Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 860

August 15, 200310 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 15, 2003, 9:40 PM CDT for 10 counties in Texas. It was in force for 9 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 15, 2003, 9:40 PM CDT (02:40 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 2003, 7:00 AM CDT
In force
9 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Brooks County, TX, Cameron County, TX, Duval County, TX, Hidalgo County, TX, Jim Hogg County, TX, Kenedy County, TX, Kleberg County, TX, Starr County, TX, Willacy County, TX, Zapata County, TX

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 148 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1727 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2003-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 79 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
1727 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
901 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
70 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.

945 
WWUS20 KWNS 160239
SEL0  
SPC WW 160240
TXZ000-CWZ000-161200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 860 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
940 PM CDT FRI AUG 15 2003

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

       DEEP SOUTH TEXAS
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 940 PM UNTIL
700 AM CDT.

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

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 105 MILES NORTH OF MCALLEN TEXAS TO 15 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF MCALLEN 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...WIND FIELDS ASSOCIATED WITH INTENSIFYING TROPICAL
SYSTEM ERIKA WILL CONTINUE STRENGTHENING OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE SRN TX
COAST. THIS WILL INCREASE THE LOW LEVEL SHEAR AND ENHANCE THE
THREAT OF A FEW TORNADOES THROUGH THE REST OF TONIGHT.

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 05035.


...EVANS

274,0965 260,0970 260,0994 274,0993

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 15, 8:31 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Brooks, Cameron, Duval, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg and 7 more119 min
Aug 16, 3:28 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrooks, Cameron, Duval, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Kenedy and 4 more2 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.