Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 5, 1991Cameron County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 5, 1991, 8:30 AM CST for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 45 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 5, 1991, 8:30 AM CST (14:30 UTC)
Expired
Apr 5, 1991, 9:15 AM CST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Cameron County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 29 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 1991-04-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1771 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 1991-04-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 84 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
1771 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
603 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
84 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
8.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBRO 051431
TORBRO
TXC061-051515-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
830 AM CST FRI APR 5 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH TEXAS
 
   ...NORTHEASTERN CAMERON COUNTY
 
  AND FOR MARINE INTERESTS IN THE COASTAL WATERS AROUND...
 
  ...MOUTH OF THE RIVER
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 820 AM WAS DETECTING A POSSIBLE
TORNADO OVER THE LAGUNA MADRE BETWEEN PORT ISABEL AND PORT MANSFIELD.
THE TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.
 
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.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

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, Apr 5, 5:57 AM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes before
TXZ041>044-051145-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
555 AM CST FRI APR 5 1991

AT 528 AM AN AREA OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN
STRETCHED FROM JUST EAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI TO RAYMONDVILLE AND SOUTH
INTO THE VALLEY...BETWEEN WESLACO AND SAN BENITO.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS
CONTINUED SOUTH INTO MEXICO FOR 95 MILES.  MOVEMENT WAS NORTH AT 20
MILES AN HOUR.

MOTORISTS...AVOID AREAS THAT FLOOD EASILY.  DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND
GUSTY WINDS MAY ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS.  MARINERS ON BAFFIN BAY AND
ALONG THE LAGUNA MADRE SHOULD STAY IN PORT.

OTHER ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WERE BETWEEN LAREDO AND FALFURRIAS AND
OVER THE GULF MORE THAN 75 MILES NORTHEAST THROUGH SOUTH OF PORT
ISABEL.  MOVEMENT WAS NORTH AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 5, 6:40 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo50 min
Apr 5, 7:21 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron54 min
Apr 5, 7:37 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROWillacy53 min
Apr 5, 8:24 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBROCameron2 hr
Apr 5, 10:18 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBROCameron3 hr
Apr 5, 1:16 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBROCameron3 hr

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.