Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 46, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 1990, 6:15 PM CDT for Williamson County, Texas. It was in force for 45 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
- May 21, 1990, 6:15 PM CDT (23:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 1990, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Williamson County, TX
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 6:25 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Williamson, 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. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.
The nearest sounding before it
Stephenville/Cla, TX (KSEP), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 181 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
- 1021 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -157 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1837 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 41 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 37 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KAUS 212318 SVRAUS TXC491-220020- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX 615 PM CDT MON MAY 21 1990 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 720 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS ...WILLIAMSON COUNTY... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS SHOWN BY RADAR BETWEEN GRANGER AND GEORGETOWN MOVING VERY LITTLE...HOWEVER IT WAS GROWING IN SIZE AND STRENGTH BETWEEN 6 AND 615 PM CDT. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DON'T USE TELEPHONES HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS. RL/LW
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 21, 4:26 PM CDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before
TXZ035-054-212230- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO, TX 425 PM CDT MON MAY 21 1990 A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS LOCATED AT 420 PM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF LEAKEY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING TO THE WEST AT 12 MPH. AS IT MOVED ACROSS THE PRADE RANCH IN NORTHERN REAL COUNTY...THE STORM PRODUCED VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND PEA TO MARBLE-SIZED HAIL. RAINFALL RATES IN THIS STORM ARE ESTIMATED AT OVER 2 INCHES PER HOUR. THE STORM APPEARS LIKELY TO ENTER EDWARDS COUNTY WITHIN THE NEXT 30 MINUTES. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LARGER HAIL...ALONG WITH VERY STRONG WINDS AND DEADLY LIGHTNING.
Special weather statement, May 21, 5:28 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
TXZ035-054-212330- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO, TX 528 PM CDT MON MAY 21 1990 AT 500 PM THIS AFTERNOON...A WEAK COLD FRONT STRETCHED AT 400 PM ALONG A COLLEGE STATION TO AUSTIN TO DEL RIO LINE...AND WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTH AT 10 MPH. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAD FORMED ALONG THE FRONT BETWEEN AUSTIN AND DEL RIO. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL...AS INDICATED BY WEATHER SERVICE RADAR...WAS OCCURRING OVER REAL COUNTY. RAINFALL ESTIMATES BY RADAR AND SATELLITE RANGED FROM NEAR 1 INCH IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTY TO JUST OVER ONE HALF INCH OVER SOUTHERN REAL COUNTY IN THE PAST HOUR. THE THUNDERSTORMS HAD SHOWN VERY LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE PAST HOUR. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS VERY UNSTABLE TONIGHT...MUCH LIKE THE SITUATION THAT OCCURRED LAST NIGHT. PLENTY OF SUNSHINE RAISED TEMPERATURES INTO THE 90S JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AND THIS VERY WARM... MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR@ WILL CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS.
Special weather statement, May 21, 5:30 PM CDT, 45 minutes before
TXZ035-054-212330- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANTONIO, TX 530 PM CDT MON MAY 21 1990 AT 500 PM THIS AFTERNOON...A WEAK COLD FRONT STRETCHED ALONG A COLLEGE STATION TO AUSTIN TO DEL RIO LINE...AND WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTH AT 10 MPH. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAD FORMED ALONG THE FRONT BETWEEN AUSTIN AND DEL RIO. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL...AS INDICATED BY WEATHER SERVICE RADAR...WAS OCCURRING OVER REAL COUNTY. RAINFALL ESTIMATES BY RADAR AND SATELLITE RANGED FROM NEAR 1 INCH IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTY TO JUST OVER ONE HALF INCH OVER SOUTHERN REAL COUNTY IN THE PAST HOUR. THE THUNDERSTORMS HAD SHOWN VERY LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE PAST HOUR. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS VERY UNSTABLE TONIGHT...MUCH LIKE THE SITUATION THAT OCCURRED LAST NIGHT. PLENTY OF SUNSHINE RAISED TEMPERATURES INTO THE 90S JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AND THIS VERY WARM... MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL CONTLINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 8:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | McMullen | 58 min |
| May 20, 8:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Atascosa | 55 min |
| May 20, 9:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Atascosa | 54 min |
| May 20, 10:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Bexar | 50 min |
| May 20, 10:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Wilson | 76 min |
| May 20, 10:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Gonzales | 61 min |
| May 21, 2:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Kerr | 69 min |
| May 21, 2:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EWX | Kerr | 68 min |
| May 21, 5:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Travis | 67 min |
| May 21, 6:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Uvalde | 68 min |
| May 21, 6:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Travis | 30 min |
| May 21, 6:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | Val Verde | 61 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990
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.