Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Brownsville, TX

March 15, 2003Cameron County, Willacy County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 15, 2003, 11:55 AM CST for Cameron County, Willacy County, Texas. It was in force for 65 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 15, 2003, 11:55 AM CST (17:55 UTC)
Expired
Mar 15, 2003, 1:00 PM CST
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Cameron County, TX, Willacy County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 46 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:58 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm 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

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 48 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-03-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1262 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-03-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1262 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
583 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

122 
WUUS54 KBRO 151755
SVRBRO
TXC061-489-151900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1155 AM CST SAT MAR 15 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CAMERON COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS
  EASTERN WILLACY COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 100 PM CST

* AT 1153 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR RIO HONDO...OR 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF      
  HARLINGEN...AND MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  CAMERON AND WILLACY COUNTIES.

IN ADDITION TO LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO
GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. MOVE INDOORS
IMMEDIATELY LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURES NUMBER ONE KILLERS.
REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

LAT...LON 2615 9756 2627 9742 2654 9764 2635 9785

$$

SPEECE

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Mar 15, 9:50 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 15, 9:50 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
950 AM CST SAT MAR 15 2003

AVIATION/SHORT TERM...CURRENT VSBYS AT THE 3 VALLEY AIRPORTS ARE
>6SM ATTM WITH CIGS HOLDING STEADY BELOW 1 KFT.  CURRENT KBRO
REFLECTIVITY SHOWS SCATTERED CONV FIRING TO THE SOUTH OF THE BORDER
OVER NE MEXICO MOVING NE AT 15 TO 20 MPH. THE 12Z BRO SOUNDING SHOWS
A DECENT LI AROUND -6 IN PLACE OVER THE CWA WITH A RESPECTIBLE PWAT
AROUND 1.50 INCHES. SHORT RANGE GUIDANCE MAINTAINS SEVERAL 5H
VORTICES ADVECTING OVER THE AREA AS A STRONG 5H TROUGH MOVES EAST
OUT OF NORTHERN MEXICO.  THIS UPPER LEVEL TROUGHING WILL PROVIDE
PLENTY OF UVV ACROSS THE ENTIRE BRO CWA TODAY MAINTAINING THE CONV
THREAT.  WILL ADJUST THE CURRENT WORDING OF THE FIRST PERIOD OF THE
ZFP TO REFLECT BETTER INITIAL CONV CHCS NEAR THE BORDER...BUT
OVERALL FORECAST TREND LOOKS GOOD.

LOW OVC AND RAIN COOLED OUTFLOWS FROM THE CONV TO OUR SOUTH AND WEST
WILL KEEP HIGH TEMPS SUPPRESSED THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENT TEMP WORDING
IN THE FIRST PERIOD LOOKS ON TRACK WITH NO ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED HERE.

MARINE...THE E-NE SURFACE FLOW WILL GRADUALLY TRANSITION TO A MORE
SE FLOW PATTERN LATER THIS AFTERNOON AS THE SURFACE TROFFING
INCREASES OVER NORTHERN MEX AND WEST TX. CONV NOW REMAINS CLUSTERED
AROUND BUOY020 MOVING NE AT 10 TO 15 MPH. WILL LIKELY REISSUE THE
MWSBRO HIGHLIGHTING THE CONV POTENTIAL ALONG THE BAY AND GULF WATERS
FOR THE REST OF TODAY. CURRENT CWF WORDING LOOKS OK WITH NO CHANGES
REQUIRED ATTM.

SYNOPTIC-AVIATION-MARINE...60/MESO...MARTINEZ

.BRO...NONE.

THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR INTERNET WEB PAGE AT:
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BRO
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 15, 6:00 AM CST, 5 hours 55 minutes before
GMZ130-150-155-170-175-TXZ248>257-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
600 AM CST SAT MAR 15 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

AREAS OF FOG WILL SHROUD THE COASTAL SECTIONS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.
FOG WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. AREAS OF SEA FOG OVER
THE COASTAL WATERS WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO ONE TO THREE NAUTICAL
MILES TODAY. FOG IS EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP ALONG THE COASTAL
AREAS LATER TONIGHT.

SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS
AFTERNOON.  RAINFALL AMOUNTS WITH THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WILL AVERAGE AROUND 1/2 INCH...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OF MORE
THAN 3 INCHES POSSIBLE.  ALSO...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS
AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE STRONGER STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

BENNETT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 15, 11:21 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo54 min
Mar 15, 12:00 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Willacy2 hr
Mar 15, 12:21 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Willacy54 min
Mar 15, 1:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Willacy51 min
Mar 15, 1:22 PM CSTSpecial Marine WarningBRO113 min
Mar 15, 1:22 PM CSTSpecial Marine WarningBRO113 min
Mar 15, 3:23 PM CSTSpecial Marine WarningBRO52 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

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.