Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 780

October 12, 200129 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 12, 2001, 8:45 PM CDT for 29 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 12, 2001, 8:45 PM CDT (01:45 UTC)
Expired
Oct 13, 2001, 3:00 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 29 counties

Anderson County, TX, Bell County, TX, Camp County, TX, Collin County, TX, Dallas County, TX, Delta County, TX, Ellis County, TX, Falls County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Franklin County, TX, Freestone County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hill County, TX, Hopkins County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Leon County, TX, Limestone County, TX, McLennan County, TX, Navarro County, TX, Rains County, TX, Red River County, TX, Robertson County, TX, Rockwall County, TX, Smith County, TX, Titus County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX, Wood County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:44 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.

Warnings issued inside it

22 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 12, 8:50 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDBosque, McLennan25 min
Oct 12, 8:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHill50 min
Oct 12, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin, Denton61 min
Oct 12, 9:16 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDBosque, McLennan29 min
Oct 12, 9:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDallas, Rockwall64 min
Oct 12, 9:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis58 min
Oct 12, 9:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFannin56 min
Oct 12, 9:40 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDHill, McLennan50 min
Oct 12, 9:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDKaufman48 min
Oct 12, 9:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHunt42 min
Oct 12, 10:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDelta, Hopkins, Lamar60 min
Oct 12, 10:30 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDHill, Navarro45 min
Oct 12, 10:32 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDMcLennan43 min
Oct 12, 10:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDRains47 min
Oct 12, 10:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVRed River61 min
Oct 12, 11:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVFranklin, Titus59 min
Oct 12, 11:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVWood65 min
Oct 12, 11:33 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFWDEllis, Hill, Navarro3 hr
Oct 12, 11:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHill, Navarro42 min
Oct 13, 12:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDRobertson62 min
Oct 13, 12:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHenderson56 min
Oct 13, 1:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVSmith50 min

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 110 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2001-10-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3184 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2001-10-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 135 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
3184 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
541 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.7
Supercell composite
13.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

012 
WWUS9 KMKC 130121
SEL0  

SEL0  
MKC WW 130115
TXZ000-130800-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 780
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
815 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 845 PM UNTIL
300 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TEMPLE TEXAS TO 10 MILES NORTH
NORTHWEST OF PARIS TEXAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 777...WW 778...WW 779...

DISCUSSION...STRONG/SEVERE STORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP NEWD ACROSS
NRN AND CENTRAL TX IN ADVANCE OF VIGOROUS UPPER TROUGH DIGGING SEWD
ACROSS WRN TX.  AIR MASS REMAINS MODERATELY UNSTABLE ACROSS THE
AREA...AND VWP DATA FROM REGIONAL RADARS SHOW INCREASING LOW LEVEL
SHEAR SUPPORTIVE OF SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.


...WEISS

334,0942 305,0960 305,0980 334,0963

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 12, 9:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAtascosa, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Brazos, Burleson and 14 more6 hr
Oct 12, 11:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBowie, Camp, Cass, Gregg, Harrison, Marion and 4 more6 hr
Oct 13, 12:30 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAngelina, Austin, Chambers, Cherokee, Colorado, Fort Bend and 25 more5 hr
Oct 13, 4:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCChambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange and 3 more5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2001Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.