Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Fort Worth, TX

December 30, 2002Ellis County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at Dec 30, 2002, 2:13 PM CST for Ellis County, Texas. It was in force for 47 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, 2:13 PM CST (20:13 UTC)
Expired
Dec 30, 2002, 3:00 PM CST
In force
47 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), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:15 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
Dec 30, 2:54 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 61 EForreston, TX

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
Dec 30, 10:55 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr
Dec 30, 1:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 70 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 12:00Z on 2002-12-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 966 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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 12:00Z on 2002-12-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 201 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 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
966 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-128 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
575 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
201 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
162 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

463 
WFUS54 KFWD 302013
TORFTW
TXC139-302100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
213 PM CST MON DEC 30 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 300 PM CST

* AT 213 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MAYPEARL...MOVING NORTHEAST
  AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  WAXAHACHIE AROUND 230 PM CST
  PALMER...ENNIS AROUND 250 PM CST

DO NOT LEAVE SHELTER TO USE YOUR CAR TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE
EASILY TOSSED AND CRUSHED BY TORNADO WINDS.

LAT...LON 3229 9708 3214 9696 3237 9647 3256 9659

07/BB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 30, 9:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMontague20 min
Dec 30, 11:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDParker35 min
Dec 30, 11:48 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDenton42 min
Dec 30, 12:43 PM CSTTornado WarningFWDCooke, Denton47 min
Dec 30, 12:44 PM CSTTornado WarningFWDCollin31 min
Dec 30, 1:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDParker, Tarrant57 min
Dec 30, 1:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMills51 min
Dec 30, 1:22 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCoryell, Lampasas53 min
Dec 30, 1:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBosque, Hill46 min
Dec 30, 1:49 PM CSTTornado WarningFWDEllis, Hill26 min
Dec 30, 2:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCoryell, McLennan64 min
Dec 30, 2:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDallas48 min
Dec 30, 2:19 PM CSTTornado WarningFWDDallas41 min
Dec 30, 2:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin37 min
Dec 30, 2:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHill, Navarro60 min
Dec 30, 2:36 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningFWDCollin, Dallas84 min
Dec 30, 2:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBell39 min
Dec 30, 2:57 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEllis33 min
Dec 30, 3:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHenderson, Kaufman, Navarro, Van Zandt62 min
Dec 30, 3:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBell42 min
Dec 30, 4:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDBell, Falls, Limestone59 min
Dec 30, 4:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHenderson, Van Zandt39 min
Dec 30, 4:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMilam65 min
Dec 30, 5:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMilam33 min
Dec 30, 5:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFreestone22 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.