Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 53, NWS Brownsville, TX

August 12, 2003Zapata County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 12, 2003, 8:41 PM CDT for Zapata County, Texas. It was in force for 59 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, 8:41 PM CDT (01:41 UTC)
Expired
Aug 12, 2003, 9:40 PM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Zapata County, TX

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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 197 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-08-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1453 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-08-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -53 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1453 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1333 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-53 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.1
Supercell composite
-1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KBRO 130141
SVRBRO
TXC505-130240-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
840 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ZAPATA COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 940 PM CDT

* AT 840 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ESCOBA...OR 11 MILES     
  EAST OF ZAPATA. THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTH AT 5 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  ZAPATA COUNTY.

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 2705 9897 2699 9936 2659 9917 2669 9901
          2681 9896

$$

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 Aug 12, 8:10 PM CDT, 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 8:10 PM CDT, 31 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
810 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003

HAVE CUTBACK POPS FOR TONIGHT BASED ON 7 PM RADAR PRESENTATION.
LOOKING AT CURRENT WV/IR SAT IMAGERY...MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH WARM
CONVEYOR BELT SEEN STREAMING FROM BAY OF CAMPECHE TOWARD LWR MS
VALLEY WITH DRY SLOT OVER THE LONE STAR STATE AND EXTENDING OVER THE
COASTAL WATERS. H5 TROUGH AXIS LIKELY EXTENDING FROM ARKLATEX REGION
SWD ACRS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS COASTAL WATERS INTO TAMAULIPAS. HAVE
TRENDED POPS DOWN FOR THU NIGHT AS WELL...DUE TO WESTWARD
TRANSLATION OF H5 TROUGH TO THE WEST OF THE BIG BEND AREA OF TEXAS.
NO OTHER CHANGES ANTICIPATED AT UPDATE.

MARINE...AT 6 PM BUOY020 REPORTED NORTHEAST WINDS AT 12 KNOTS WITH
SEAS 3 FOOT. HAVE REDUCED POPS OVER BAY AND COASTAL WATERS FOR THIS
EVENING...SINCE NO ECHOES ON LOCAL RADAR. 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...AT 7 PM AUTOMATED OBSERVATIONS INDICATED VFR CONDITIONS
AT AREA AERODROMES WITH MODERATE SEABREEZE IN PLACE. EVENING TSRA
ACTIVITY APPEARS TO BE FOCUSED OVER ZAPATA AND STARR COUNTIES WHERE
OUTFLOW FROM STORMS OVER NUEVO LEON IS CONVERGING WITH SEABREEZE.
WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT AND VARIABLE AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH A CHANCE
OF NOCTURNAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DUE TO INSTABILITY GENERATED
BY UPPER LEVEL LOW SLIDING TO THE SOUTHWEST OVER THE
CHIHUAHUA/EDWARDS PLATEAU REGION BY WED EVENING. THIS LOW WILL ONCE
AGAIN ENHANCE SEABREEZE/CONVECTIVE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON
TOMORROW...SOME POSSIBLY SEVERE.

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BROWNSVILLE         BC 075/088 075/088 075 30/60/60/60/30
HARLINGEN           BC 074/089 074/089 074 30/60/60/60/30
MCALLEN             BC 075/090 075/090 075 40/60/60/60/30
RIO GRANDE CITY     BC 074 090 074/090 074 40/60/60/60/30
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND  BC 079/087 078/087 078 20/60/60/60/30

.BRO...NONE.

59/60

THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR INTERNET WEB PAGE AT:
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BRO
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 12, 3:12 PM CDT, 5 hours 29 minutes before
TXZ248>257-131100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
235 PM 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 SEVERE...PRODUCING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60
MPH...HEAVY RAIN...FLOODING OF ROADWAYS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND
HAIL.

.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.

SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE ASKED TO MONITOR WEATHER
CONDITIONS CLOSELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 12, 3:15 PM CDT, 5 hours 26 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE, TX
315 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0215 PM    BROWNSVILLE               TX   WIND DAMAGE
08/12/03   CAMERON                        THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
                                          WINDS PRODUCED DAMAGE TO
                                          HIGHWAY SIGN ALONG HIGHWAY
                                          77 IN CENTRAL BROWNSVILLE.
                                          THE STORM ALSO BROKE THE
                                          LIMBS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM
                                          SIZED TREES.
Local storm report, Aug 12, 3:52 PM CDT, 4 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE, TX
352 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0255 PM    2 E LA FERIA              TX   .75 INCH HAIL
08/12/03   CAMERON                        HAIL TO THE SIZE OE
                                          PENNIES WAS REPORTED BY A
                                          WEATHER SPOTTER.

0255 PM    2 E LA FERIA              TX   60 MPH WIND GUST
08/12/03   CAMERON                        STRONG WINDS TO 60 MPH
                                          WERE REPORTED BY A WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER IN A THUNDERSTORM.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 12, 7:25 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROStarr2 hr
Aug 12, 8:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr39 min
Aug 12, 8:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr42 min
Aug 12, 9:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROJim Hogg48 min
Aug 13, 1:36 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROZapata3 hr
Aug 13, 3:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo62 min
Aug 13, 4:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo47 min
Aug 13, 5:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo42 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.