Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1999
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Brownsville, TX
NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 26, 1999, 5:35 PM CDT for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 50 min. 5 reports 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
- Apr 26, 1999, 5:35 PM CDT (22:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 26, 1999, 6:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Brownsville, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cameron County, TX
The radar
The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:36 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 5:35 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Combes, TX | |
| Apr 26, 5:45 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Harlingen, TX | |
| Apr 26, 6:25 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Olmito, TX | |
| Apr 26, 6:31 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Brownsville, TX | |
| Apr 26, 6:35 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Brownsville, 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1942 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -236 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 775 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 188 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 348 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
999 WFUS1 KBRO 262234 RRA TORBRO TXC061-262325- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 535 PM CDT MON APR 26 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CAMERON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN TEXAS * UNTIL 625 PM CDT * AT 530 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 2 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF RIO HONDO... MOVING SOUTH-SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... RIO HONDO AT 535 PM CDT GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SAFETY IN A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT... SEEK REFUGE IN A CULVERT... DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. BEWARE THE THREAT OF RISING WATER. VALONE
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.
NWS Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 26, 3:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 3:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 320 PM CDT MON APR 26 1999 A SURFACE TROUGH IS PRESENTLY NEAR MFE AND IS RAPIDLY MOVING SE AND SHOULD BE OUT OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS BY TONIGHT. WILL TAKE OUT POPS COMPLETELY TONIGHT AT THIS TIME UNLESS SURFACE TROUGH SLOWS DOWN AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP AHEAD OF IT. DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR WILL BE IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. WINDS WILL BE FAIRLY LIGHT FROM THE SOUTHEAST AS THE SURFACE TROUGH IS PARKED IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FOR ATLEAST TWO DAYS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR AS THE TROUGH WILL PROVIDE VERY LITTLE IN RELIEF. BOUNDARY LAYER RHS ARE FORECAST TO BE BELOW 30 PERCENT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. CWF...WITH THE SURFACE TROUGH APPROACHING THE DEEP SOUTH TEXAS COASTAL WATERS WILL HAVE SCATTERED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS FOR TONIGHT. BOY020 HAS WINDS FROM THE SOUTHEAST AT 16 KNOTS AND DO NOT EXPECT WINDS TO BE MUCH STRONGER FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. LONG TERM PROGS...A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE AT 500 MB WILL FORM OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK. VERY DRY AND STABLE AIR WILL BE THE RULE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. .BRO...NONE. 55 .BRO 70/88/71/89/72 30/00/00/00 .MFE 69/92/70/93/71 00/00/00/00 .RGD 68/96/68/98/69 00/00/00/00 .SPI 71/84/74/85/75 30/00/00/00 UPDATED FOR POPS IN THE EASTERN ZONES DUE TO DEVELOPMENT SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS TO THE SOUTH.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 4:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Kenedy | 16 min |
| Apr 26, 4:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Kenedy, Willacy | 23 min |
| Apr 26, 5:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Cameron, Willacy | 33 min |
| Apr 26, 6:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Cameron | 31 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.