Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Fort Worth, TX

April 16, 2002Ellis County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 2002, 7:19 PM CDT for Ellis County, Texas. It was in force for 41 min. 6 reports 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
Apr 16, 2002, 7:19 PM CDT (00:19 UTC)
Expired
Apr 16, 2002, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Fort Worth, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Ellis County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:21 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 16, 7:22 PM CDTThunderstorm WindWaxahachie, TXRoof damage from high winds.
Apr 16, 7:31 PM CDTTornado F1Maypearl, TXThe first Ellis county tornado touched down on Ozro Road, moved east and dissipated aftercrossing FM 157. Damage to trees, storage buildings, and roofs of homes.
Apr 16, 7:39 PM CDTHail 1.5Midlothian, TX
Apr 16, 7:50 PM CDTTornado F0Maypearl, TXThe second Ellis county tornado touched down on Hoyt Road just north of Buena Vista Road. The tornado moved northeast causing fence and tree damage before dissipating.
Apr 16, 7:56 PM CDTHail 1.75Waxahachie, TX
Apr 16, 8:01 PM CDTTornado F0Waxahachie, TXThis tornado touched down on Interstate 35 near mile marker 394 south of Waxahachie. Two tractor trailers were overturned.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 16, 4:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 54 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 165 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 83 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 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
165 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-194 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1686 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
158 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KFWD 170019
TORFTW
TXC139-170100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
720 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ELLIS COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 720 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  MIDLOTHIAN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  MIDLOTHIAN AROUND 740 PM CDT
  WAXAHACHIE AROUND 750 PM CDT
  OAK LEAF...RED OAK AROUND 800 PM CDT

EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES FOR A STORM SHELTER OR PERMANENT BUILDING. IF
NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH AND COVER
YOUR HEAD.

LAT...LON 3253 9708 3231 9707 3234 9672 3254 9674

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 7:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDWise41 min
Apr 16, 7:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHunt52 min
Apr 16, 7:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDallas45 min
Apr 16, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCooke, Montague62 min
Apr 16, 8:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHunt44 min
Apr 16, 8:01 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDEllis44 min
Apr 16, 8:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHopkins60 min
Apr 16, 8:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBosque56 min
Apr 16, 8:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis61 min
Apr 16, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCooke59 min
Apr 16, 8:54 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFWDEllis3 hr
Apr 16, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDKaufman46 min
Apr 16, 9:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDallas47 min
Apr 16, 9:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDGrayson64 min
Apr 17, 12:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin, Hunt40 min
Apr 17, 12:46 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHunt44 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.