Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 74, NWS San Angelo, TX

May 2, 2003Concho County, Texas

NWS San Angelo, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 2003, 3:15 PM CDT for Concho County, Texas. It was in force for 60 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
May 2, 2003, 3:15 PM CDT (20:15 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2003, 4:15 PM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS San Angelo, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Concho County, TX

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 2, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 232 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Midland Regional, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 91 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3158 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
123 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 2, 1:47 PM CDT, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 1:47 PM CDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
147 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 2003

ZONE UPDATE AND UPDATED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKS WERE RECENTLY
SENT TO ACCOUNT FOR EXPANDED SEVERE WEATHER THREAT THIS AFTERNOON.

GOES 17Z SOUNDING ESTIMATES CAPE AT KSJT IN EXCESS OF 4000 J/KG...
WITH LITTLE OR CAP. KSJT VAD WIND PROFILER SHOWS NO DIRECTIONAL
SHEAR AND VERY LITTLE SPEED SHEAR. PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
THIS AFTERNOON WILL LIKELY BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. STRAIT
LINE HODOGRAPHS FROM 12Z FWD/DRT SOUNDINGS SUGGEST CELL SPLITS
POSSIBLE. TORNADO THREAT SHOULD BE LOW AND PRIMARILY CONFINED TO
AREAS NEAR SIGNIFICANT OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES OR PERHAPS THE STATIONARY
FRONT ORIENTED ALONG OR JUST SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20.

14

---------------------
1045 AM DISCUSSION...

LOW CLOUDS GRADUALLY BREAKING UP OVER WC TX AT MIDMORNING. MESOETA
900 MB MOISTURE PROGS SUGGEST LOW CLOUDS WILL BE SLOWEST TO BURN OFF
OVER THE BIG COUNTRY...WHERE LOW LEVEL THERMAL INVERSION IS DEEPER.

DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN WHERE EXACTLY THUNDERSTORMS WILL FIRE THIS
AFTERNOON. AN OLD COLD FRONT APPEARS TO EXTEND ALONG OR JUST SOUTH
OF INTERSTATE 20. OVER THE REMAINDER OF WC TX...A FEW OUTFLOW
BOUNDARIES LIKELY ARE LEFT OVER FROM YESTERDAYS CONVECTION.
DIFFERENTIAL HEATING MAY PLAY A ROLE IN THUNDERSTORM INITIATION AS
WELL...AS MESO-ETA PROGS LITTLE OR NO CONVECTIVE INHIBITION OVER THE
EASTERN TWO-THIRDS OF WC TX.

FORECAST WAS RECENTLY UPDATED FOR MINOR CHANGES IN FIRST PERIOD SKY
CONDITION WORDING AND TO EXTEND SLIGHT CHANCE POPS INTO THE WESTERN
BIG COUNTRY ZONES. REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST ON TRACK.

14

--------------------
630 AM DISCUSSION...

SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS LOW CLOUDS WORKING NORTHWARD INTO CONCHO
VALLEY...AND ADVANCING SOUTH ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY. WILL SEND A
ZONE UPDATE TO INCLUDE MORNING LOW CLOUD MENTION IN THOSE AREAS.

19

245 AM DISCUSSION...

CURRENT...
TRAILING PORTION OF COLD FRONT HAS STALLED IN AN EAST-WEST
CONFIGURATION VICINITY OF INTERSTATE 20. DRYLINE HAS RETREATED
WESTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL TX...
WITH DEWPOINTS AT OR ABOVE 60 DEGREES F. LOW CLOUDS ADVANCING
NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS HILL COUNTRY INTO OUR SOUTHEAST COUNTIES.
WILL MONITOR LOW CLOUD TREND FOR MORNING MENTION IN THE ZONES.

TODAY THE QUASISTATIONARY FRONT TO BE OVER THE BIG COUNTRY WHILE THE
DRYLINE MIXES EASTWARD TOWARD THE HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST HILL
COUNTRY. ALTHOUGH UPPER SUPPORT IS WEAK...THERMODYNAMICS WILL BE
FAVORABLE FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELPOPMENT WITH ETA CAPES OF 2000-
3000 J/KG OVER EASTERN HALF OF BIG COUNTRY AND OUR FAR EASTERN
COUNTIES. BEST CHANCE FOR STORM DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE OVER EASTERN
BIG COUNTRY NEAR THE FRONT...AND IN OUR FAR EASTERN COUNTIES WHERE
DRYLINE BULGE OCCURS. WITH SUFFICIENT MID-LEVEL FLOW AND AMOUNT OF
INSTABILITY PER SPC DAY 1 OUTLOOK...A FEW SEVERE STORMS WILL BE
POSSIBLE. WITH 850 MILLIBAR TEMPERATURES CONTINUING TO CLIMB...
EXPECT HIGHS WEST OF THE DRYLINE AND SOUTH OF THE FRONT TO BE WELL
INTO THE 90S. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO DIMINISH EARLY TONIGHT WITH
LOSS OF HEATING.

