Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 61, NWS Brownsville, TX

August 23, 2003Cameron County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 23, 2003, 1:50 PM CDT for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 40 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 23, 2003, 1:50 PM CDT (18:50 UTC)
Expired: Aug 23, 2003, 2:30 PM CDT
In force: 40 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), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:50 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, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 32 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: 2268 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 747 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 26 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KBRO 231850
SVRBRO
TXC061-231930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
148 PM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL CAMERON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* UNTIL 230 PM CDT

* AT 147 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 2 MILES NORTH OF RANCHO VIEJO MOVING         
  NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
   SAN BENITO BY 205 PM CDT.
   RIO HONDO BY 210 PM CDT.
   HARLINGEN...COMBES BY 230 PM CDT.

LAT...LON 2597 9755 2616 9745 2632 9764 2617 9787

$$

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 23, 9:30 AM CDT, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 9:30 AM CDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before

DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
930 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

.DISCUSSION...A SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED IN THE GULF OF
MEXICO WILL PRODUCE LIGHT TO MODERATE SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS
ACROSS THE CWA THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE MORNING SOUNDING PRECIPITABLE
WATER WAS 2 INCHES.  WE SHOULD SEE MORE SEABREEZE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN TODAY SIMILAR TO FRIDAY. WILL UPDATE ZONES TO
INCREASE POPS.

.EXTENDED...AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP ALONG
THE SEABREEZE FRONT THE NEXT FEW DAYS. MODELS INDICATE THE
ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME DRYER EARLY NEXT WEEK.

.MARINE...AT 6 AM BUOY 020 REPORTED SOUTH WINDS AT 6 KNOTS WITH 1
FOOT SEAS. SURFACE TROUGHING ALONG THE TEXAS COAST WILL PRODUCE
VARIABLE WINDS NEARSHORE AND A LIGHT TO MODERATE SOUTHEAST FLOW OVER
THE COASTAL WATERS...ALONG WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
ISOLATED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE MARINE AREAS
THROUGH SUNDAY.

.AVIATION...AIR MASS AND SEA BREEZE FRONT THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE THE
SOURCE FOR POSSIBLE SHORT TERM MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS
TODAY...PARTICULARLY DURING THE AFTERNOON.  THE CURRENT VEIL OF
BROKEN THIN HIGH CLOUDINESS LEFTOVER FROM THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY
YESTERDAY SHOULD DISSIPATE IN TIME TO ALLOW CONSIDERABLE MORNING
HEATING. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE THE GULF WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE LIGHT
TO MODERATE SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TX THE NEXT
FEW DAYS.

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BROWNSVILLE         EB 093/075 092/077 094 30/00/20/05/00
HARLINGEN           EB 095/075 097/077 095 30/20/20/10/00
MCALLEN             BB 097/077 098/077 097 30/20/20/10/00
RIO GRANDE CITY     BB 100/076 100/076 101 20/10/10/00/00
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND  BB 090/079 091/080 091 30/20/20/10/00

.BRO...NONE.

SYNOPTIC-GRIDS...63/MARINE-AVIATION-MESO...58

THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR INTERNET WEB PAGE AT:
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BRO

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 23, 1:15 PM CDT, 35 minutes before

TXZ248>257-241115-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
115 PM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE RIO GRANDE
VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON...AS DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE PERSISTS OVER THE
LOWER TEXAS COASTLINE. GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND FREQUENT
LIGHTNING STRIKES CAN BE EXPECTED WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

THE THREAT OF ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS
THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS THROUGH MONDAY. THIS IS DUE
TO AN INTERACTION BETWEEN THE AFTERNOON HEATING AND ASSOCIATED
SEABREEZE FRONTS WITH PERSISTENT TROPICAL MOISTURE ACROSS DEEP SOUTH
TEXAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

PHILO

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 23, 8:36 AM CDT, 5 hours 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
0836 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

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

0345 PM    2 S ELSA                  TX   MICROBURST
08/22/03   HIDALGO                        TREES DOWN ON MILE 15
                                          ROAD. STREET FLOODING.

JP

Local storm report, Aug 23, 8:38 AM CDT, 5 hours 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
0838 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

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

0350 PM    ALAMO                     TX   DOWNBURST
08/22/03   HIDALGO                        60 KNOT WINDS FROM
                                          DOWNBURST DOWNED POWER
                                          LINES.

JP

Special weather statement, Aug 23, 11:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before

TXZ250-251-253>257-231700-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1100 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

...EARLY THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT AGAIN TODAY...
...MORE STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE SEA
BREEZE THIS AFTERNOON...

A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE IS BEING LIFTED LATE THIS MORNING BY
AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE FROM THE
BEGINNINGS OF A SEA BREEZE. THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE AS THE
AFTERNOON PROGRESSES. HEAVY RAINS WILL ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS WITH 1
TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL POSSIBLE. BE ALERT TO POOR VISIBILITIES AND
ROADWAY PONDING IN AND NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORM THIS AFTERNOON.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS CONCERNING THIS
SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL. PHILO/CAMPBELL

PHILO/CAMPBELL

Special weather statement, Aug 23, 1:30 PM CDT, 20 minutes before

TXZ250-251-253>257-231930-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...REISSUE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
130 PM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

...MORE STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING ALONG
THE SEA BREEZE THIS AFTERNOON...

A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE IS BEING LIFTED LATE TODAY BY
AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE FROM THE
BEGINNINGS OF A SEA BREEZE. THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE AS THE
AFTERNOON PROGRESSES. HEAVY RAINS WILL ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS WITH 1
TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL POSSIBLE. BE ALERT TO POOR VISIBILITIES AND
ROADWAY PONDING IN AND NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORM THIS AFTERNOON.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS CONCERNING THIS
SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL. PHILO/CAMPBELL

PHILO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 23, 2:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	41 min
Aug 23, 3:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2003 Every 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.