Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

April 28, 1999Andrews County, Gaines County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 1999, 9:58 PM CDT for Andrews County, Gaines County, Texas. It was in force for 47 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued: Apr 28, 1999, 9:58 PM CDT (02:58 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 1999, 10:45 PM CDT
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Andrews County, TX, Gaines County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:00 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 28, 6:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 62 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: 1227 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2480 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 56 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 103 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

999 
WFUS1 KMAF 290300 RRA
TORMAF
TXC003-165-290345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND-ODESSA TX
958 PM CDT WED APR 28 1999

THE MIDLAND-ODESSA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN ANDREWS COUNTY IN TEXAS
  SOUTHEASTERN GAINES COUNTY IN TEXAS

* UNTIL 1045 PM CDT

* AT 955 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER CENTRAL ANDREWS 
  COUNTY...ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF ANDREWS...MOVING NORTHEAST 
  AT 25 MPH.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE ALSO LIKELY WITH THIS
STORM.

LAT...LON 3239 10261 3231 10246 3245 10232 3261 10221
          3271 10238

DJK

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 28, 7:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 28, 7:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
741 PM CDT WED APR 28 1999

BECAUSE OF SEVERE WEATHER CONCERNS...THE AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
WILL NOT BE ISSUED. ONGOING FORECAST WILL DO...70.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 28, 7:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Dawson, Gaines	26 min
Apr 28, 7:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews	44 min
Apr 28, 7:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Winkler	52 min
Apr 28, 8:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Ward	32 min
Apr 28, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews	45 min
Apr 28, 8:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Gaines	43 min
Apr 28, 9:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Andrews	25 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1999 Every tornado warning in 1999 Tornadoes in 1999

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.