Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 154, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 30, 2002, 6:16 PM CST for Lavaca County, Texas. It was in force for 44 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 30, 2002, 6:16 PM CST (00:16 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 30, 2002, 7:00 PM CST
- In force
- 44 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), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 30, 6:50 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind | Halletsville, TX | Severe thunderstorm winds damaged the walls and screen of an outdoor drive-in theater and destroyed several outbuildings just west of Hallettsville. |
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 severe thunderstorm 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 30, 3:20 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 188 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
- 1155 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -212 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1024 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 69 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 127 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 153 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
743 WUUS54 KEWX 310016 SVRSAT TXC285-310100- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 614 PM CST MON DEC 30 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN TEXAS... LAVACA * UNTIL 700 PM CST * AT 614 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 16 MILES NORTH OF HALLETTSVILLE TO 19 MILES WEST OF EZZELL...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS GUSTS IS EXCESS OF 60 MPH. 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. LAT...LON 2953 9709 2936 9717 2907 9647 2932 9635 $$
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Dec 30, 5:20 PM CST, 56 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 30, 5:20 PM CST, 56 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 520 PM CST MON DEC 30 2002 WILL UPDATE PACKAGE FOR EXPIRATION OF WATCH AFTER 00Z AND ISSUE WIND ADVISORY FOR ENTIRE CWA. 10/18/06/08 .EWX...WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT. TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 6 PM.
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 30, 5:50 AM CST, 12 hours 26 minutes before
TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-311200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 550 AM CST MON DEC 30 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE... A POTENT UPPER LEVEL LOW AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT NEAR EL PASO WILL PROGRESS SOUTHEAST TODAY AND INTERACT WITH MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO TO PRODUCE NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE GREATEST ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 35 BETWEEN SAN ANTONIO AND AUSTIN. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE AS WELL. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ALONG THE COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS TODAY.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Dec 30, 3:19 PM CST, 2 hours 57 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX
319 PM CST MON DEC 30 2002
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0225 PM HELOTES TX TORNADO
12/30/02 BEXAR UNCONFIRMED TORNADO
REPORTED BY BEXAR COUNTY
FIRE ALARM BETWEEN HELOTES
AND LEON SPRINGS.
KWLocal storm report, Dec 30, 6:05 PM CST, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX
605 PM CST MON DEC 30 2002
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0225 PM HELOTES TX TORNADO
12/30/02 BEXAR UNCONFIRMED TORNADO
REPORTED BY BEXAR COUNTY
FIRE ALARM BETWEEN HELOTES
AND LEON SPRINGS.
0340 PM SAN MARCOS TX HAIL
12/30/02 HAYS 3 SW OF SAN MARCOS 0.88
INCH HAIL. REPORTED BY AN
OBSERVER.
0343 PM UNKNOWN TX HAIL
12/30/02 COMAL/HAYS 1.50 INCH HAIL ALONG WITH
A WALL CLOUD. REPORTED BY
HAM OBSERVER.
0345 PM UNKNOWN TX DEFINITE WALL CLOUD
12/30/02 CALDWELL REPORTED EAST OF THE NWS
NEW BRAUNFELS
OFFICE.
0354 PM AUSTIN TX WELL DEFINED WALL CLOUD
12/30/02 TRAVIS OVER SLAUGHTERS LANE SOUTH
OF AUSTIN.
0402 PM UNKNOWN TX HAIL
12/30/02 COMAL NICKEL SIZED HAIL 0.88
INCH. REPORTED BY OBSERVER
ALONG 1101.
0403 PM NEW BRAUNFELS TX HAIL
12/30/02 GUADALUPE DIME SIZED HAIL 0.75 INCH.
REPORTED BY AN OFF DUTY
NWS NEW BRAUNFELS EMPLOYEE.
0405 PM NEW BRAUNFELS TX HAIL
12/30/02 GUADALUPE NICKEL SIZED HAIL AND
STRONG WINDS. REPORTED BY
ON DUTY NWS PERSONNEL.
0410 PM SUN CITY TX HAIL
12/30/02 WILLIAMSON DIME SIZED 0.75 INCH.
REPORTED BY OBSERVER.
0410 PM LOCKHARDT TX TORNADO
12/30/02 CALDWELL TORNADO ON THE GROUND AT
358 PM. LOCATION 4 NW OF
LOCKHARDT MOVING EAST.
REPORTED BY TRAINED
SPOTTER IN COORDINATION
WITH NWS FORT WORTH.
0455 PM UNKNOWN TX TORNADO
12/30/02 CALDWELL FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED OVER
CALDWELL COUNTY BETWEEN 86
AND FM 3158. REPORTED BY
SPOTTER.
KWThe office that day
Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 30, 6:08 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EWX | DeWitt | 67 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2002Every 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.