Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Brownsville, TX

December 30, 2002Brooks County, Hidalgo County, Kenedy County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Dec 30, 2002, 5:59 PM CST for Brooks County, Hidalgo County, Kenedy County, Texas. It was in force for 46 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 30, 2002, 5:59 PM CST (23:59 UTC)
Expired: Dec 30, 2002, 6:45 PM CST
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Brownsville, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Brooks County, TX, Hidalgo County, TX, Kenedy County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:03 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Dec 30, 4:35 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 102 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 302 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -271 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 652 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 234 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 154 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

218 
WFUS54 KBRO 302359
TORBRO
TXC047-215-261-310045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
559 PM CST MON DEC 30 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  KENEDY COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS
  NORTHERN HIDALGO COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS
  SOUTHERN BROOKS COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 645 PM CST

* AT 553 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 31 MILES SOUTH
  OF FALFURRIAS...MOVING EAST AT 65 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  HIDALGO...BROOKS AND KENEDY COUNTIES.

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

DO NOT USE HIGHWAY OVERPASSES FOR SHELTER. OVERPASSES DO NOT PROVIDE
PROTECTION FROM TORNADIC WINDS. VEHICLES STOPPED UNDER BRIDGES BLOCK
TRAFFIC AND PREVENT PEOPLE FROM GETTING OUT OF THE STORMS PATH AND
TO SHELTER. IF YOU CANNOT DRIVE AWAY FROM THE TORNADO...GET OUT OF
YOUR VEHICLE AND LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AS A LAST RESORT.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 2697 9837 2670 9826 2685 9719 2737 9746

PHILO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 30, 4:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg, Zapata	34 min
Dec 30, 5:01 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg, Starr, Zapata	44 min
Dec 30, 5:09 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg, Zapata	51 min
Dec 30, 5:12 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BRO	Brooks, Jim Hogg, Starr, Zapata	48 min
Dec 30, 5:35 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BRO	Brooks	40 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.