Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

March 29, 1993Val Verde County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at Mar 29, 1993, 4:56 PM CST for Val Verde County, Texas. It was in force for 64 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 29, 1993, 4:56 PM CST (22:56 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1993, 6:00 PM CST
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Val Verde County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Del Rio, TX (KDRT), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 66 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 1993-03-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1261 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, Del Rio, TX at 12:00Z on 1993-03-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 193 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
1261 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-66 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
621 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
193 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
291 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
5.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDRT 292257
TORDRT
TXC465-300000-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DEL RIO TX
456 PM CST MON MAR 29 1993

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 600 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY IN

SOUTHCENTRAL TEXAS...VAL VERDE.

AT 455 PM RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 30 MILES NORTH NORTH WEST OF DEL RIO
NEAR THE CITY OF COMSTOCK. MOVEMENT WAS SLOWLY TO THE EAST AT 15 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...YOU SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IN THE
CENTER OF YOUR HOME AWAY FROM WINDOWS. CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE
ABANDONED IMMEDIATELY FOR A REINFORCED SHELTER. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT
OUTSIDE SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT BUT WATCH O@UT FOR FLASH
FLOODING.

...REMEMBER A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR VAL VERDE COUNTY UNTIL
1100 PM CST...

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

Local storm report, Mar 29, 1:27 PM CST, 3 hours 29 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT...FINAL ASSESSMENT ON DAMAGE AND INJURIES...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN TX
130 PM CST MON MAR 29 1993

THE EVENT ON THE EVENING OF MARCH 25 HIT PARTS OF THE WEST...NORTH
AND NORTHEAST SIDES OF AUSTIN DOING AN ESTIMATED 55 TO 75 MILLION
DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO CARS...ROOFS...SKYLIGHT...GREENHOUSES AND VEGETATION.
THIS WAS THE WORST AND COSTLIEST HAILSTORM TO HIT AUSTIN IN HISTORY...
OUR SECOND COSTLIEST OCCURED ON OCTOBER 21, 1984. DOING 50 MIILION IN
IN DAMAGES.  THE AUSTIN EMS REPORTED 60 INJURIES DUE TO THE HAILSTORM
AS PERSONS SCRAMBLED TO PROTECT THE VEHICLES AND OTHER VALUABLES.

TIME     COUNTY      EVENT OF MAR 25 1993 EVENING...

520 PM   TRAVIS     QUARTER TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL IN MANCHACA(KVUE-24
                    WEATHER WATCHER)

525 PM   TRAVIS     3/4 INCH HAIL JUST SOUTHEAST OF MANCHACA.(SHERIFF
                    OFFICE)

530 PM   HAYS       3/4 INCH HAIL JUST NORTHEAST OF DRIPPING SPRINGS
                    REPORTED BY OBSERVER.

532 PM   TRAVIS     3/4 INCH HAIL 51ST AND INTERSTATE 35 REPORTED BY HAMMS.
                    RADIO STATION.

537 PM  TRAVIS     GOLFBALL SIZE AIRPORT AND LAMAR. (HAMMS)

538 PM  TRAVIS     11/2 INCH SIZE HAIL AT CAMERON AND 183 DENTS ON
                   CARS. (OFFICE EMPLOYEE)

539 PM  TRAVIS     3/4 TO 1 INCH SIZE HAIL INTERSTATE 35 AND RUNDBURG.
                   (HAMMS)

540 PM  TRAVIS     1 TO 11/4 INCH HAIL JUST NORTH OF CAMERON AND 183
                   REPORTED BY HAMMS

555 PM  TRAVIS    GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AT THE EXPOSITION CENTER ABOUT 6 MILES
                  EAST OF AUSTIN.  SITE OF THE 1993 RODEO. (KVUE-24)

600 PM  TRAVIS     3/4 TO 2 INCH SIZE HAIL AT WEBBERVILLE WHICH IS 11 MILES
                   EAST OF AUSTIN. (OFFICIAL WEATHER SERVICE OBSERVER)

600 PM  LLANO     3/4 ICH HAIL AT OXFORD SHERIFFS OFFICE IN LLANO

608 PM  LLANO     GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AT KINGSLAND BY SHERIFFS OFFICE

610 PM  BASTROP   11/4 INCH HAIL AT UTLEY( WX. OBSERVER)

625 PM  TRAVIS    NICKEL TO SLIGHTLY LARGER SIZE HAIL 360 AND 2222
                  STRIPPED TREES.  (KXAN-36 STORMTRACKER)

630 PM  TRAVIS    1 TO 2 INCH SIZE HAIL AT STECK AND MOPAC WHERE HAIL
                  DID CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE TO CARS BUSTED SOME
                  WINDSHIELDS AND HAIL COVERED THE GROUND IN PLACES UP TO
                  THREE INCHES DEEP.  LOOKED LIKE SNOW.  DAMAGE AT THIS
                  POINT ESTIMATED IN THE MILLIONS.  (KVUE-24 STUDIOS)

710 PM  BASTROP   1 INCH SIZE HAIL HALF WAY BETWEEN ELGIN AND BASTROP
                  (OBSERVER)

711 PM  BURNET    1 TO 11/2 INCH SIZE HAIL AT MARBLE FALLS (KXAN-36
                  STORMTRACKER)

715 PM  BASTROP   JUST SOUTH OF ELGIN 1 INCH SIZE HAIL(ELGIN POLICE)

718 PM  LLANO     6 MILES SOUTH OF LLANO NICKEL SIZE HAIL.(LLANO SHERIFFS
                  OFFICE)

755 PM  LEE       GIDDINGS HAD 1/2 TO 3/4 INCH SIZE HAIL (KXAN-36
                  STObRMTRACKER)

LUNA
Special weather statement, Mar 29, 2:12 PM CST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
TXZ054-292100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DEL RIO TX
212 PM CST MON MAR 29 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN VAL VERDE COUNTY...

AT 205 PM CST...RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPING IN VAL VERDE
COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF DEL RIO NEAR
LANGTRY. MOVEMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED.

HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

BOATERS AND FISHERMEN ON LAKE AMISTAD AND SURROUNDING RIVERS SHOULD BE
ON THE WATCH FOR APPROACHING WEATHER AND MOVE QUICKLY TO SHORE AND AWAY
FROM THE WATER IF SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED.

...STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL NOAA WEATHER RADIO...TV OR RADIO STATIONS
FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS...

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 29, 3:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXVal Verde50 min
Mar 29, 4:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXVal Verde55 min
Mar 29, 5:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXEdwards, Kinney62 min
Mar 29, 5:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXVal Verde43 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1993Every tornado warning in 1993Tornadoes in 1993

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.