Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 10, NWS Corpus Christi, TX
NWS Corpus Christi, TX issued this tornado warning at Oct 24, 2002, 2:19 PM CDT for Nueces County, San Patricio County, Texas. It was in force for 41 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
- Oct 24, 2002, 2:19 PM CDT (19:19 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 24, 2002, 3:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 41 min
- Issued by
- NWS Corpus Christi, TX
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Nueces County, TX, San Patricio County, TX
The radar
The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 10 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:20 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 24, 2:19 PM CDT | Tornado F2 | (Crp)Corpus Christi, TX | One Confirmed fatality and many injuries. The Tornado was first indentified by the public approximately 8 miles south of the CCI airport. Most extensive damage reported across Del MAr College. |
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 tornado 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 11:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 24 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
- 1063 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 575 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 125 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 197 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 4.9
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Oct 24, 1:55 PM CDT, 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 24, 1:55 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX 155 PM CDT THU OCT 24 2002 FCST WILL REMAIN WET THROUGH SAT AS UPPER LOW CONTS TO THE WEST OF THE REGION AND TAPS INTO MOISTURE FROM KENNA IN THE PAC ALONG WITH A SERIES OF IMPULSES STREAMING ACROSS S TX. QUESTION WILL BE TIMING OF IMPULSES. TODAYS MCS SHOULD CONT EWD AND EXIT THE REGION WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS...WITH A BRIEF REPRIEVE THIS EVENING AND STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN OVERNIGHT AND FRI. WILL CONT FFA THROUGH FRI. AVN AND ETA DIVERGE ON SAT. AVN SHOWS BEST UPPER LEV DYNAMICS SHIFTING NEWD BY SAT AFTERNOON AS A CF MOVES SWD ACROSS THE CWA...WHILE ETA KEEPS MOISTURE AND S/WV OVER S TX THROUGH SAT AFTERNOON AND CF STALLING WELL N OF THE AREA. THE AVN HAS PROGD THE CF TO MV THRU THE AREA THE PAST 2 RUNS...HOWEVER THE UPPER LOW WILL STILL BE TO THE WEST WITH A SW FLOW ALOFT...WHICH SHOULD HINDER THE SWD PROGRESSION OF THE FRONT. A PREFRONTAL TROF OVR THE CWA AHD OF CF ON FRI MAY MIMICK A CF MOVG THROUGH BY EARLY SAT AS ANOTHER S/WV SWINGS ACROSS THE REGION. HOWEVER...FOR NOW WILL NOT BRING CF THROUGH THE AREA...BUT WILL TWEAK WIND DIR MORE TO THE E...ESPECIALLY NRN ZONES. WIND DIR WILL LIKELY BE VRB ANYWAY DUE TO TSRAS AND OUTFLOW BDRIES. BY SUN...UPPER LOW CONTS TO THE WEST WITH YET ANOTHER S/WV. NEAR 2 INCH PWATS ALSO IN PLACE. UPPER LOW SHIFT CLOSER TO THE REGION BY MON WITH S TX UNDER STRONGER PORTION OF RRQ OF JET. WILL CONT WITH CHANCE POPS SUN/MON. BY TUE...UPPER LOW FINALLY BEGINS TO EXIT THE REGION WITH A BRIEF REPRIEVE FROM THE RAIN. RAIN CHANCES INCREASE ONCE AGAIN WED AS A STRONG CF APPROACHES THE REGION...WITH OVERRUNNING CONDITIONS AND COOLER TEMPS WED/THU. MARINE...WIND WILL REMAIN BELOW SCA CRITERIA THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. WINDS WILL REACH CAUTION LEVELS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AS A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. COLD FRONT STILL EXPECTED TO REMAIN NORTH OF THE WATERS THROUGH SUNDAY. WILL GO WITH A LIGHT TO MODERATE SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH WIND. AIRMASS MOIST AND VERY UNSTABLE THROUGH THE PERIOD...SO WILL CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. PRELIMS... CRP TT 072/080 070/079 068 67677 VCT TT 069/079 067/075 065 67677 LRD TT 071/079 068/075 066 67666 .CRP...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH FRIDAY TXZ229>234-239>247. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 4 PM CDT TXZ230>234-240>247 TE...81 CPW...78
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 24, 11:45 AM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
TXZ229>234-239>247-251100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX 1145 AM CDT THU OCT 24 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE COASTAL BEND...VICTORIA CROSSROADS AREA AND PORTIONS OF THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND SOME HAIL. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE WITH THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... EMERGENCY MANAGERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AND STORM SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY TO GENERATE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MONDAY.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 24, 11:16 AM CDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before
TXZ230>234-240>247-242100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX 1116 AM CDT THU OCT 24 2002 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CDT... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH VALID UNTIL 400 PM CDT THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THE WATCH INCLUDES THE COUNTIES OF ARANSAS...BEE...CALHOUN...DUVAL...GOLIAD...JIM WELLS... KLEBERG...LIVE OAK...MCMULLEN...NUECES...REFUGIO...SAN PATRICIO AND VICTORIA. SOME CITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE ALICE...ARANSAS PASS...BEEVILLE...BENAVIDES...CORPUS CHRISTI...GEORGE WEST... GOLIAD...INGLESIDE...KINGSVILLE...MATHIS...PORT ARANSAS...PORT LAVACA...PORT OCONNOR...PORTLAND...REFUGIO...ROBSTOWN...ROCKPORT... SEADRIFT...SINTON...SKIDMORE...THREE RIVERS...TILDEN AND VICTORIA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO OCCUR IN OR NEAR THE WATCH AREA. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL THE SIZE OF A DIME OR LARGER...STRONG WINDS OF 58 MPH OR GREATER AND EVEN TORNADOES. EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION. RESIDENTS ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND BE READY TO ACT QUICKLY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA. IF SEVERE WEATHER THREATENS YOUR AREA...THEN MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM AND LAY DOWN ON THE FLOOR. IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE...LAY FLAT DOWN ON THE GROUND...PREFERABLY IN A DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT. NEVER TRY TO OUTRUN SEVERE WEATHER. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS REGARDING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION. FOR THE LATEST WEATHER FORECASTS AND WARNINGS...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/CRP
The office that day
Everything else NWS Corpus Christi, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 11:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CRP | 60 min | |
| Oct 24, 11:56 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CRP | 64 min | |
| Oct 24, 1:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CRP | 39 min | |
| Oct 24, 2:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CRP | 60 min | |
| Oct 24, 3:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CRP | 30 min | |
| Oct 24, 3:02 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | CRP | Nueces, San Patricio | 43 min |
| Oct 24, 3:07 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | CRP | Nueces, San Patricio | 3 hr |
| Oct 24, 3:16 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | CRP | 104 min | |
| Oct 24, 3:49 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | CRP | Kleberg, Nueces | 26 min |
| Oct 24, 5:00 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | CRP | 75 min | |
| Oct 24, 5:00 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | CRP | 75 min | |
| Oct 24, 6:15 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | CRP | 75 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.