Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 8, 2003Cameron County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 8, 2003, 9:59 AM CDT for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 31 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: Apr 8, 2003, 9:59 AM CDT (14:59 UTC)
Expired: Apr 8, 2003, 10:30 AM CDT
In force: 31 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), 20 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:03 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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 20 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: 1499 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -124 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 583 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBRO 081459
TORBRO
TXC061-081530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1000 AM CDT TUE APR 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN CAMERON COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 1030 AM CDT

* AT 1000 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTH OF
  PORT ISABEL...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

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

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL 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 2616 9751 2586 9755 2587 9691 2618 9690

$$

SPEECE

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 8, 7:36 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo, Starr	39 min
Apr 8, 8:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	60 min
Apr 8, 8:31 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Hidalgo	29 min
Apr 8, 8:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron, Hidalgo	35 min
Apr 8, 9:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Cameron	34 min
Apr 8, 9:40 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Cameron	20 min
Apr 8, 9:43 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		2 hr
Apr 8, 9:43 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	BRO		2 hr

Nearby

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