Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Amarillo, TX

April 12, 2002Hutchinson County, Moore County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 12, 2002, 6:03 AM CDT for Hutchinson County, Moore County, Texas. It was in force for 42 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Apr 12, 2002, 6:03 AM CDT (11:03 UTC)
Expired
Apr 12, 2002, 6:45 AM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Hutchinson County, TX, Moore County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:06 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
Apr 12, 6:31 AM CDTHail 0.88Sanford, TX
Apr 12, 6:35 AM CDTHail 1Sanford, TX
Apr 12, 6:52 AM CDTHail 1Borger, TX
Apr 12, 6:54 AM CDTHail 1.75Borger, 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, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 71 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 2002-04-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-04-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 21 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2565 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
60 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KAMA 121103
SVRAMA
TXC233-341-121145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
601 AM CDT FRI APR 12 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN HUTCHINSON COUNTY IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
  EASTERN MOORE COUNTY IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE

* UNTIL 645 AM CDT

* AT 601 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 16 MILES WEST OF PRINGLE...OR ABOUT 13 MILES
  EAST OF DUMAS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THE STORM INCLUDE...
  BORGER...PRINGLE...LAKE MEREDITH...STINNETT...SANFORD AND FRITCH

LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORRENTIAL RAINS ARE EXPECTED WITH
THIS STORM. TAKE COVER IN A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

LAT...LON 3603 10145 3597 10192 3564 10173 3564 10129

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 Apr 12, 3:30 AM CDT, 2 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 3:30 AM CDT, 2 hours 33 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
330 AM CDT FRI APR 12 2002

LATEST ANALYSIS SHOWS WEAK COLD FRONT DRAPED ACROSS NRN HALF OF FCST
AREA WITH DRYLINE EXTNDG FROM JUST W OF KAMA TO NEAR KLBB TO W OF
KMAF AND KFST. WEAK SFC LOW BEGINNING TO MATERIALIZE NEAR KINK.
WATER VAPOR IMAGERY REVEALS A SHORTWAVE TROF HEADING SEWD THRU
OREGON AND NRN CA TOWARDS GREAT BASIN REGION. EXPECT SFC FRONT TO
CONTINUE SETTLING SWD AGAIN TODAY AND BECOME QSTNRY S OF FCST AREA
WHILE WRN TAIL END OF IT BECOMES MORE OF AN INVERTED TROF OVER ERN
NM. SFC DRYLINE WILL CONTINUE TO GET SQUEEZED SWD AS FRONTAL
BOUNDARY PUSHES THRU PNHDLS. BEHIND THIS FRONT...WEAK EASTERLY OR
SERLY BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW WILL ENSUE ACROSS FCST AREA INTO ERN NM...
WITH LOW LVL MOISTURE BEING ADVECTED WWD INTO OUR AREA. SHORT RANGE
MODELS PROG AFOREMENTIONED SHORTWAVE TROF TO TRACK ACROSS FOUR
CORNERS REGION INTO NRN HALF OF NM LATER THIS AFTN...THEN ACROSS
FCST AREA TNGT INTO EARLY SAT. THE COMBINATION OF MID LVL WNW FLOW...
MOISTURE...DAYTIME HEATING AND INSTABILITY...SUFFICIENT LIFT AHEAD OF
APCHG SHORTWAVE TROF...AND EASTERLY LOW LVL WIND COMPONENTS ALONG AND
JUST N OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL INCREASE POTENTIAL FOR MORE ORGANIZED
TSTM DVLPMT...PSBLY SVR...LATE THIS AFTN AND TNGT. EXPECT STORMS TO
FIRST FIRE OVER ERN NM SOMETIME THIS AFTN...THEN SPREAD E AND ESE
ACROSS PNHDLS THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. WILL KEEP LOW POPS ALL ZNS
TODAY...THEN BOOST SECOND PERIOD UP A BIT FROM PREVIOUS PCKG AND
RETAIN MENTION OF SVR. SPC DAY1 OUTLOOK AND QPF DAY1 FCST SEEM
REASONABLE. HAVE LEANED WITH ETA HANDLING FIRST 24 HRS WITH FURTHER
SWD FRONTAL POSITION AND RESULTANT QPF MAX.

SHORTWAVE TROF TO SLIDE ESE OF PNHDLS SATURDAY...AND FRONTAL
BOUNDARY SHOULD ALSO GET A NUDGE FURTHER S DUE TO EXPECTED
CONVECTIVE COMPLEX LATER THIS AFTN AND TNGT. THIS MAY SERVE TO
FOCUS BEST THREAT OF TSTMS S OF OUR AREA...AND WILL LOWER POPS SAT
TO SLIGHT CHC VARIETY. SOME RESIDUAL MOISTURE SEEN SUNDAY AS WELL...
AND WILL KEEP SLGT CHC ALREADY INHERITED FOR NOW.

ECMWF/UKMET/CANADIAN/NOGAPS/MRF NOW COMING INTO SOME SEMBLANCE OF
AGREEMENT DURG EXTENDED PERIODS. ALL FEATURE AN AMPLIFICATON TO THE
UA PATTERN BY CARVING OUT A TROF ACROSS WRN US AND RIDGING IN THE
ERN US. HOWEVER...THEY STILL DIFFER ON TIMING...TRACK...AND
INTENSITY OF SHORTWAVE TROFS EMBEDDED IN THIS PATTERN. RIGHT NOW...
NO MATTER WHICH SOLUTION YOU LOOK AT...FOR US IT SEEMS LIKE DRY AND
WINDY WX FOR MON AS PRESSURE GRADS STEEPEN DUE TO INTENSIFYING
LEESIDE TROF...DRY TUE AS WELL. LOOKS LIKE SOME SORT OF COLD FRONTAL
PASSAGE AFTER TUE...AND WILL RETAIN THE COOLER TEMPS AND LOW POPS
FOR WED AND THU. OVERALL...PREVIOUS PCKG IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE WITH
SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS HERE AND THERE PLANNED. PRELIM VALUES FOLLOW.

DHT 72/49/71/48  2622
GUY 73/51/72/51  2622
BGD 74/52/73/52  2622
AMA 75/52/73/51  2622

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

ANDRADE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 12, 6:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACarson, Hutchinson45 min
Apr 12, 6:49 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAWheeler41 min
Apr 12, 7:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAGray51 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.