Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 2, 2004Zapata County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 2, 2004, 6:29 PM CST for Zapata County, Texas. It was in force for 46 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 2, 2004, 6:29 PM CST (00:29 UTC)
Expired
Apr 2, 2004, 7:15 PM CST
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Zapata County, TX

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 183 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:29 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 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 194 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 00:00Z on 2004-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 927 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 00:00Z on 2004-04-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -152 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
927 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
762 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-152 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.7
Supercell composite
-7.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBRO 030029
TORBRO
TXC505-030115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
628 PM CST FRI APR 2 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL ZAPATA COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 715 PM CST

* AT 627 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES WEST OF
  GUERRA...OR 15 MILES EAST OF ZAPATA...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A
TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO SAFE
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER
YOUR HEAD.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 2701 9902 2678 9921 2669 9904 2689 9897

$$

PHILO

The office that day

Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 2, 6:16 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBROZapata3 hr
Apr 2, 7:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr, Zapata45 min
Apr 2, 8:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr, Zapata60 min
Apr 2, 8:47 PM CSTTornado WarningBROStarr43 min
Apr 2, 9:34 PM CSTTornado WarningBROStarr11 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes in 2004

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.