Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 773

October 31, 200032 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 31, 2000, 5:00 PM CST for 32 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 31, 2000, 5:00 PM CST (23:00 UTC)
Expired
Oct 31, 2000, 10:00 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 32 counties

Andrews County, TX, Armstrong County, TX, Borden County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Carson County, TX, Castro County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Crosby County, TX, Dawson County, TX, Dickens County, TX, Donley County, TX, Floyd County, TX, Gaines County, TX, Garza County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hockley County, TX, Howard County, TX, Kent County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Lubbock County, TX, Lynn County, TX, Martin County, TX, Mitchell County, TX, Motley County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Scurry County, TX, Swisher County, TX, Terry County, TX, Wheeler County, TX

The radar

The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 3 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:02 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 31, 5:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAPotter61 min
Oct 31, 6:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBHockley49 min
Oct 31, 8:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACarson47 min
Oct 31, 8:18 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMAFAndrews, Gaines3 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 190 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 2000-10-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 458 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 2000-10-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 266 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
458 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-224 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
781 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
266 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
261 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

776 
WWUS9 KMKC 312243
SEL3  

SEL3  
MKC WW 312238
TXZ000-010400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 773
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
438 PM CST TUE OCT 31 2000

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

   WEST TEXAS AND PANHANDLE                              

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 500 PM UNTIL 1000
PM CST.

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 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST OF BIG SPRING TEXAS TO 50 MILES
NORTHEAST OF AMARILLO TEXAS.

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 771...WW 772...

DISCUSSION...STORMS ARE DEVELOPING SWD ALONG DRY LINE VICINITY
NM/TX BORDER.  AS VIGOROUS TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED STRONG WIND FIELDS
ROTATE INTO HIGH PLAINS THIS EVENING...STORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE
WITH ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE E OF LN.  STORMS E OF LINE
WILL HAVE GREATEST SUPERCELL AND TORNADO POTENTIAL WHERE LOW LEVEL
SHEAR PROFILES ARE MORE FAVORABLE.


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 22035.


...HALES

354,0995 321,1004 321,1030 354,1021

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 31, 2:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCHansford, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Roberts7 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2000Every tornado watch in 2000

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.