Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Brownsville, TX

May 17, 2002Zapata County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 2002, 7:31 PM CDT for Zapata County, Texas. It was in force for 59 min. 1 report 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 17, 2002, 7:31 PM CDT (00:31 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2002, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Zapata County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 185 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:34 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
May 17, 8:09 PM CDTTornado F0Zapata, TXA brief tornado was reported by law enforcement officials in the city of Zapata. Several roofs were damaged with numerous reports of power outages.

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 nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 198 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3763 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 51 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
3763 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-32 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
733 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
6.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KBRO 180031
SVRBRO
TXC505-180130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
730 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  ZAPATA COUNTY IN TEXAS

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 729 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS  
  ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 10 MILES NORTH OF SAN YGNACIO TO       
  FALCON DAM...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL  
  LIKELY PRODUCE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS...AND WINDS IN EXCESS  
  OF 60 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
   ZAPATA BY 735 PM CDT.
   ESCOBA BY 830 PM CDT.

IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER
AWAY FROM WINDOWS. REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE LARGE
DAMAGING HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

$$

LAT...LON 2726 9897 2729 9946 2667 9941 2658 9915
          2677 9896

SPEECE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr53 min
May 17, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo55 min
May 17, 7:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROJim Hogg58 min
May 17, 7:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo, Starr52 min
May 17, 8:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks, Kenedy60 min
May 17, 8:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Willacy77 min
May 17, 8:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr42 min
May 17, 9:02 PM CDTTornado WarningBROBrooks28 min
May 17, 9:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROJim Hogg39 min
May 17, 9:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROKenedy46 min
May 17, 9:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Willacy72 min
May 17, 9:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks72 min
May 17, 9:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Willacy69 min
May 17, 9:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Willacy33 min
May 17, 10:15 PM CDTTornado WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Willacy45 min
May 17, 10:21 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningBRO84 min
May 17, 10:21 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningBRO84 min
May 17, 10:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROKenedy3 hr
May 17, 11:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron40 min
May 17, 11:55 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningBRO13 hr
May 17, 11:55 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningBRO13 hr

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.