ON SATURDAY HEIGHTS BEGIN TO BUILD ALOFT OVER SOUTHERN PLAINS AS
UPPER TROUGH AFFECTS THE WESTERN US. DRYLINE TO MIX INTO AT LEAST
OUR EASTERN COUNTIES...POSSIBLY FARTHER EAST. STRONGER CAP SHOULD
SUPPRESS THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. MAY INCLUDE A NOMINAL POP FOR OUR
EASTERN COUNTIES WHERE CONVERGENCE ON THE DRYLINE MAY BE SUFFICIENT
FOR AN ISOLATED STORM OR TWO. HOT TEMPERATURES AGAIN SATURDAY WITH
ETA 850 MILLIBAR TEMPS CLIMBING INTO THE MID TO UPPER 20S. BREEZY
CONDITIONS ANTICIPATED FOR ABOUT NORTHERN HALF OF OUR COUNTIES WITH
TIGHTENING SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT AND MIXING EFFECTS. SOUTHWEST
LOW LEVEL JET IS PROGGED SATURDAY NIGHT WHICH WOULD KEEP WINDS AND
TEMPERATURES UP...SO WILL GO ABOVE GUIDANCE FOR LOWS.

ON SUNDAY A STRONG UPPER SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO EMERGE INTO CENTRAL AND
NORTHERN PLAINS WITH WSW FLOW ALOFT INTO TX. DRYLINE INDICATED TO
ADVANCE INTO OUR EASTERN COUNTIES. THETA E RIDGE IS PROGGED OVER OUR
SOUTHEAST COUNTIES WITH DECENT CONVERGENCE ALONG THE DRYLINE. WITH
WEAKER CAP COULD SEE SCATTERED STORMS...SO WILL CARRY A 20 OR 30 POP
IN THOSE AREAS. HIGHS ONCE AGAIN ABOVE 90 ANTICIPATED WEST OF THE
DRYLINE...WITH BREEZY CONDITIONS IN THE BIG COUNTRY.

WITH UPPER TROUGH OVER NORTH-CENTRAL US EARLY NEXT WEEK...SURFACE
COLD FRONT IS PROGGED TO DROP SOUTH INTO WEST CENTRAL TX BY EARLY
TUESDAY MORNING BEFORE STALLING. WHERE THE FRONT STALLS WILL HAVE
IMPACT FOR PLACEMENT FOR BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS.
LITTLE OR NO CHANGES PLANNED FOR THE EXTENDED AT THIS TIME.

ABI 088/064/094/072/094 3100-
SJT 096/066/097/071/096 -0000
JCT 093/065/094/067/093 2-101

.SJT....NONE

19
Hazardous weather outlook, May 2, 2:22 PM CDT, 53 minutes before
TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139-140-
154-155-168>170-031100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
222 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY
THE ATMOSPHERE OVER WEST CENTRAL TEXAS WILL BE MODERATELY UNSTABLE
AND SUPPORTIVE OF THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON.
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD INITIALLY DEVELOP NEAR A STATIONARY FRONT THAT
EXTENDS ALONG AND TO THE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20. THIS AREA
INCLUDES THE SOUTHERN BIG COUNTRY... NORTHERN CONCHO VALLEY...AND
THE HEARTLAND. INSTABILITY WILL BE SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER ALL BUT THE WESTERN MOST PORTIONS OF
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THROUGH MID EVENING. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SATURDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE
HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
WILL APPROACH WEST CENTRAL TEXAS BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...
BRINGING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

14

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 1, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTMenard57 min
May 1, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTKimble67 min
May 1, 7:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTMason60 min
May 1, 8:18 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTKimble57 min
May 2, 3:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTRunnels55 min
May 2, 3:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTColeman, McCulloch68 min
May 2, 4:15 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTMcCulloch60 min
May 2, 4:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTColeman64 min
May 2, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTRunnels75 min
May 2, 5:06 PM CDTTornado WarningSJTMcCulloch, San Saba54 min
May 2, 5:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTBrown67 min
May 2, 5:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTSan Saba50 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.