Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

May 18, 1990Caldwell County, Hays County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1990, 4:36 PM CDT for Caldwell County, Hays County, Texas. It was in force for 69 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 18, 1990, 4:36 PM CDT (21:36 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1990, 5:45 PM CDT
In force
69 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Caldwell County, TX, Hays 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 18, 5:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Hays, 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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 251 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 1990-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2439 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 1990-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2439 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
620 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
4.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAUS 182135
TORAUS
TXC055-209-182245-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
436 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  545 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...WESTERN CALDWELL COUNTY...EASTERN HAYS COUNTY
 
AT 4 30 PM...THE DPS IN SAN MARCOS HAD A SIGHTING OF A FUNNEL CLOUD 10
TO 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SAN MARCOS.
 
RADAR SHOWS A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 15 MILES IN DIAMETER TO BE
OVER EXTREME SOUTH HAYS COUNTY...MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
 
IF YOU LIVE IN A HOME OR APARTMENT...SEEK SHELTER IN THE
INNERMOST PORTION OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  GET TO
A BASEMENT IF ONE IS AVAILABLE.  AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR
BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS...BLANKETS...OR PILLOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 12:41 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXWilliamson49 min
May 18, 1:28 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXWilliamson62 min
May 18, 1:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBurnet50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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.