Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 56, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

May 31, 1999Terrell County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1999, 7:25 PM CDT for Terrell County, Texas. It was in force for 50 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: May 31, 1999, 7:25 PM CDT (00:25 UTC)
Expired: May 31, 1999, 8:15 PM CDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Terrell County, TX

The radar

The San Angelo radar (KSJT), 151 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:24 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 nearest sounding before it

Del Rio, TX (KDRT), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 160 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: 1350 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -214 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2595 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 92 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.

999 
WFUS1 KMAF 010043 RRA
TORMAF
TXC443-010115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND-ODESSA TX
725 PM CDT MON MAY 31 1999

THE MIDLAND-ODESSA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN TERRELL COUNTY IN TEXAS

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 722 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER NORTHEASTERN      
  TERRELL COUNTY...MOVING SOUTH AT 25 MPH. THE TERRELL COUNTY GAS    
  PLANT IS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM

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

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.

IF YOU SPOT A TORNADO...CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND
ASK THEM TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

LAT...LON 3048 10198 3035 10183 3066 10142 3083 10162

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 May 31, 2:31 PM CDT, 4 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 2:31 PM CDT, 4 hours 54 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
231 PM CDT MON MAY 31 1999

DRYLINE EVOLVING EWD ATTM UNDERNEATH RIDGE PATTERN ALOFT. DWPNTS
INTO THE 30S AT KINK WHILE M50S KMAF. DRYLINE TO BE POSITIONED ACROSS
ERN CWA LATE AFTERNOON AS INTENSE SURFACE HEATING CONTINUES TO MIX
DRIER AIR TO THE SURFACE. ETA DEPICTS WEAKNESS IN CINH FIELDS ALONG/E
OF DRYLINE WHICH IS TO BE IN ERN CWA COINCIDENT WITH CAPES ON ORDER
OF 1000-1500 J/KG...ERGO, ISOLD/WDLY SCT POPS E. MTN TSTMS APPEAR
LESS FAVORABLE TODAY AS CONDITIONS DRIER/MORE STABLE THAN PAST FEW
DAYS. HOWEVER WILL INCLUDE ISOLD POPS AS VISIBLE IMAGERY SHOWING CU
FORMING AND FIRE WX OBS FROM BIG BEND INDICATE DWPNTS STILL IN 40S.
WARM PATTERN TO PERSIST ACROSS W TX/SE NM PER MID LEVEL RIDGE AND 7H
TEMPS OF 13-16 DEGREES C...WILL CONTINUE TREND OF DRY FCST THRU
WEDNESDAY. WILL GO WITH GENERALLY PC SKIES AS SW FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES
TO BRING MID/UPPER LEVEL PACIFIC MSTR INTO REGION. ATTM WOULD INCLUDE
SLIGHT CHC POPS IN EXTENDED AS UPPER TROF OVER SW USA APPROACHES
BACKING FLOW AND BRINGING MSTR BACK W WITH SOME COOLING IN MID LEVEL
NOTED. WZIS.

MAF 67/98/66/99  -/-/-/-
CNM 67/99/65/98  -/-/-/-
MRF 56/90/57/90  -/-/-/-
P07 68/97/69/97  -/-/-/-

GPM

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 31, 7:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MAF	Glasscock	47 min
May 31, 8:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos	39 min
May 31, 8:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Terrell	45 min
May 31, 9:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos	52 min
May 31, 9:18 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MAF	Pecos, Terrell	3 hr
May 31, 9:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Terrell	49 min
May 31, 10:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MAF	Pecos, Terrell	62 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.