Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2002
Tornado Watch 673
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 6, 2002, 11:35 PM CDT for 16 counties in Texas. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 6, 2002, 11:35 PM CDT (04:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 7, 2002, 8:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Austin County, TX, Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Colorado County, TX, Fayette County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Lavaca County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Victoria County, TX, Waller County, TX, Wharton County, TX
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:38 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
10 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 12:01 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 44 min |
| Sep 7, 12:17 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 3 hr |
| Sep 7, 12:34 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Matagorda | 41 min |
| Sep 7, 12:45 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 45 min |
| Sep 7, 1:39 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Matagorda, Wharton | 51 min |
| Sep 7, 2:13 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Fort Bend, Wharton | 3 hr |
| Sep 7, 2:47 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Fort Bend | 43 min |
| Sep 7, 2:56 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria | 2 hr |
| Sep 7, 3:39 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Wharton | 36 min |
| Sep 7, 4:37 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Colorado | 3 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 244 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
- 408 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1317 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -26 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -11 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 070442 SEL3 SPC WW 070435 TXZ000-071300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 673 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1140 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 1140 PM UNTIL 800 AM 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 25 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF VICTORIA TEXAS TO 40 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF GALVESTON 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 672. WATCH NUMBER 672 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1135 PM CDT. DISCUSSION...DEEP CONVECTION WITH ABUNDANT LIGHTNING CONTINUES ALONG THE UPPER TX COAST...WELL NORTH OF T.S. FAY/S CENTER. VERTICAL WIND PROFILE FROM HOUSTON YIELDS VERY IMPRESSIVE LOW LEVEL SHEAR...WITH 0-3 KM HELICITIES IN EXCESS OF 500 M2/S2. THIS WILL MAINTAIN A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR TORNADOES ALONG AND JUST INLAND. AS THE CONVECTION MOVES/DEVELOPS SLOWLY WWD OVERNIGHT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SLOW WWD DRIFT FROM FAY...THE TORNADO THREAT MAY SPREAD FARTHER INLAND ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 10020. ...EVANS 295,0970 303,0942 290,0942 282,0970
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 7:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston and 9 more | 5 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.