Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 2, 2004Starr County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 2, 2004, 8:47 PM CST for Starr County, Texas. It was in force for 43 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, 8:47 PM CST (02:47 UTC)
Expired
Apr 2, 2004, 9:30 PM CST
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Starr County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 163 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:46 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

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 165 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 2004-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1228 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 2004-04-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 34 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1228 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
708 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
60 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.

717 
WFUS54 KBRO 030247
TORBRO
TXC427-030330-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN STARR COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 930 PM CST

* AT 840 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF EL SAUZ...MOVING SOUTH AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   ROMA BY 910 PM CST.
   RIO GRANDE CITY BY 925 PM CST.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

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

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 2660 9889 2657 9909 2619 9905 2623 9878

$$

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, 6:29 PM CSTTornado WarningBROZapata46 min
Apr 2, 7:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr, Zapata45 min
Apr 2, 8:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROStarr, Zapata60 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.