Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 749
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 15, 2003, 6:40 AM CDT for 10 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 15, 2003, 6:40 AM CDT (11:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 15, 2003, 1:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Wharton County, TX
Warnings issued inside it
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 6:41 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | HGX | Chambers, Galveston | 49 min |
| Jul 15, 8:42 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Chambers, Harris | 3 hr |
| Jul 15, 10:00 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Jackson, Matagorda, Wharton | 3 hr |
| Jul 15, 12:52 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | HGX | Brazoria, Jackson, Matagorda, Wharton | 3 hr |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 246 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2292 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1162 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 74 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 101 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 151142
SEL9
SPC WW 151140
TXZ000-CWZ000-151800-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 749
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
640 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
UPPER TEXAS COAST
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 640 AM UNTIL 100
PM CDT.
TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 30 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST OF PALACIOS TEXAS TO 10 MILES NORTH
NORTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
DISCUSSION...WEDGE OF MORE UNSTABLE AIR IN NE QUADRANT OF CLAUDETTE
APPEARS TO APPROACHING THE UPPER TX CST N OF GLS ATTM...PER REGIONAL
RADAR AND LIGHTNING DATA. THIS AREA EXPECTED TO ADVANCE SLOWLY WWD
LATER THIS MORNING AS STORM CENTER CONTINUES W AT ABOUT 10 KTS.
STRONG UNIDIRECTIONAL SHEAR ON HGX VWP SINCE 06Z SHOULD SHOW
INCREASING LOW LEVEL DIRECTIONAL COMPONENT IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS...
ENHANCING POTENTIAL FOR LOW LEVEL STORM ROTATION/TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 13545.
...CORFIDI
290,0965 302,0941 294,0934 282,0962
WWUS20 KWNS 151142
SEL9
SPC WW 151140
TXZ000-CWZ000-151800-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 749
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
640 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
UPPER TEXAS COAST
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 640 AM UNTIL 100
PM CDT.
TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 30 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST OF PALACIOS TEXAS TO 10 MILES NORTH
NORTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
DISCUSSION...WEDGE OF MORE UNSTABLE AIR IN NE QUADRANT OF CLAUDETTE
APPEARS TO APPROACHING THE UPPER TX CST N OF GLS ATTM...PER REGIONAL
RADAR AND LIGHTNING DATA. THIS AREA EXPECTED TO ADVANCE SLOWLY WWD
LATER THIS MORNING AS STORM CENTER CONTINUES W AT ABOUT 10 KTS.
STRONG UNIDIRECTIONAL SHEAR ON HGX VWP SINCE 06Z SHOULD SHOW
INCREASING LOW LEVEL DIRECTIONAL COMPONENT IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS...
ENHANCING POTENTIAL FOR LOW LEVEL STORM ROTATION/TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 13545.
...CORFIDI
290,0965 302,0941 294,0934 282,0962SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 1:41 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston and 4 more | 3 hr |
| Jul 15, 7:57 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Hardin, Jackson and 3 more | 4 hr |
| Jul 15, 9:48 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brazoria, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Fort Bend, Goliad and 8 more | 117 min |
| Jul 15, 12:05 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston and 8 more | 7 hr |
| Jul 15, 3:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Atascosa, Bee, DeWitt, Frio, Goliad, Jackson and 7 more | 7 hr |
Nearby
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.