Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1991
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Brownsville, TX
NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Feb 4, 1991, 4:36 PM CST for Starr County, Texas. It was in force for 69 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 4, 1991, 4:36 PM CST (22:36 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 4, 1991, 5:45 PM CST
- In force
- 69 min
- Issued by
- NWS Brownsville, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Starr County, TX
The nearest sounding before it
Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 152 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
- 166 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -62 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 844 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 32 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 197 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBRO 042243 TORBRO TXC427-042345- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 436 PM CST MON FEB 4 1991 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 545 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTH TEXAS ...STARR COUNTY A TORNADO WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR PERSONS IN STARR COUNTY UNTIL 545 PM CST. AT 425 PM CST SEVERAL FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE OBSERVED FROM 10 MILES NORTH OF EL SAUZ TO JUST NORTH OF RIO GRANDE CITY AND WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST. THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE INDICATED BY RADAR IN THIS AREA ALONG A NORTH-SOUTH LINE EXTENDING FROM MEXICO THROUGH STARR COUNTY AND INTO JIM HOGG COUNTY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 4, 11:32 AM CST, 5 hours 4 minutes before
TXZ042>044-041700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 1130 AM CST MON FEB 4 1991 ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTH TEXAS... AT 1125 AM SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN... IN A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WHICH EXTENDED EAST OF A LINE FROM JUST WEST OF ALICE TO MCALLEN AND 145 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BRONWSIVLLE. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. THE THUNDERST!ORMS WITH THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL MAY PRODUCE BRIEF LOCAL FLOODING AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.
Special weather statement, Feb 4, 12:54 PM CST, 3 hours 42 minutes before
TXZ042>044-041845- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 1252 PM CST MON FEB 4 1991 ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTH TEXAS... AT 1225 PM ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN... IN A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WERE ACROSS THE COASTAL SECTIONS AND THE NEARBY GULF WATERS. THIS AREA STRETCHED FROM ALICE TO BAFFIN BAY TO BROWNSVILLE...AND OFF THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST FOR 125 MILES. OTHER ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH HEAVY RAIN...IN AN AREA OF RAIN WAS OVER MEXICAN GULF WATERS 75 TO 145 MILES SOUTHEAST THROUGH SOUTH OF BROWNSVILLE. ALL OF THE PRECIPITATION WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. REMEMBER A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR FLASH FLOODING. MOTORISTS DO NOT TRY TO CROSS FLOODED LOW WATER CROSSINGS. THESE ARE ONE OF THE MAJOR CAUSES OF DEATHS. SO FAR ABOUT 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE BEEN THE AVERAGE RAINFALL RATES ACROSS THE VALLEY TODAY. AT THIS POINT MOST OF THE HEAVY RAINS WERE OVER THE GULF...AND SATELLITE SHOWED MOST OF THE STORM SYSTEM MOVING AWAY FROM THE AREA. THERE HAVE NOT BEEN ANY REPORTS OF MAJOR FLOODING EXCEPT FOR THE FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS ON ROADS. PLEASE DRIVE COURTEOUSLY UNTIL THE WATER ON THE ROADS DRAIN OFF. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST IN WEATHER INFORMATION.
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991
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.