Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 42, NWS San Angelo, TX

May 7, 2002Nolan County, Texas

NWS San Angelo, TX issued this tornado warning at May 7, 2002, 8:34 PM CDT for Nolan County, Texas. It was in force for 56 min. 5 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
May 7, 2002, 8:34 PM CDT (01:34 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 2002, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
56 min
Issued by
NWS San Angelo, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Nolan County, TX

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 7, 8:50 PM CDTTornado F0Sweetwater, TXThe fire department reported a narrow debris path crossing state highway 70 south of Sweetwater.
May 7, 9:00 PM CDTHail 2.75Maryneal, TXA severe thunderstorm produced damage to several cars at a camp near Maryneal.
May 7, 9:25 PM CDTHail 1.75Maryneal, TXA second severe thunderstorm moves into Maryneal producing golfball size hail.
May 7, 9:30 PM CDTHail 1.75Sweetwater, TXGolfball size hail produce roof and window damage to a house near Lake Sweetwater.
May 7, 9:30 PM CDTThunderstorm WindSweetwater, TXHigh thunderstorm winds blew down several trees at the Lake Sweetwater Country Club. One house had some slight damage due to the winds.

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 nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 179 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, Midland Regional, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Midland Regional, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-05-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 21 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
4703 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KSJT 080134
TORSJT
TXC353-080230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
834 PM CDT TUE MAY 7 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN ANGELO HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NOLAN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST TEXAS

* UNTIL 930 PM CDT

* AT 831 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF MARYNEAL...OR ABOUT 13
  MILES SOUTH OF SWEETWATER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   NOLAN AT 840 PM CDT

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME. TAKE COVER NOW ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

LAT...LON 3232 10054 3217 10042 3225 10016 3248 10017
          3251 10029

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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 7, 2:27 PM CDT, 6 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 7, 2:27 PM CDT, 6 hours 7 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
227 PM CDT TUE MAY 7 2002

MORE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE DRYLINE THIS
EVENING. DENSE CIRRUS CANOPY...WHICH LIMITED SURFACE HEATING
YESTERDAY...HAS SHIFTED EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON. COMBO OF STRONG HEATING AND MID-UPPER 60S DEWPOINTS
PUSHING CAPE VALUES INTO THE 2500 TO 3000 J/KG RANGE ACROSS THE
CONCHO VALLEY AND WESTERN BIG COUNTRY. AS OF 1845Z...DRYLINE HAS
PUSHED THROUGH MIDLAND AND FORT STOCKTON...SO MAKING EASTWARD
PROGRESS. PER MSAS...BETTER LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE OCCURRING NEAR
THE PECOS RIVER IN FAR WESTERN CROCKETT COUNTY. SURMISE STORMS
COULD INITIATE HERE. WEAK SHORTWAVE ENERGY IN SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT
EXPECTED TO INTERSECT THE DRYLINE BETWEEN 00Z-06Z...AIDING THE
CAUSE. SO PARAMETERS COMING TOGETHER. HOWEVER...THE CAP REMAINS
STRONG WITH CIN VALUES IN EXCESS OF 140 J/KG. THUS...BELIEVE
ISOLATED THUNDER WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL AT LEAST 6 PM...THEN PERSIST
THROUGH ABOUT 10 PM. STAY TUNED.

THE DRYLINE RETREATS WEST OF THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT...BUT
DOESN/T STRAY TOO FAR. LOW CLOUDS LIKELY TO SPREAD OVER THE
HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY LATE TONIGHT. DRYLINE MIXES
THROUGH ALL BUT THE FAR EASTERN COUNTIES ON WEDNESDAY...BRINGING
WARM AND BREEZY CONDITIONS.

COUPLE OF COLD FRONTS...WITH UPPER SUPPORT...TO BRING DECENT RAIN
CHANCES TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...THEN AGAIN
ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. INITIAL FRONT PULLS UP STATIONARY SOUTH OF
THE FORECAST AREA THURSDAY AFTERNOON. STRONG LOW LEVEL JET THEN
PUMPS COPIOUS MOISTURE OVER THE STALLED BOUNDARY...GENERATING
SCATTERED ELEVATED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MAINLY THE CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN COUNTIES THURSDAY NIGHT. BOUNDARY THEN LIFTS NORTH INTO
THE CONCHO VALLEY AND HEARTLAND BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...TOUCHING OFF
ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS. STORMS TO LINGER OVER THE BIG
COUNTRY FRIDAY NIGHT...BEFORE THE WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH OF THE
FORECAST AREA. NEXT OF KIN ARRIVES SUNDAY NIGHT...WITH MORE
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ALONG...NEAR THE BOUNDARY MONDAY AND
TUESDAY. ACTIVE MID MAY WEATHER PATTERN MATERIALIZING...RIGHT ON
SCHEDULE.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY LOOK WARM AND HUMID IN CAPPED WARM SECTOR.

PRELIM CCF...

ABI 070/093/061/077 100
SJT 071/094/063/085 100
JCT 071/090/064/086 110

.SJT...NONE.

17

The office that day

Everything else NWS San Angelo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 7, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTSterling58 min
May 7, 7:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTCoke54 min
May 7, 8:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTNolan58 min
May 7, 8:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTCoke11 min
May 7, 8:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTJones, Taylor64 min
May 7, 9:10 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTJones50 min
May 7, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTTaylor60 min
May 7, 9:31 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTNolan29 min
May 7, 9:34 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTShackelford56 min
May 7, 10:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTNolan39 min
May 7, 10:09 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTTaylor66 min
May 7, 10:10 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTTaylor65 min
May 7, 10:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTFisher36 min
May 7, 10:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTShackelford79 min
May 8, 3:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTColeman67 min
May 8, 4:26 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTColeman64 min
May 8, 4:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTCallahan61 min
May 8, 4:37 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTBrown53 min
May 8, 5:22 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTBrown23 min
May 8, 6:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTMcCulloch57 min
May 8, 6:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTBrown64 min
May 8, 6:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTColeman47 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.