Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 46, NWS Brownsville, TX
NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 12, 2003, 2:15 PM CDT for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 45 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
- Aug 12, 2003, 2:15 PM CDT (19:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 12, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Brownsville, TX
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Cameron County, TX
The radar
The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:17 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, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 39 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
- 2173 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -13 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 711 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 41 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 111 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS54 KBRO 121915 SVRBRO TXC061-122000- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 214 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... WESTERN CAMERON COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS * UNTIL 300 PM CDT * AT 206 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR HARLINGEN...AND MOVING SOUTH AT 15 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF... CAMERON COUNTY. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...PREPARE IMMEDIATELY FOR DAMAGING WINDS...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...AND DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER... PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT AWAY FROM WINDOWS. LAT...LON 2621 9762 2626 9781 2588 9797 2581 9770 $$ PHILO
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 Aug 12, 1:50 PM CDT, 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 1:50 PM CDT, 25 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 150 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003 .DISCUSSION...THE FIRST HINTS OF PROBABLE CONVECTION OVR THE RGV BEGAN JUST AFTER NOON TDY...AS SEA BREEZE FIRST TO INITIATE CONVECTION. THIS WILL ALL CHANGE...AS TIME PROGRESSES...WITH UPPER LEVEL ENERGY AND LOW AND MID LVL MSTR ADVECTION TAKING OVER. LATEST GUIDANCE FROM 12Z AVN PUSHES RARE 100 PERCENT POPS FOR ALL VALLEY LOCATIONS NOW THRU 12Z WED. TROF AXIS MVS FM EAST TO WEST...PLACING RGV IN DEEP SOUTH FLOW BY LATE THIS PM...WITH SATURATED ATM AND VIGOROUS UVM. THIS SATURATION OF OUR ATM AND AVAILABLE LIFT FM S/WV ENERGY REMAINS IN PLACE THRU LATE THU...WITH UPPER HIGH RIDGING IN FOR A SHORT DURATION FRI EARLY MRNG...THEN EASTERLY WAVE/GULF SFC LOW PRESSURE EXERTS ITS INFLUENCE ON OUR REGION WITH ENERGY AND MSTR ADVECTION AND RESULTING SHRAS/TSRAS LATE FRI NGT INTO SATURDAY. MAX TEMPS WILL BE HAMPERED BY RAFL (WET-BULBING) AND OVC SKIES THRU MOST OF THIS WEEK. WILL PLACE HIGHS IN UPPER 80S TO NEAR 90. BOTH AVN AND ETA PLACE DEEPENING GULF SFC LOW APPROXIMATELY 300 MILES EAST OF POR BY 1 PM FRI...DEEPENING WITH TIME AS IT ROTATES OVER VERY WARM GULF WATERS (SST 86 AND 87 DEG F OVR MOST OF THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN GULF). BY 7 PM FRI...BOTH ETA AND AVN PLACE DEEPENING SFC LOW 240 MILES SOUTHEAST OF POR...BRINGING COPIOUS RAFL FM THE GULF INTO DEEP S TX LATE FRI AND HVY RAIN BLANKET OUR REGION SAT WITH FLOODING POSSIBLE AFTER OUR RETRO LOW DUMPS 2 TO 4 INCHES NOW THRU FRI. STRONG S/WV ENERGY MVS N TO S THRU THE BASE OF THE TROF...INITIATING STRONG VERTICAL MOTION AND DRAWING PWATS OF 2.35 INCH TO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY OVERNGT. AVN MAINTAINS GOOD RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY...AND XPCT VIGOROUS CONVECTION TO DEVELOP NORTH OF OUR REGION AND MV INTO DEEP S TX OVRNGT. AMS OVR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FLOW IN THE VERTICAL GOES FROM OUR CURRENT NORTH FLOW TO SOUTH OVR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS AS TROF AXIS RETROS WEST OF THE REGION. DEEP NORTH FLOW REMAINS OVR BRO AT 1830Z...WITH DISPLACEMENT OF AXIS WEST IMMANENT BUT TIMING UNSURE ATTM. WILL BUMP POPS A CAT TO LIKELY AND MAY NEED FLASH FLOOD WATCH POSTING SOON...WHEN CONVECTION SHOWS ITSELF. ATTM...WILL MAINTAIN LIKELY POPS THRU 1ST THREE PDS....HIER WEST...FOR THIS PM AND EVENING...AS NO CONVECTION HAS SHOWN ITSELF NORTH ATTM. AN INCREASE IN POPS AGAIN MAY BE NEEDED ON AN UPDATE...IF CONVECTION BEGINS DURING MID PM. MARINE...AT 8 AM BUOY020 REPORTED SOUTH WINDS AT 6 KNOTS WITH SEAS 2 FOOT. AT NOON...BUOY REPORTED WINDS NORTH AT 10 KNOTS WITH 2 FOOTERS AT 5 SEC PD. OBVIOUSLY...WX PATTERNS CHANGING QUICKLY. UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO ENHANCE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. LIGHT TO MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW WILL PREVAIL DURING THIS TIME. ONSHORE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE THURSDAY IN RESPONSE TO A TROPICAL WAVE MOVING WESTWARD ACROSS FLORIDA INTO THE EASTERN GULF. THIS WAVE WILL BRING ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION TO THE WATERS FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AVIATION...MAIN AVIATION CONCERNS REVOLVE AROUND EXPECTED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL BUT AVIATION CONDITIONS WILL DETERIORATE NEAR THUNDERSTORMS WITH VIS LESS THAN 3 MILES AND STRONG AND VARIABLE GUSTY WINDS. CIGS CUD DROP TO OVC010CB IN TSTMS. .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BROWNSVILLE BC 075/088 075/088 075 30/50/60/60/60 HARLINGEN BC 074/089 074/089 074 30/50/60/60/60 MCALLEN BC 075/090 075/090 075 30/50/60/60/60 RIO GRANDE CITY BC 074 090 074/090 074 30/50/60/60/60 SOUTH PADRE ISLAND BC 079/087 078/087 078 30/50/60/60/60 .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. 58/64 THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR INTERNET WEB PAGE AT: HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BRO
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 12, 6:00 AM CDT, 8 hours 15 minutes before
TXZ248>257-130900- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 600 AM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE...IN COMBINATION WITH A LINGERING SEA BREEZE FRONT AND DAYTIME HEATING...WILL GENERATE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE STRONG PRODUCING BRIEF WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 TO 40 MPH...BRIEF DOWNPOURS AND OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHEAST ON TUESDAY THEN MOVE WESTWARD INTO MEXICO BY THURSDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE AND INCREASE THE CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. SOME OF THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL TAPER TO ISOLATED COVERAGE FRIDAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES FARTHER WEST INTO NORTHWESTERN MEXICO AND UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE WESTERN GULF. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT. SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. 65
The office that day
Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Cameron | 10 min |
| Aug 12, 3:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Cameron | 44 min |
| Aug 12, 3:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Cameron | 41 min |
| Aug 12, 3:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BRO | Cameron | 32 min |
| Aug 12, 6:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Starr, Zapata | 60 min |
| Aug 12, 6:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BRO | Brooks, Hidalgo | 57 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.