Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 189, NWS Amarillo, TX

August 30, 2002Oldham County, Potter County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 30, 2002, 7:10 PM CDT for Oldham County, Potter County, Texas. It was in force for 35 min. 4 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
Aug 30, 2002, 7:10 PM CDT (00:10 UTC)
Expired
Aug 30, 2002, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Oldham County, TX, Potter County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:11 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 30, 7:10 PM CDTHail 0.75Boys Ranch, TX
Aug 30, 7:10 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52 EBoys Ranch, TX
Aug 30, 7:25 PM CDTHail 1Ady, TX
Aug 30, 7:30 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52 EAdy, 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 53 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-08-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1514 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-08-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -12 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1514 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1509 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 30, 2:46 PM CDT, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 30, 2:46 PM CDT, 4 hours 24 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
246 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2002

MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE IS SPINNING THROUGH WESTERN KANSAS THIS
AFTERNOON.  SOME UPPER LEVEL CAPPING WAS FOUND ON THE 12Z AMA
SOUNDING THIS MORNING. MOISTURE STILL LINGERS IN THE LOW LEVELS
AROUND THE PANHANDLES. HOWEVER...SURFACE DEW POINTS ARE DRYING
OUT ACROSS EASTERN NEW MEXICO BEHIND SURFACE TROUGH. 20 PERCENT
POPS STILL LOOK GOOD FOR TONIGHT. SHORT WAVE WILL ADD SOME LIFT
TO THE ATMOSPHERE AND THIS COULD GENERATE A FEW STORMS ACROSS THE
CWA.

FOG MAY ALSO MAKE A RETURN EARLY SATURDAY MORNING.  MODELS SHOW
THAT THE MOISTURE MAY BE LESS THAN THIS MORNING.  BUT DO NOT
REALLY SEE ANYTHING THAT WOULD DRY OUT THE LOW LAYERS.  WE WILL
MENTION SOME PATCHY FOR FOR SATURDAY MORNING WITH THIS IN MIND.

SOME UPPER LEVEL JET ENERGY MOVES ACROSS COLORADO SATURDAY NIGHT
AND ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TRACKS ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND
SOUTHWEST KANSAS...SO DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND ADD 20 PERCENTS TO
THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE.

UPPER HIGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST AND EXPAND ACROSS MUCH
OF THE EASTERN U.S. BY MID WEEK.  IF THE HIGH DOES MOVE FAR
ENOUGH EAST...THEN THIS COULD OPEN THE DOOR FOR SOME SUBTROPICAL
MOISTURE TO BE BROUGHT UP THROUGH THE ROCKIES AND ADJACENT
PLAINS.  THE ECMWF HOLDS HIGHER HEIGHTS BACK ACROSS THE
PANHANDLES AND THE MRF AND UKMET TRY TO KNOCK DOWN THE RIDGE
WITH A NEW UPPER TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHWEST U.S. WE WILL
LEAN WITH THE SLOWER ECMWF MODEL AND KEEP THINGS DRY THROUGH
LATE NEXT WEEK.

A FEW NUMBERS TO PONDER:

AMARILLO    62 85 63 90 /  20 00 00 00
BEAVER      62 90 65 90 /  20 00 20 00
BOISE CITY  60 86 62 87 /  20 00 20 00
BORGER      61 88 63 89 /  20 00 00 00
BOYS RANCH  61 87 62 89 /  20 00 00 00
CANYON      62 85 62 90 /  20 00 00 00
CLARENDON   65 91 68 91 /  20 00 00 00
DALHART     60 87 62 88 /  20 00 00 00
GUYMON      61 90 64 90 /  20 00 20 00
HEREFORD    61 87 61 90 /  20 00 00 00
LIPSCOMB    63 90 66 90 /  20 00 00 00
PAMPA       65 90 67 90 /  20 00 00 00
SHAMROCK    66 91 68 93 /  20 00 00 00
WELLINGTON  66 91 68 93 /  20 00 00 00

.AMA...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE.

GOEHRING

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 30, 7:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAPotter59 min
Aug 30, 7:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMADeaf Smith39 min
Aug 30, 9:42 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningAMAPotter, Randall2 hr
Aug 30, 8:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMATexas56 min
Aug 30, 9:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMATexas42 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.