINDS GREATER THAN 80 MPH. PERSONS ALONG US 95 FROM NEEDLES TO VIDAL JUNCTION SHOULD USE EXTREME CAUTION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. 0
The office that day
Everything else NWS Las Vegas, NV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 5:28 PM PDT | Tornado Warning | VEF | San Bernardino | 62 min |
| Aug 7, 6:33 PM PDT | Flash Flood Warning | VEF | San Bernardino | 117 min |
| Aug 8, 2:11 PM PDT | Flash Flood Warning | VEF | San Bernardino | 64 min |
| Aug 8, 2:11 PM PDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | VEF | San Bernardino | 64 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in California, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.