Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Amarillo, TX
NWS Amarillo, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 2002, 6:11 PM CDT for Sherman County, Texas. It was in force for 49 min. 1 report 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
- May 16, 2002, 6:11 PM CDT (23:11 UTC)
- Expired
- May 16, 2002, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Amarillo, TX
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Sherman County, TX
The radar
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 121 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:15 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 16, 6:19 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Stratford, 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 122 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
- 326 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -410 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2056 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 156 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 146 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS54 KAMA 162311 SVRAMA TXC421-170000- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 609 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... SHERMAN COUNTY IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE * UNTIL 700 PM CDT * AT 607 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF STRATFORD...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 20 MILES SOUTH OF STRATFORD...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THE STORM INCLUDE... STRATFORD HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM-TAKE COVER NOW. GO TO THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING AND AVOID WINDOWS LAT...LON 3647 10217 3606 10217 3606 10161 3647 10164
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 May 16, 3:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 16, 3:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 350 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002 SLOW-MOVING COLD FRONT EXTENDED WEST TO EAST ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN FORECAST AREA BORDER. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ALONG AND NORTH. SOME SEVERE DUE TO INCREASED MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS. COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO PUSH SOUTH OVERNIGHT. STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT SHOULD RESULT IN STRONGER SURFACE WINDS LATER TONIGHT INTO EARLY FRIDAY. SUBSTANTIAL MOISTURE PERSISTS WITHIN UPSLOPE FLOW...SO WELL KEEP GENEROUS CLOUD COVER THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLED AT LEAST A CATEGORY FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST. FCSTR ID=08 AMA 053/066/043/070 3211 DHT 049/065/044/072 4111= .AMA... OK...NONE. TX...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 16, 1:00 PM CDT, 5 hours 11 minutes before
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-170000- TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 100 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002 THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND THE NORTHERN AND EAST CENTRAL TEXAS PANHANDLE MAINLY THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. THE SLIGHT RISK AREA IS NORTHEAST OF A LINE FROM TEXLINE TO BORGER TO SHAMROCK. SOME CITIES INCLUDED IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA INCLUDE DALHART...GUYMON...BORGER...STRATFORD...SPEARMAN...PAMPA... LIPSCOMB...BOISE CITY...AND BEAVER. A SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD BRINGING A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE THIS AFTERNOON. INCREASING SURFACE MOISTURE WILL BE FOUND ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE AND ALL OF THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE OVER THE GREAT BASIN WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES BY THIS EVENING. INCREASING UPPER LEVEL WINDS ALONG WITH COOLING TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL MARK THE ARRIVAL OF THE DISTURBANCE ON THE PLAINS. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING ACROSS MUCH OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES WITH THE BEST CHANCE ACROSS THE EAST WHERE THE DEEPEST MOISTURE WILL BE. HOWEVER...WARMER TEMPERATURES IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE MAY LIMIT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON. A BETTER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL COME OVERNIGHT AS THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES INTO EASTERN COLORADO AND NORTHERN NEW MEXICO. INCREASING NORTHEAST WINDS TONIGHT AT SPEEDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH WILL ALLOW PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO FLOW INTO THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES OVERNIGHT. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...INCREASING UPPER LEVEL WINDS AND COOLING TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL HELP TO SET THE STAGE FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN COLORADO...NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO OR WESTERN KANSAS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE THEN EXPECTED TO MOVE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST INTO THE PANHANDLES OVERNIGHT. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT MAY BECOME SEVERE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE PANHANDLES. DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE STORMS. HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE A CONCERN. THEREFORE...ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND SKYWARN SPOTTERS MAY BE NECESSARY THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT. THE NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING. SCHNEIDER
Special weather statement, May 16, 5:30 PM CDT, 41 minutes before
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>010-170400- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 530 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 306 FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE ...CIMARRON...TEXAS...BEAVER...IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE...DALLAM... SHERMAN...HANSFORD...OCHILTREE...LIPSCOMB...HARTLEY...MOORE... HUTCHINSON...ROBERTS...AND HEMPHILL. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM CDT. ANDRADE
The office that day
Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 6:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Moore | 48 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.