Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 29, 2001Gray County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this tornado warning at May 29, 2001, 7:45 PM CDT for Gray County, Texas. It was in force for 60 min. 2 reports came from 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, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 29, 2001, 7:45 PM CDT (00:45 UTC)
Expired
May 29, 2001, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Gray County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:44 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 29, 8:35 PM CDTHail 1.75Lefors, TX
May 29, 8:35 PM CDTHail 2.75Lefors, TX

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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 29, 3:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr
May 29, 7:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 80 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2001-05-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2215 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2001-05-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 213 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
2215 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-77 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1261 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
213 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
279 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.9
Supercell composite
17.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KAMA 300045
TORAMA
TXC179-300145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
745 PM CDT TUE MAY 29 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GRAY COUNTY IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE

* UNTIL 845 PM CDT

* AT 745 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND STORM   
  SPOTTERS INDICATED A TORNADO JUST WEST OF WHITE DEER. THE MOST 
  DANGEROUS PORTION OF THE STORM WAS LOCATED 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF    
  KINGSMILL...OR ABOUT 12 MILES EAST OF PANHANDLE...MOVING EAST AT   
  25 MPH. ANOTHER TORNADIC STORM WAS LOCATED 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF   
  GROOM MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THE STORMS INCLUDE...
  KINGSMILL...PAMPA...ALANREED...HEATON...HOOVER...LAKE              
  MCCLELLAN...LEFORS...BOYDSTON AND MCLEAN

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME-TAKE COVER NOW ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 3561 10107 3519 10108 3520 10055 3562 10055

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 29, 3:15 PM CDT, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 29, 3:15 PM CDT, 4 hours 30 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
315 PM CDT TUE MAY 29 2001

AMS OVR PNHDLS IS VERY UNSTABLE AND IS SHEARED WELL.  H5 VOT MAX WITH
ASSOCD COLD POOL MOVG TWD WRN ZNS ATTM.  LOW-LVL MSTR FLUX CNVGNC IS
MAXIMIZED OVR WRN ZNS.  AREAL QUALIFIERS WILL BE USED ALL SXNS 1ST
PD.  WSHFT EXPCD LATE TNGT.  NELY SFC WNDS ON WED WL BRING MORE
STABLE AIR INTO AREA WITH LITTLE CNVGNC OVR AREA.  WL REMOVE POPS WED
FM ALL BUT ERN ZNS WHERE SOME PCPN MAY LINGER DURG MRNG.  ALSO
REMOVED POPS FOR WED NGT AS SFC RDG BUILDS INTO AREA.  SOME RECOVERY
OF MSTR PSBL FOR THU AND THU NGT OVR WRN ZNS...SO INTRODUCED SLGT CHC
POPS THOSE LOCATIONS.  WL KEEP EXTDD DRY AS WK TO MDT NWLY FLOW PVLS.
03

.AMA...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE.

COCKRELL

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 29, 1:56 PM CDT, 5 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
156 PM CDT TUE MAY 29 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1059 AM    CONLEN                    TX   .75 INCH HAIL
05/29/01   DALLAM                         REPORTED BY NWS SPOTTER.

0130 PM    15 E FORGAN               OK   .75 INCH HAIL
05/29/01   BEAVER                         REPORTED BY BEAVER EOC.

KP/TS
Special weather statement, May 29, 7:32 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-300600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...UPDATED WATCH INFORMATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
732 PM CDT TUE MAY 29 2001

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN TEXAS
AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES UNTIL 1 AM CDT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN AMARILLO HAS CANCELED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 319 FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE TEXAS
PANHANDLE...DALLAM...HARTLEY...OLDHAM...DEAF SMITH AND FOR
THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE...CIMARRON.

A TORNADO WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN
TEXAS PANHANDLE UNTIL 1 AM CDT.  WATCH NUMBER 321 IS IN
EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE...SHERMAN...
HANSFORD...OCHILTREE...LIPSCOMB...MOORE...HUTCHINSON...ROBERTS...
HEMPHILL...POTTER...CARSON...GRAY...WHEELER...RANDALL...ARMSTRONG...
DONLEY...COLLINGSWORTH AND IN THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE...TEXAS AND
BEAVER.

GARCIA

The office that day

Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 29, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMASherman38 min
May 29, 7:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHutchinson65 min
May 29, 7:14 PM CDTTornado WarningAMACarson61 min
May 29, 7:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHansford38 min
May 29, 8:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMARoberts50 min
May 29, 8:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAWheeler38 min
May 29, 10:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAGray, Roberts52 min
May 29, 11:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACollingsworth46 min
May 30, 6:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMADeaf Smith, Oldham51 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2001Every tornado warning in 2001Tornadoes in 2001

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.