Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2002
Tornado Watch 672
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 6, 2002, 7:15 PM CDT for 15 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 6, 2002, 7:15 PM CDT (00:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 7, 2002, 12:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Austin County, TX, Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Colorado County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Orange County, TX, Waller County, TX, Wharton County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 44 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:18 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.
Warnings issued inside it
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 7:53 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 3 hr |
| Sep 6, 8:51 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Galveston | 3 hr |
| Sep 6, 10:35 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Matagorda | 3 hr |
| Sep 6, 11:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 43 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 229 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
- 150 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -53 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 815 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -30 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -33 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 070018 SEL2 SPC WW 070015 TXZ000-070500- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 672 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 715 PM CDT FRI SEP 6 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 715 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT. TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTHWEST OF PALACIOS TEXAS TO 20 MILES EAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 671... DISCUSSION...WIND PROFILE AT HOUSTON IS INCREASING AS LOW LEVEL SHEAR HAS SHOWN MORE TURNING IN THE PAST HOUR OR SO. HELICITIES ARE NOW OVER 200 M2/S2 WITH 20+ KT OF 0-1 KM SHEAR. THEREFORE... SOUTHEAST TX COASTAL COUNTIES WILL HAVE AN INCREASED THREAT OF A FEW TORNADOES THROUGH THE EVENING AS H85 WINDS STRENGTHEN. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 300. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 10030. ...EVANS 295,0964 304,0934 291,0934 282,0964 NNNN
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 11:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend and 10 more | 8 hr |
| Sep 7, 6:15 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Atascosa, Austin, Bexar, Brazoria, Colorado, DeWitt and 11 more | 6 hr |
| Sep 7, 10:40 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado, Fayette and 16 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.