Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 56, NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

April 20, 2003Colorado County, Texas

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 20, 2003, 11:21 AM CDT for Colorado County, Texas. It was in force for 24 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 20, 2003, 11:21 AM CDT (16:21 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 2003, 11:45 AM CDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Colorado County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 141 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:22 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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 225 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 12:00Z on 2003-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1066 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 2003-04-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1066 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-117 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
583 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
146 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 20, 9:37 AM CDT, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 20, 9:37 AM CDT, 1 hour 44 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
937 AM CDT SUN APR 20 2003

CURRENT RADAR LOOP SHOWS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE WEST AND
SOUTHWEST OF OUR FORECAST AREA HEADING THIS WAY. DO NOT EXPECT
CLOUDS TO BREAK UP MUCH THIS AFTERNOON SO WILL CALL FOR CLOUDY SKIES
ON THE UPDATE. CURRENT RAIN CHANCES LOOK GOOD WITH THE HIGHER
NUMBERS IN OUR CENTRAL AND COASTAL COUNTIES. SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT
HAS MADE IT THROUGH THE COLLEGE STATION AREA AND WILL SLOWLY MAKE
ITS WAY INTO THE HOUSTON AREA THIS AFTERNOON. LOOKS LIKE A LARGE
PORTION OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS IS GOING TO GET WET LATE THIS MORNING AND
THIS AFTERNOON.

.HGX...SCEC 20-60 NM WATERS.

UPDATED PRELIMS...
CLL CE 076/058 078/056 075 432
IAH TE 077/060 078/057 075 632
GLS TE 076/065 076/062 075 632

--------------------------------------------------------------------
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION (314 AM CDT)...
KEEPING AN EYE OUT TO THE SW THIS MORNING. STRONG S/W MOVING ACROSS
THE RIO GRANDE HELPING TO PRODUCE STORMS NEAR DRT DURING THESE LAST
COUPLE OF HOURS. ON ITS CURRENT TRACK...WE SHOULD START TO SEE SOME
OF THIS ORGANIZED CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT IN/NEAR SE TX BEGINNING BY
THE LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTN TIMEFRAME. THE EXTRAPOLATED MOVEMENT OF
THIS FEATURE WOULD PLACE THE HIGHER POPS OVER THE CENTRAL AND COAST-
AL ZONES FRO TODAY. SLIGHT CHC POPS TO LINGER INTO EARLY MON AS THE
COOL FRONT SAGS DOWN FROM THE NORTH..INTERACTING WITH WEAK IMPULSES
IN THE ACTIVE SUBTROPICAL JET. BRIDGING HIGH PRESSURE EXPECTED PUSH
DRIER AIR INTO THE REGION LATE MON AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WEAKENS/
DISSIPATES OVER E/SE TX. THE RESPITE TO BE BRIEF (IF MODELS VERIFY)
AS WEAK S/WS MOVE ACROSS THE AREA (VIA THE STILL ACTIVE SWLY FLOW A-
LOFT). WILL BUMP POPS ON TUES/WED TO CHC AS MOISTURE PROFILES WOULD
SEEM TO SUPPORT THIS. RAIN CHANCES CONTINUE TO LOOK QUITE FAVORABLE
INTO THUR AS THE NEXT UPPER TROF-SFC FRONT/DRYLINE COMBO MOVES THRU.
IF IT ALL HOLD TOGETHER AS PLANNED NEXT WEEKEND MAY BE A BIT DRIER/
LESS CLOUDY THAN THIS ONE AS THE UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE REGION.
BUT WE SHALL SEE...IT IS SPRING IN SE TX AFTER ALL... 41/33
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 20, 7:11 AM CDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
GMZ330-335-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-211200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
711 AM CDT SUN APR 20 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS TODAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE MOVE THROUGH THE REGION. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE
STRONG ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SOME SMALL HAIL. SOME LOCATIONS MAY ALSO
RECEIVE SOME HEAVY RAINS UP TO 2 INCHES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
RAIN CHANCES ARE EXPECTED TO LINGER THROUGH MOST OF THE WEEK AS
ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEEPENS TO THE WEST AND MOVES
IN THIS DIRECTION. AT THIS TIME...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED
WITH THE STORMS THAT MAY DEVELOP.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

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.