Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Brownsville, TX

October 20, 2002Kenedy County, Willacy County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 20, 2002, 5:02 PM CDT for Kenedy County, Willacy County, Texas. It was in force for 28 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: Oct 20, 2002, 5:02 PM CDT (22:02 UTC)
Expired: Oct 20, 2002, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Brownsville, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Kenedy County, TX, Willacy County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:02 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
Oct 20, 5:26 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Port Mansfield, TX	The Harbormaster in Port Mansfield reported 1.75 inch hail.

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

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 74 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: 1974 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 724 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 86 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 3.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

556 
WFUS54 KBRO 202202
TORBRO
TXC261-489-202230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
501 PM CDT SUN OCT 20 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN KENEDY COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS
  NORTHEASTERN WILLACY COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 530 PM CDT

* AT 451 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR PORT
  MANSFIELD...MOVING SOUTH AT 10 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED BE NEAR...
   PORT MANSFIELD BY 515 PM CDT.

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 2669 9738 2662 9753 2639 9746 2643 9730

PHILO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 19, 7:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Brooks, Kenedy	68 min
Oct 19, 8:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Brooks	21 hr
Oct 20, 4:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron, Hidalgo	103 min
Oct 20, 4:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Kenedy	31 min
Oct 20, 4:32 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		58 min
Oct 20, 4:32 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		58 min
Oct 20, 5:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy	84 min
Oct 20, 5:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy	81 min
Oct 20, 5:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	31 min
Oct 20, 5:41 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		2 hr
Oct 20, 5:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron, Willacy	69 min
Oct 20, 6:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Willacy	88 min
Oct 20, 6:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Cameron	37 min
Oct 20, 6:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron	47 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.