Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 2, 2004Starr County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 2, 2004, 9:34 PM CST for Starr County, Texas. It was in force for 11 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, 9:34 PM CST (03:34 UTC)
Expired
Apr 2, 2004, 9:45 PM CST
In force
11 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), 153 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:38 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, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 155 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.

268 
WFUS54 KBRO 030334
TORBRO
TXC427-030345-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 945 PM CST

* AT 930 PM CST...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO JUST WEST 
  OF ROMA. THIS TORNADO CONTINUES TO DRIFT SOUTH...BUT HAS NOT       
  CROSSED INTO ADJACENT MEXICO.

DO NOT USE HIGHWAY OVERPASSES FOR SHELTER. OVERPASSES DO NOT PROVIDE
PROTECTION FROM TORNADIC WINDS. VEHICLES STOPPED UNDER BRIDGES BLOCK
TRAFFIC AND PREVENT PEOPLE FROM GETTING OUT OF THE STORMS PATH AND
TO SHELTER. IF YOU CANNOT DRIVE AWAY FROM THE TORNADO...GET OUT OF
YOUR VEHICLE AND LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AS A LAST RESORT.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR 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 2645 9884 2643 9900 2605 9898 2609 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, 8:47 PM CSTTornado WarningBROStarr43 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.