Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Brownsville, TX

August 12, 2003Cameron County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Aug 12, 2003, 3:58 PM CDT for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 32 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, 3:58 PM CDT (20:58 UTC)
Expired
Aug 12, 2003, 4:30 PM CDT
In force
32 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), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:57 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 29 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 2003-08-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2173 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-08-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 41 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBRO 122058
TORBRO
TXC061-122130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
358 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL CAMERON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* UNTIL 430 PM CDT

* AT 351 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR RANCHO
  VIEJO...OR 6 MILES SOUTH OF SAN BENITO...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 10
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  CAMERON COUNTY.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
STURDY SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST
DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 2600 9751 2616 9759 2607 9788 2586 9778

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 12, 2:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron45 min
Aug 12, 2:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron10 min
Aug 12, 3:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron44 min
Aug 12, 3:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron41 min
Aug 12, 6:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr, Zapata60 min
Aug 12, 6:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks, Hidalgo57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.