Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 4, 2004Brooks County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 4, 2004, 6:37 PM CDT for Brooks County, Texas. It was in force for 53 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 4, 2004, 6:37 PM CDT (23:37 UTC)
Expired: Apr 4, 2004, 7:30 PM CDT
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Brownsville, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Brooks County, TX

The nearest sounding before it

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 105 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1090 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 628 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 36 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: -0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

507 
WFUS54 KBRO 042337
TORBRO
TXC047-050030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
636 PM CDT SUN APR 4 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN BROOKS COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* AT 636 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 14 MILES WEST OF
  FALFURRIAS...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   FALFURRIAS BY 700 PM CDT.

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.

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 2733 9839 2716 9840 2718 9807 2734 9810

$$

PHILO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 6:37 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Hidalgo, Starr	38 min
Apr 3, 7:45 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BRO	Starr	3 hr
Apr 3, 7:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Starr	48 min
Apr 4, 3:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg	50 min
Apr 4, 4:40 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg	110 min
Apr 4, 5:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Jim Hogg	43 min
Apr 4, 5:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BRO	Brooks, Jim Hogg	51 min
Apr 4, 6:06 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BRO	Brooks, Jim Hogg	39 min

Nearby

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