Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 78

February 15, 200312 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 15, 2003, 2:47 PM CST for 12 counties in Texas. It was in force for 118 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 15, 2003, 2:47 PM CST (20:47 UTC)
Expired
Feb 15, 2003, 4:45 PM CST
In force
118 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Atascosa County, TX, Bee County, TX, DeWitt County, TX, Goliad County, TX, Jim Wells County, TX, Karnes County, TX, Live Oak County, TX, McMullen County, TX, Refugio County, TX, San Patricio County, TX, Victoria County, TX, Wilson County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:50 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, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 103 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 2003-02-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 741 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 2003-02-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 97 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
741 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
605 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
97 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
74 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

400 
ACUS11 KWNS 152047
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 152047 
TXZ000-152245-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0078
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0247 PM CST SAT FEB 15 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...TX

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL 

VALID 152047Z - 152245Z

CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND MAY
POSE ISOLATED/MARGINAL SEVERE THREAT.



ALTHOUGH HIGHER MOISTURE CONTENT AIR MASS HAS BEEN SWEPT OUT OF
SOUTH TEXAS IN WAKE OF WESTERN GULF CONVECTIVE SYSTEM...SURFACE
DEW POINTS REMAIN IN THE MID/UPPER 50S AHEAD OF COLD FRONT
SURGING THROUGH EASTERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.  LOW-THERMAL
RIDGE EXTENDS EAST NORTHEASTWARD OUT OF THE MEXICAN PLATEAU AHEAD
OF FRONT...WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S CONTRIBUTING TO CAPE UP
TO 1000 J/KG AS MID-LEVEL COLD POOL AND ASSOCIATED CYCLONIC
VORTICITY CENTER MIGRATE EAST OF THE RIO GRANDE RIVER INTO
SOUTHERN TEXAS.  MID/ UPPER FORCING FOR UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION
HAS SUPPORTED INCREASING CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT ALONG SURFACE
FRONT NEAR SAN ANTONIO DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS...AND ACTIVITY
MAY EVENTUALLY EVOLVE INTO A CLUSTER AS IT SHIFTS WITH UPPER
FORCING...TOWARD THE LOWER TEXAS COAST NEW FEW HOURS. 



WHILE LOW-LEVEL FLOW/VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES ARE RATHER WEAK...
PRESENCE OF FAVORABLE THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT WITH STEEP
MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES SUPPORTS A LIMITED THREAT FOR MARGINALLY
SEVERE HAIL.  GUSTY WINDS APPROACHING SEVERE LIMITS WILL ALSO BE
POSSIBLE AS SURFACE COLD POOL DEVELOPS LATE THIS AFTERNOON...
ADVANCING TOWARD THE LOWER TEXAS COAST NEAR CORPUS CHRISTI BY
16/00Z. 

..KERR.. 02/15/2003

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

29229835 29349744 28959692 28379700 27789752 27479790
27999854 28249911

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 14, 6:57 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Bosque, Bowie and 43 more2 hr
Feb 14, 7:37 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Bosque, Bowie and 43 more113 min
Feb 14, 9:12 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtascosa, Bandera, Bee, Bexar, Caldwell, Comal and 22 more2 hr
Feb 14, 10:16 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar and 40 more119 min
Feb 15, 12:31 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtascosa, Bexar, Brooks, Duval, Frio, Jim Hogg and 7 more119 min
Feb 15, 4:12 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCRefugio3 hr
Feb 15, 4:35 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBrooks, Cameron, Duval, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells and 6 more4 hr
Feb 15, 6:48 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrooks, Cameron, Duval, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells and 6 more87 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 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.