Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 321

March 21, 20038 counties in New Mexico; 17 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 21, 2003, 12:19 PM MST for 8 counties in New Mexico; 17 counties in Texas. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 21, 2003, 12:19 PM MST (19:19 UTC)
Expired
Mar 21, 2003, 3:15 PM MST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 25 counties

Chaves County, NM, Curry County, NM, De Baca County, NM, Eddy County, NM, Guadalupe County, NM, Lea County, NM, Lincoln County, NM, Roosevelt County, NM, Andrews County, TX, Bailey County, TX, Cochran County, TX, Crane County, TX, Ector County, TX, Gaines County, TX, Loving County, TX, Martin County, TX, Midland County, TX, Pecos County, TX, Reagan County, TX, Reeves County, TX, Terry County, TX, Upton County, TX, Ward County, TX, Winkler County, TX, Yoakum County, TX

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:21 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

Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 304 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 12:00Z on 2003-03-21Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Santa Teresa, NM at 12:00Z on 2003-03-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -48 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2030 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-48 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
15 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.

824 
ACUS11 KWNS 211920
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 211919 
TXZ000-NMZ000-212215-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0321
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0119 PM CST FRI MAR 21 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...ERN NM...SWRN TX

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL 

VALID 211919Z - 212215Z

THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON.  THE STRONGEST STORMS MAY CONTAIN MARGINALLY SEVERE
HAIL AND STRONG WINDS.	WW NOT ANTICIPATED DUE TO ISOLATED NATURE
OF SEVERE THREAT.



19Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS DEWPOINTS LARGELY IN THE 30S WITH A
PLUME OF LOWER 40S F DEWPOINTS HEADING INTO ERN NM ON SELY WINDS.
 MODIFIED FORECAST SOUNDINGS USING OBSERVED DEWPOINTS ARE
YIELDING 500-1000 J/KG MUCAPE.	VERY STEEP LAPSE RATES EXIST WITH
UPPER VORT CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE AREA.  GIVEN WEAK WIND
PROFILES UNDERNEATH UPPER VORT...STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE SHORT
LIVED...WITH HAIL THE MAIN THREAT OVER NM.  FURTHER SOUTH OVER SW
TX...LARGER TEMPERATURE/DEWPOINT SPREADS THROUGHOUT THE SUB CLOUD
LAYER WILL ALLOW FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG WINDS AS WELL AS
HAIL.  SHEAR PROFILES SOUTH OF A INK TO MAF LINE ARE MORE
FAVORABLE FOR ORGANIZED SEVERE STORMS...BUT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE
WILL BE A LIMITING FACTOR.  ANY ORGANIZED STORMS OVER SW TX WILL
HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AS WELL AS SOME
HAIL...ESPECIALLY IF THEY CAN INGEST 35-40 SURFACE DEWPOINTS JUST
TO THE EAST.



..JEWELL.. 03/21/2003

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...SJT...LUB...MAF...ABQ...EPZ...

30350340 32290517 33620574 35090521 35370378 33910262
31370144 30370196 30110240

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in New Mexico, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.