Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 731

October 28, 20029 parishes in Louisiana; 14 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 28, 2002, 8:15 PM CST for 9 parishes in Louisiana; 14 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Oct 28, 2002, 8:15 PM CST (02:15 UTC)
Expired: Oct 29, 2002, 2:00 AM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 23 counties

Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Waller County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:14 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

22 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 28, 9:05 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Waller	3 hr
Oct 28, 9:30 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Liberty	60 min
Oct 28, 9:38 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Harris	22 min
Oct 28, 10:03 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Fort Bend, Harris	3 hr
Oct 28, 10:06 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Hardin	54 min
Oct 28, 10:24 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Liberty	4 hr
Oct 28, 10:26 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HGX	Liberty	49 min
Oct 28, 10:56 PM CST	Tornado Warning	LCH	Hardin	64 min
Oct 28, 11:18 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson	57 min
Oct 28, 11:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jasper, Orange	58 min
Oct 28, 11:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Newton	29 min
Oct 29, 12:07 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	58 min
Oct 29, 12:07 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	LCH	Orange	3 hr
Oct 29, 12:19 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson	56 min
Oct 29, 12:25 AM CST	Tornado Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	35 min
Oct 29, 12:27 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	LCH	Jefferson	3 hr
Oct 29, 12:54 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	3 hr
Oct 29, 12:57 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HGX	Harris	3 hr
Oct 29, 1:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	56 min
Oct 29, 1:33 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Allen, Beauregard	57 min
Oct 29, 1:35 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Allen, Beauregard	55 min
Oct 29, 1:57 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson Davis	63 min

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 140 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 51 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -148 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1502 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 102 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 106 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000
WWUS20 KWNS 290212
SEL1  
SPC WW 290215
LAZ000-TXZ000-CWZ000-290800-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 731
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
815 PM CST MON OCT 28 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHEAST TEXAS                              
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 815 PM UNTIL
200 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF HOUSTON TEXAS TO 50
MILES SOUTH OF ALEXANDRIA LOUISIANA.

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.


DISCUSSION...SHEAR PROFILES HAVE BECOME FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS
VICINITY COASTAL BOUNDARY.  WITH MID LEVEL WIND MAX ROTATING ACROSS
ERN TX ENHANCING UPWARD MOTION AND VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS
ALONG BOUNDARY...ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE LIKELY ACROSS SERN
TX...DEVELOPING INTO SWRN LA.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...HALES

300,0961 312,0921 295,0921 283,0961

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 29, 1:25 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu and 20 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2002 Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2002 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.