Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 752

July 15, 200313 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 15, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT for 13 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 15, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT (20:00 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 2003, 10:00 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Atascosa County, TX, Bee County, TX, DeWitt County, TX, Frio County, TX, Goliad County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Karnes County, TX, La Salle County, TX, Live Oak County, TX, McMullen County, TX, Refugio County, TX, Victoria County, TX, Wilson County, TX

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:02 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.

Warnings issued inside it

4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 4:34 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningCRPLive Oak, McMullen3 hr
Jul 15, 6:29 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXAtascosa, DeWitt, Karnes, Lavaca3 hr
Jul 15, 8:28 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHGXJackson, Matagorda, Wharton2 hr
Jul 15, 9:22 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXAtascosa, Frio, Karnes, Wilson113 min

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 146 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 2003-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 403 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Corpus Christi, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 68 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
403 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
983 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
136 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.

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 151959
SEL2  
SPC WW 152000
TXZ000-160300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 752 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
300 PM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTH TEXAS

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 300 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 35 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES EAST OF VICTORIA TEXAS TO 10 MILES
NORTHWEST OF COTULLA 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 751. WATCH NUMBER 751 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 300
PM CDT. 


DISCUSSION...TORNADO POTENTIAL WILL CONTINUE WWD AS CIRCULATION OF
CLAUDETTE MOVES INLAND ACROSS S TX.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 00040.


...HALES

282,0963 280,0991 290,0991 292,0963

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 1:41 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAustin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston and 4 more3 hr
Jul 15, 6:40 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCBrazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Hardin, Harris and 4 more6 hr
Jul 15, 7:57 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Hardin, Jackson and 3 more4 hr
Jul 15, 9:48 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrazoria, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Fort Bend, Goliad and 8 more117 min
Jul 15, 12:05 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston and 8 more7 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2003Every tornado watch 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.