Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Brownsville, TX

May 17, 2002Zapata County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at May 17, 2002, 6:58 PM CDT for Zapata County, Texas. It was in force for 32 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
May 17, 2002, 6:58 PM CDT (23:58 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2002, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Zapata County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 195 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:04 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 nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 203 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2002-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2094 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2002-05-17The 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
2094 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-93 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
888 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
2.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBRO 172358
TORBRO
TXC505-180030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
658 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN ZAPATA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* AT 651 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES EAST OF
  ZAPATA...MOVING SOUTH AT 10 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  CENTRAL ZAPATA AND SOUTHERN ZAPATA COUNTIES.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IN IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY
OR CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
STURDY 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 2694 9907 2696 9927 2663 9934 2661 9906

PHILO

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 5:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROJim Hogg, Zapata44 min
May 17, 6:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROJim Hogg, Zapata58 min
May 17, 6:17 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROJim Hogg, Zapata3 hr
May 17, 6:28 PM CDTTornado WarningBROZapata32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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.