Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Brownsville, TX

May 21, 2001Brooks County, Hidalgo County, Kenedy County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at May 21, 2001, 7:13 PM CDT for Brooks County, Hidalgo County, Kenedy County, Texas. It was in force for 62 min. 2 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: May 21, 2001, 7:13 PM CDT (00:13 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 2001, 8:15 PM CDT
In force: 62 min
Issued by: NWS Brownsville, TX
Area: Whole counties

Counties Brooks County, TX, Hidalgo County, TX, Kenedy County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:16 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
May 21, 7:45 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60 E	San Manuel, TX	The public reported a carport was blown off of a residence north of San Manuel.
May 21, 8:10 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Falfurrias, TX	Brooks County Sheriff reported a large number of tree branches down in Falfurrias.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 21, 5:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 116 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2941 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 698 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -47 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBRO 220015
TORBRO
TXC047-215-261-220115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
713 PM CDT MON MAY 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN KENEDY COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS
  SOUTHEASTERN BROOKS COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS
  NORTHERN HIDALGO COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 711 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO 27 MILES SOUTH OF
  FALFURRIAS...MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  NORTHERN HIDALGO...SOUTHERN BROOKS...SOUTHEASTERN BROOKS...
  NORTHEASTERN HIDALGO...SOUTHWESTERN KENEDY AND SOUTHERN KENEDY
  COUNTIES.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IN IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY
OR CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

$$

LAT...LON 2691 9810 2668 9820 2661 9767 2686 9766

PHILO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 7:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Brooks	56 min
May 21, 7:50 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BRO	Starr	3 hr
May 21, 8:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo, Starr	59 min
May 21, 8:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	61 min
May 21, 9:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Kenedy	54 min
May 21, 9:14 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	46 min
May 21, 10:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg	50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2001 Every tornado warning in 2001 Tornadoes in 2001

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.