Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 142, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

December 23, 2002Lavaca County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 23, 2002, 8:18 PM CST for Lavaca County, Texas. It was in force for 42 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: Dec 23, 2002, 8:18 PM CST (02:18 UTC)
Expired: Dec 23, 2002, 9:00 PM CST
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lavaca County, TX

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:22 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
Dec 23, 8:20 PM CST	Thunderstorm Wind 52 EG	Columbus, TX	Wind damage on FM 806.

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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Dec 23, 7:10 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 205 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: 2559 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -59 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 644 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 104 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.2
Supercell composite: 4.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

815 
WUUS54 KEWX 240218
SVRSAT
TXC285-240300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
817 PM CST MON DEC 23 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN TEXAS...
  LAVACA

* UNTIL 900 PM CST

* AT 817 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A   
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER SHINER...MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH.  WINDS IN 
EXCESS OF 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.

IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER
AWAY FROM CREEK BEDS AND OTHER FLOOD-PRONE AREAS. REMEMBER...A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. PREPARE TO MOVE TO A
PLACE OF SAFETY IN A STURDY STRUCTURE SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL
INTERIOR ROOM IF A TORNADO IS SPOTTED.


LAT...LON 2951 9722 2933 9717 2949 9622 2973 9628

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 23, 6:03 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Bastrop	42 min
Dec 23, 6:17 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	EWX	Bastrop	3 hr
Dec 23, 6:22 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Lee	53 min
Dec 23, 6:39 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Bexar	51 min
Dec 23, 6:43 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Comal	47 min
Dec 23, 6:50 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Wilson	40 min
Dec 23, 6:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Guadalupe	52 min
Dec 23, 7:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Caldwell, Gonzales	49 min
Dec 23, 7:40 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	DeWitt, Karnes	50 min
Dec 23, 8:00 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Lee	15 min
Dec 23, 8:02 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EWX	Fayette	43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2002 Every 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.